Spanish Grammar Lessons
The Personal 'A'
It is very important to learn that in Spanish, anytime we refer to a direct object that is a person, we must use the personal 'a'. For the most part, this has no translation in English.
The personal 'a' will precede the direct object, if the direct
object is a person.
"Via Marķa" would
translate into "I saw Marķa".
There are exceptions to this rule.
1. If an object is being personified (such as a doll, a city, etc.) then the personal 'a' will be used in that sentence even though the object isn't a person.
2. On the other hand, the personal 'a' is usually not used after the verb tener.