The preposition a is one of the most common words in Spanish. Its most basic meaning is to or toward: it marks the destination of a movement. Whenever something or someone moves from one place to another, Spanish uses a to name the endpoint.
It is also one of the very first prepositions you learn, because almost any sentence about going somewhere needs it.
Destination with verbs of motion
Verbs that express motion — ir (to go), venir (to come), llegar (to arrive), viajar (to travel), correr (to run), regresar (to return) — are almost always followed by a when naming where the subject is going.
Los niños corrieron a la escuela porque estaban atrasados.
The children ran to school because they were late.
Notice that in English we sometimes drop to (as in I am going home), but Spanish almost always keeps the preposition when a specific destination is named.
Arriving at a place
The verb llegar (to arrive) takes a, not en, even though English says arrive at or arrive in. This is a common mistake for English speakers, who may be tempted to say llegué en la casa.
Llegué a la casa muy cansado.
I arrived home very tired.
El tren llega a la estación a las seis.
The train arrives at the station at six.
The contraction al
When a is followed by the masculine singular article el, the two words are always contracted to al. This contraction is mandatory — writing a el is a spelling error (except when El is part of a proper name, as in El Salvador or El Paso).
| Written | Never |
|---|---|
| Voy al parque. | Voy a el parque. |
| Llegamos al aeropuerto. | Llegamos a el aeropuerto. |
| Vuelvo al trabajo. | Vuelvo a el trabajo. |
Voy al supermercado a comprar pan.
I am going to the supermarket to buy bread.
The contraction does not happen with feminine articles or with plurals, so you still write a la, a los, and a las.
Direction without arrival
A can also express direction even when the subject has not yet arrived. In these cases, it works like English toward, though for stronger emphasis Spanish often uses hacia.
Figurative destinations
A is not limited to physical motion. It can also express figurative movement — reaching a state, a level, or an event.
Subió al puesto de director en solo dos años.
He rose to the position of director in just two years.
Llegamos a un acuerdo.
We reached an agreement.
Common Verbs That Take A
These verbs of movement reach for a automatically when followed by a destination:
| Verb | Example |
|---|---|
| ir | Voy al mercado. |
| venir | Vienen a mi casa. |
| llegar | Llegamos a Bogotá. |
| viajar | Viajan a Perú en julio. |
| volver / regresar | Regreso al trabajo a las dos. |
| subir | Subimos al carro. |
| bajar | Bajaron a la playa. |
| entrar | Entró al cuarto sin tocar. |
More Examples
Esta semana viajo a Lima por trabajo.
This week I'm traveling to Lima for work.
Sube al taxi, está esperando.
Get in the taxi, it's waiting.
Volvemos a casa antes de la cena.
We're going back home before dinner.
Summary
The preposition a marks direction and destination in Spanish, the same way English uses to. Keep three points in mind:
- Use a with verbs of motion (ir, llegar, venir, viajar).
- Always contract a + el to al.
- Llegar always takes a, never en.
Once you have a for direction, move on to the personal a, a very different use of the same preposition. For a introducing time expressions (a las cinco), see a: time, and for verbs that lock a to an infinitive, see a with verbs.
Related Topics
- Prepositions OverviewA1 — An introduction to Spanish prepositions and the main words used to connect ideas.
- A: The Personal AB1 — The rule that requires a before a specific human direct object in Spanish.
- A: After VerbsB1 — Common Spanish verbs that require the preposition a before a following noun or infinitive.
- A: Time ExpressionsA1 — How to use a to tell time and build common time expressions in Spanish.