Spanish prepositions ‘un’ & ‘una’

The Spanish word for a/an is ‘un‘ for Spanish masculine nouns and una for Spanish feminine nouns.

Examples;

• Todos deberian tener un pasaporte (masc’) = everyone should have a passport.
• Por aquí hay sola una habitación libra = there is only one room vacant here.

Note, that Spanish does not use the equivalent of English ‘a’ when you indicate your occupation;

Examples;

• soy periodista = I am a journalist.
• soy enfermera =  I am a nurse.

The Spanish personal ‘a’.

Verbs such as conocer (to know), mirar (to look at), ver (to see), visitar (to visit), etc. must be followed by the preposition ‘a’ when the object which follows
is a person or the name of a person.

Compare;

1. conoces el centro de esa ciudad?  = do you know the centre of that city?
2. ¿conoces a Mario? = do you know Mario?
3. miro el quadro = I’m looking at the painting.
4. miro a Carlos = I’m looking at Carlos.
5. vio el tren = I see thew train.
6. vio a Juan = I see Juan.
7. visito Barcelona = I visit Barcelona.
8. visito a Pedro = I visit Pedro.

You must also use the personal ‘a’ when using a noun which refers to a person;

1. conosco a su amigo = I know your friend,
2. miro a tu madre = I know your mother.
3. vio a mi tio = I see my uncle.
4. visito la abuela de Vicente = I visit Vicente’s grandmother.
5. Note; visito ‘al’ abuelo de Vicente = I visit Vicente’s grandfather.

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