Personal a

One of my challenges as a native English speaker is to remember to use the personal a before a direct object that refers to a person. So, while I am working my way through lesson 11.1 I encounter the following sentence: Traté a citar Pablo Neruda. It seems like Pablo Neruda is the direct object of the verb citar, so the sentence should read: Traté a citar a Pablo Neruda. Is this a grammatical error on RS's part, or am I misinterpreting something that does not require the use of the personal a in this sentence? Gracias, Dan

This post got covered up on the main page and I am really interested in an answer, so I thought I would give it a "bump."

Hola Dan, I think your sentence is correct, using the personal "a". As I recall this is from the lesson about literature. Is it said that way or is that just in the transcript? I'll give it a listen. If it's said that way, well, I haven't a clue as to why. Saludos, Ricardo

Dan, I couldn't find that sentence but there is one I saw: Mi mamá citaba a Pablo Neruda. Ricardo

Ricardo: It is the lesson on Terrible Traffic, in the extra vocab section. I can't hear the a being spoken, and it is the same sentence structure as the one you quoted so I am thinking that I am right. I am rather pleased with myself that I am beginning to recognize when the a should be there. Gracias, Dan

Dan, ¡Felicitaciones! You should be pleased. I wonder why the "a" was omitted? ¿Quien sabe? Saludos, Ricardo

No sé. ¿Tal vez un error?

I found 11.1 and here is the sentence. Traté de citar Pablo Neruda. (I tried to quote Pablo Neruda.). My daughter in-law says it should be Traté de citar a Pablo Neruda. My favorite quotes from Pablo Neruda are " La risa es el lenguaje del alma" and the other one is "Podran cortar todas las flores, pero no podran detener la primavera. I am just typing this from memory, so I could be missing something. It is so beautiful. I just edited pondran to podran. This a good thing. Thanks Christian. . Dan, I think this is a very good idea, analyzing the lessons. I just try to memorize them. Here's one. I wanted to go to the University but I also wanted to start a family. Instead of translating want to querer they were using tenia ganas.

Aurora: thanks for verifying what I thought to be true. I remember that line about starting a family. Sometimes I wish RS was more literal in their translations, especially in the earlier lessons. But now, with a year of study behind me, I am better able to accept the ambiguities in the language, especially considering how strange English idioms are at times. Just yesterday I was watching a video about strategies to learn a new language more quickly, and the presenter made the point that the best language learners are those who can accept ambiguity; who are okay with getting some parts of what is said to them in a new language. People who have to understand each and every word that is said to them in another language drive themselves crazy and don't learn as quickly.

Dan, Bien dicho, estoy de acuerdo. Ricardo

Hola amigos :D Traté de citar a Pablo Neruda, is the correct form. (Aurora's daughter in-law was right). Aurora, regarding Neruda's phrase, which , by the way, I found very interesting, the verb is "podrán" which means "(they) may/might" also similar to "(they)could") and comes from the verb "poder", you used another verb "pondrán" which comes from "poner"(to put). "Podrán cortar todas las flores, pero no podrán detener la primavera."- Pablo Neruda. Here is a nother quote from Neruda: "Si nada nos salva de la muerte, al menos que el amor nos salve de la vida". If nothing saves us from death, at least love should save us from life Saludos

As long as we are giving favorite Spanish quotes, here is mine: Soñar no cuesta nada"- Luis Marden, Photographer, National Geographic Magazine.

Thanks for clarifying the verbs poder and poner. I also edited the previous post. I changed pondran to podran.

Si, Dan. ¡Parabienes! I too have a favorite saying that I memorized in my early days of studying Spanish. La vida es muy corta, entonces hay que divertirse. Que tenga un buen fin de semana a todos!