Whenever a person is the object of a sentence in Spanish, the word a (which can literally mean "to," "at," etc., depending upon the context) must be included prior to the person. This is called the "personal a" in English and the "a personal" in Spanish.

banner3 PLACEHOLDER

What is an Object?

In both English and Spanish, the subject of a sentence is the person or thing that performs an action and the object is the person or thing that receives it. For example, in the English sentence "Edison ate cake," "Edison" is the subject and "cake" is the object. And in the sentence "Gonzalo hugged Eva," "Gonzalo" is the subject while "Eva" is the object. So, while the translation for the first example, Edison comió torta, would not require the personal a, the second one would since Eva is a person: Gonzalo abrazó a Eva​.

Examples of the Personal a

Now that we understand a bit how the personal a works, let's see a few examples where the same verb in the same tense either has a personal a or doesn't, depending upon whether the object of the sentence is a person. You will note that there is no direct translation for the personal a in the English sentences. 

Ver:

Pero yo vi sombras.

But I saw shadows.

Caption 26, Tu Voz Estéreo Feliz Navidad - Part 4

 Play Caption

Entender:

me di cuenta que no entendía todos los conceptos

I realized that I didn't understand all the concepts

Caption 73, Guillermo el chamán La tecnología maya

 Play Caption

De verdad, en ese momento no entendía a las niñas.

Really, at that moment, I didn't understand girls.

Caption 53, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 11 - Part 6

 Play Caption

Conocer:

Conocí las islas Barú de... de Colombia

I visited the Barú Islands in... in Colombia

Caption 89, Cleer y Lida Juego de preguntas y respuestas - Part 2

 Play Caption

Conocí a María ayer.

I met María yesterday.

Caption 22, Lecciones con Carolina Saber y conocer

 Play Caption

banner PLACEHOLDER

Using the Personal a with Pronouns

When a pronoun like alguien (someone), nadie (no one/anyone), quien, alguno/a(s) (some/someobody/one),  or ninguno/a(s) (none/no one/any) replace a person or people as the direct object in a sentence, the personal a is used as well:

No queremos alarmar a nadie.

We don't want to alarm anyone.

Caption 52, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 5 - Part 8

 Play Caption

Perdón, eh, ¿busca a alguien?

Excuse me, um, are you looking for someone?

Caption 1, Muñeca Brava 8 Trampas - Part 10

 Play Caption

Todos los años, tengo que reñir a alguno.

Every year, I have to tell someone off.

Caption 46, 75 minutos Del campo a la mesa - Part 10

 Play Caption

Additional Uses of the Personal a

The personal a is also used with animals or inanimate objects when the person speaking about them "personifies" them or has affection for them. One example is pets:

Yo amo a mi carro. -Se nota. -Único, bello.

I love my car. -You can see that. -Unique, beautiful.

Caption 97, Encuentro Volkswagen en Adícora Escarabajos en la playa - Part 2

 Play Caption

This is definitely the exception to the rule, though. In most cases, the personal a would not be used with such inanimate objects:

Vaya a lavar el auto, por favor!

Go to wash the car, please!

Caption 31, Muñeca Brava 30 Revelaciones - Part 5

 Play Caption

banner2 PLACEHOLDER

When Not to Use the Personal a

The Verb Tener

The personal a is not generally used with the verb tener:

¿Tienes hijos? -No.

Do you have children? -No.

Caption 87, Adícora, Venezuela El tatuaje de Rosana

 Play Caption

However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. One is when one has an emotional or close relationship with someone:

Tengo a Alejandrita que tiene diez y James que tiene diecinueve.

I have little Alejandra who is ten and James who is nineteen.

Captions 59-60, 75 minutos Gangas para ricos - Part 20

 Play Caption

Another is when someone is physically holding someone:

Él tenía a mi hija en sus brazos. 

He had my daughter in his arms.

A third is when one "has" someone "somewhere":

Teníamos a los gemelos en una clase de baile. 

We had the twins in a dance class. 

The Verb Haber

The personal a is not used with the verb haber, either:

hay muchas personas que se oponen a que haya paz en Colombia.

there are many people who are opposed to there being peace in Colombia.

Caption 32, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 9 - Part 1

 Play Caption

había una mujer que podía ser la protagonista de mi canción.

there was a woman who could be the main character of my song.

Captions 48-49, Luis Guitarra Historia de Lucía - Part 2

 Play Caption

In conclusion, although the personal a in Spanish can be a bit counterintuitive for English speakers since we don't have anything like it, we hope that this lesson has helped you to understand what it is and when it is and isn't used, and... don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments,

banner4 PLACEHOLDER

As the old song goes, "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do," in any language! That said, as there are an abundance of ways to describe the concept of "breaking up" in a relationship in Spanish, we thought we'd introduce you to several, many of which are featured in videos from our Yabla Spanish library. 

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Ways to Say "to Break Up" in Spanish

Interestingly, many common verbs with different meanings in everyday use can also mean "to break up" in Spanish in certain contexts. The way one chooses to speak about "breaking up" in Spanish will depend upon both regional tendencies and personal preference. Let's take a look at some of them:

1. Acabar con (alguien)

Starting with an example from our lesson on the verb acabar, literally meaning "to finish with," acabar con is one manner of saying "to break up" in Spanish:

Pienso acabar con mi novio.

I'm planning to break up with my boyfriend. 

2. Terminar (a alguien) 

The Spanish verb terminar also means "to finish," but it can also mean "to break up." So, naturally, terminar a alguien (literally "to finish someone") means "to break up with" that person. We encounter these expressions a lot in Colombian series like Los Años Maravillosos and Confidencial: El rey de la estafa:

Van a terminar.

They're going to break up.

Caption 64, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 8

 Play Caption

Andrea, Andrea, no me diga que es en serio

Andrea, Andrea, don't tell me it's serious

que usted me va a terminar.

that you're going to break up with me.

Caption 47, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa - Capítulo 3

 Play Caption

3. Cortar 

Literally meaning "to cut" or "cut off," cortar is yet another Spanish verb used to speak about "breaking up" with someone:

No está enamorado de Andrea

He's not in love with Andrea

y no sabe cómo cortarla.

and doesn't know how to break up with her.

Caption 89, Muñeca Brava - 48 - Soluciones

 Play Caption

4. Dejar 

The Spanish verb dejar means "to leave." Let's look at an example where the verb dejar in the preterite tense has been translated as "broke up with":

Salía con un chico,

She was dating a guy,

pero la dejó hace dos semanas.

but he broke up with her two weeks ago.

Captions 54-55, El Aula Azul - La Doctora Consejos: Subjuntivo y persona ideal

 Play Caption

Although this sentence may alternatively have been translated as "he left her two weeks ago," the English expression "to leave someone" is arguably used more commonly to talk about abandoning a longer-term relationship. So, in this context, where someone appears to have been dating someone for a shorter time, "to break up with" serves as a viable translation for the verb dejar. 

5. Pelearse

Although the Spanish verb pelearse typically means "to fight," "have an argument," or even "come to blows with," in certain countries like Argentina, it can also mean "to break up":

More, vos acabas de pelearte con Tomás,

More [Morena], you just broke up with Tomas,

Caption 49, Yago - 10 Enfrentamientos

 Play Caption

That said, should you hear se pelearon (literally "they fought") or están peleados (they're in a fight), additional clarification may be required. While in certain regions or contexts, these two utterances might simply describe people "in a fight" or "mad at each other," in others, they can mean "they broke up," "split up," or "are broken up" temporarily. 

6. Romper con 

The verb romper in Spanish can mean to "to break," as in an object, but when combined with the preposition con (with), it can additionally mean "to break up":

Ella rompió con su novio hace dos semanas.

She broke up with her boyfriend two weeks ago. 

Of course, the verb romper could also be used to describe the "breaking" of one's heart following the breakup: 

A las niñas,

Girls,

les rompen el corazón.

they get their hearts broken [literally, "they break their hearts"].

Captions 44-45, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 4

 Play Caption

Additional Spanish "Breakup" Verbs

Vamos a terminar ("Let's conclude," in this context) this lesson with two terms that should be easy to remember since they are very similar to their English counterparts:

7. Separarse

The Spanish verb separarse means "to get separated":

Pasa que mis viejos se separaron, por eso.

It so happens that my parents got separated, that's why.

Caption 38, Muñeca Brava - 30 Revelaciones

 Play Caption

8. Divorciarse

As you might guess, the Spanish verb divorciarse means "to get divorced":

Pero... como mis papás se divorciaron cuando yo tenía dos años

But... since my parents got divorced when I was two years old,

y mi mamá no se volvió a casar...

and my mother didn't remarry...

Captions 54-55, La Sub30 - Familias

 Play Caption

Now that we've provided you with a multitude of ways to say "to break up" in Spanish, te dejamos. But don't worry! We're not breaking up with you. We're just saying goodbye for today— and don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments.