How To Use the Spanish Preposition A

How To Use the Spanish Preposition A The Spanish preposition a is often thought of as the equivalent of to - but in fact it has far more uses. A can also be the equivalent of on, at, from, by or in, among others. And in many cases it is not translated at all. Rather than learning how to use the Spanish a by its translation, it is probably best to learn the purposes for which a is used. The following list doesnt cover all its uses, but it does show the uses you are most likely to come across at the beginning stages of learning Spanish. Where a is translated, the translation is indicated in boldface. Using A To Indicate Motion or Location Almost any verb indicating motion, and even nouns, can be followed by a before a destination. It can also be used with some other verbs to indicate where the verbs action takes place. Llegamos a Argentina. (We arrived in Argentina.)Se acercà ³ a la casa. (He approached the house.)Cayà ³ al piso. (It fell to the floor.)Ofrecemos servicios especializados para facilitar su visita a Disneyland. (We offer specialized services to facility your visit to Disneyland.)Esa es la puerta al baà ±o. (That is the door to the bathroom. Al is a contraction of a el, usually meaning to the.)Me siento a la mesa. (I am sitting at the table.) Using A Before an Infinitive A is often used to connect a verb with an infinitive that follows. This use is especially common when indicating the start of an action. In these cases, a is not translated separately from the infinitive. Empezà ³ a salir. (She began to leave.)Entrà ³ a hablar contigo. (He came in to talk to you.)Él se negà ³ a nadar. (He refused to swim.)He venido a estudiar. (I have come to study.)Comenzà ³ a bailar. (She began to dance.) The most common usage following this patter is using ir a infinitive to form the a type of future tense  known as the periphrastic future. Si no jugamos bien no vamos a ganar. (If we dont play well we arent going to win.)Voy  a  cantar.  (I am going to sing.)Tenemos que aceptar que tal vez no nos vayan a entender. (We have to accept that sometimes they arent going to understand us.) Using A To Indicate Manner or Method Numerous expressions begin with a followed by a noun to indicate how something is done. The phrase starting with a functions as an adverb and is sometimes translated as one. Vamos a pie. (We are going on foot.)Hay que fijarlo a mano. (It is necessary to fix it by hand. Note that a mano also could have been translated as manually, an adverb.)Estoy a dieta. (I am on a diet.)Escribo a lpiz. (I am writing with a pencil.)Andan a ciegas. (They are walking blindly.)Llegamos a tiempo. (We are arriving on time.)La internet evoluciona a cada instante. (The Internet is changing constantly.)Lee el libro a escondidas. (She is studying the book covertly.) Introducing an Object With A Before a direct object, a is used before name or noun that represents a person in a usage known as the personal a. The preposition in these cases usually is not translated. A can also introduce an indirect object. Conozco a Pedro. (I know Peter. In this and the next two examples, the name functions as a direct object.)Encontrà © a Fido. (I found Fido.)Verà © a Marà ­a. (I will see Mary.)Le doy una camisa a Jorge. (I am giving a shirt to George. In this and the next three examples, George is an indirect object. Note how the translation of a varies with the verb.)Le compro una camisa a Jorge. (I am buying a shirt for George.)Le robo una camisa a Jorge. (I am taking a shirt from George.)Le pongo la camisa a Jorge. (I am putting the shirt on George.) Using A in Time Expressions A is sometimes used in specifying times or days. Salimos a las cuatro. (We are leaving at four.)A la una de la noche escuchamos maullar. (At 1 in the morning we heard meowing.)Estamos a lunes. (Today is Monday. Literally, we are at Monday.)

Learn How to Conjugate Téléphoner (to Call) in French

Learn How to Conjugate Tà ©là ©phoner (to Call) in French As you might expect, the French verb  tà ©là ©phoner  means to call or to telephone. Unlike the verb  appeler, which also means to call, this one refers specifically to a telephone conversation. In order to properly use tà ©là ©phoner to say things such as he called or I am calling, you will need to know how to conjugate the verb. The good news is that this is a regular verb, so not only is it easy to memorize, its also relatively easy to conjugate. A brief lesson will show you how thats done. The Basic Conjugations of  Tà ©là ©phoner In comparison to other French verbs, tà ©là ©phoner is one of the easier verb conjugations to study. Thats because this is a  regular -er verb, meaning it uses a very common pattern as you move from one form of the verb to another. As with all regular verbs, you will add a variety of endings to the verb stem (or radical) to form each conjugation. The catch with the French language is that there is a new ending for every subject pronoun within each tense, giving you more words to memorize. The radical of tà ©là ©phoner  is tà ©là ©phon-.  Using the chart, you can see which ending you need to add to that for your sentence. For example, I am calling is  je tà ©là ©phone  and we will call is  nous tà ©là ©phonerons. Present Future Imperfect je tlphone tlphonerai tlphonais tu tlphones tlphoneras tlphonais il tlphone tlphonera tlphonait nous tlphonons tlphonerons tlphonions vous tlphonez tlphonerez tlphoniez ils tlphonent tlphoneront tlphonaient The Present Participle of  Tà ©là ©phoner When you add -ant  to the radical of  tà ©là ©phoner, you get the  present participle  tà ©là ©phonant. It is a verb, though in some situations you may also use it as an adjective, gerund, or noun. Tà ©là ©phoner  in the Compound Past Tense The past tense can be either the imperfect or the passà © composà ©, which is a compound. To form this, youll need to conjugate the auxiliary verb avoir to the present tense, then attach the past participle tà ©là ©phonà ©. For example, I called is jai tà ©là ©phonà © and we called is nous avons tà ©là ©phonà ©. More Simple Conjugations of Tà ©là ©phoner There are a few more simple conjugations of  tà ©là ©phoner  that you may need at times. The subjunctive, for instance, calls the act into question while  the conditional  says its dependent on something else. The literary tenses of the passà © simple  and  the imperfect subjunctive  are also good to know because you may encounter them while reading. Subjunctive Conditional Pass Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je tlphone tlphonerais tlphonai tlphonasse tu tlphones tlphonerais tlphonas tlphonasses il tlphone tlphonerait tlphona tlphont nous tlphonions tlphonerions tlphonmes tlphonassions vous tlphoniez tlphoneriez tlphontes tlphonassiez ils tlphonent tlphoneraient tlphonrent tlphonassent The imperative form  is used for very direct sentences and often used alone, so the subject pronoun is not required. In this instance, its perfectly acceptable to shorten  tu  tà ©là ©phone  to  tà ©là ©phone. Imperative (tu) tlphone (nous) tlphonons (vous) tlphonez