Track 71

1. The personal a Rule

When a specific person is on the receiving end of a verb, and no other preposition is present, Spanish puts an a in front of them. The literal translation makes no sense, and that is fine.

Espero que vean a María.

The reason is word order. Spanish is flexible about where a name sits, so without the a you cannot tell who is doing and who is being done to.

quiero que vea al hombre

I want him to see the man

quiero que vea el hombre

I want the man to see

Espero que comprendas a David · Me gusta que visite a la profesora

Where another preposition is already there, you do not need it: contar con María.

2. a plus el becomes al Rule

The two words stick together and are written as one.

a + el → al

Al hombre · Quiero que vea al hombre

3. Not only for ambiguity, and not only for people Heads-up

You always need the personal a when a specific person receives the action, even where nothing is ambiguous. Note "specific": I need to find the plumber takes it, I need to find a plumber does not.

It is generally for humans, but it also turns up as a way of personifying: some people use it with pets, and escapar a la muerte, to escape death, personifies death itself.

4. The mood tense of ver comes from veo Grammar

Switching the vowel on ven would give "van", which collides with ir. So the mood tense is built on the irregular "I" form instead, keeping the e.

vea
from veo, not from ve

vean
they see

Espero que vean · Quiero que vea al hombre

5. contar, and contar con Vocabulary

Contar is to count, and also to recount, so it works as another verb for to tell, especially with stories. The o splits.

contar
to count, to tell, to recount

cuento
I tell, and also a story

contar con
to count on, literally "to count with"

Quiero que me cuentes · Quiero que me cuenten algo · Quiero que cuentes conmigo · Espero que cuentes conmigo · Esperamos que cuenten con María

Another preposition that differs between the languages: English counts on, Spanish counts with.

6. espero que takes the mood tense Rule

Add esperar to the list. I hope that is another expression of your subjectivity, so what follows que goes into the mood tense.

Espero que cuentes conmigo · Esperamos que lo cuenten a María · Me gusta que la profesora visite

Why the teacher keeps stressing listening: it is to practise this thinking process, analysing the language and becoming your own teacher. That is what makes a language fascinating to learn rather than frustrating.