One of the recurring shapes of Spanish grammar is the verb that lexically demands a preposition before its complement. Voy a Madrid. Jugamos al fútbol los sábados. Empezó a llover. Me invitaron a la boda. The preposition is not chosen for meaning — it is selected by the verb the way English listen selects to and depend selects on. A is the most frequent of these selectors in Spanish, and the inventory of verbs that take it is the largest. This page walks through the core list, grouped by semantic flavour, with the peninsular usage quirks called out.
A useful frame: the a itself is semantically empty here. It does not mean "to" or "at" — it is part of the verb's grammatical specification. Trying to translate the a word-by-word into English will mislead you. Memorise verb + preposition as a single lexical unit: ir-a, llegar-a, jugar-a, aprender-a.
The core inventory
| Cluster | Verbs + a |
|---|---|
| Motion / direction | ir a, venir a, llegar a, subir a, bajar a, asomarse a, dirigirse a, acercarse a, asistir a |
| Inception + infinitive | empezar a, comenzar a, ponerse a, echarse a, romper a |
| Learning / teaching + infinitive | aprender a, enseñar a, acostumbrarse a, atreverse a, animar a |
| Influence / cause | invitar a, ayudar a, obligar a, forzar a, llevar a |
| Games + noun | jugar a (peninsular) |
| Aspiration | aspirar a, optar a, presentarse a |
| Resembling / tasting / smelling | oler a, saber a, parecerse a, sonar a |
The first three clusters cover the vast majority of a-verbs you will need at B1. The last two are smaller but worth knowing because they are surprising for English speakers.
Cluster one: motion and direction
These verbs describe physical or metaphorical movement towards a destination. A is what marks the destination.
Ir a, venir a, llegar a
Mañana voy a Sevilla en tren, así que llegaré a media tarde.
Tomorrow I'm going to Seville by train, so I'll arrive in the middle of the afternoon.
¿Vienes a la cena del sábado o todavía no lo sabes?
Are you coming to Saturday's dinner, or do you still not know?
Llegamos al aeropuerto con el tiempo justo.
We got to the airport with barely enough time to spare.
Note the contraction a + el → al, which is obligatory wherever a meets a masculine singular definite article. Voy al supermercado, llegamos al aeropuerto, subimos al piso.
Asistir a — attend, be present at
Tengo que asistir a una reunión a las cinco, así que no podré tomar café contigo.
I have to attend a meeting at five, so I won't be able to grab a coffee with you.
Asistieron al concierto unas dos mil personas.
Around two thousand people attended the concert.
Asistir a is a classic false-friend trap. In English, to assist means "to help"; in Spanish, asistir a means "to attend." To translate "I help my mother" you need ayudar (which itself takes a before a person — see below). The a in asistir a is non-negotiable; ❌asistir la reunión is wrong.
Subir a, bajar a, entrar a, acercarse a
Sube al coche, que nos vamos.
Get in the car, we're leaving.
Me acerqué a la ventana para ver mejor.
I went up to the window to see better.
No te asomes a la barandilla, que da vértigo.
Don't lean over the railing, it's vertigo-inducing.
A peninsular-specific note: of all the motion verbs above, entrar is the one that does not pair with a in Spain. The peninsular standard is entrar en — entro en casa, entró en la habitación, entramos en el bar. The form entrar a, although common in Latin America, sounds non-peninsular to a Spanish ear. See the dedicated page on a-direction for details and the underlying logic.
Cluster two: beginnings — a + infinitive
A whole family of verbs marks the start of an action with a + infinitive. These are some of the most common Spanish verbs you will use daily.
Empezar a, comenzar a
Empezó a llover justo cuando salíamos de casa.
It started raining right when we were leaving the house.
He empezado a estudiar alemán porque me ofrecen un puesto en Berlín.
I've started studying German because they're offering me a position in Berlin.
Comenzaron a aplaudir antes de que terminara la canción.
They started clapping before the song was over.
Empezar is everyday peninsular; comenzar is slightly more formal but very common in journalism and writing. Both require a.
Ponerse a — set about doing, start in earnest
Después de comer me puse a corregir exámenes y no levanté la cabeza hasta las diez.
After lunch I got to work correcting exams and didn't look up until ten.
Se puso a llorar sin que nadie supiera por qué.
She burst into tears without anyone knowing why.
Ponerse a + infinitive emphasises the act of getting started, often suddenly. It is one of the most idiomatic peninsular constructions and has no clean English equivalent — closest is "get down to" or "start in on."
Echarse a, romper a — burst out
Se echó a reír al ver mi cara.
She burst out laughing when she saw my face.
Cuando le dieron la noticia, rompió a llorar.
When they gave her the news, she burst out crying.
Echarse a and romper a are reserved for the sudden, involuntary onset of crying, laughing, running, singing. Romper a is more dramatic and slightly literary; echarse a is everyday.
Cluster three: learning, teaching, daring
This cluster covers acquisition of skills and habits, plus the courage to take action.
Aprender a — learn (how) to
A los cuarenta años aprendí a conducir, y todavía me sorprende lo útil que es.
I learned to drive at forty, and I'm still surprised by how useful it is.
Mi hijo está aprendiendo a leer y va a una velocidad increíble.
My son is learning to read and going at incredible speed.
A critical contrast: aprender + infinitive takes a (aprender a conducir), but aprender + noun takes a direct object with no preposition (aprender español, aprender matemáticas). The English "learn Spanish" maps directly to aprender español — no a. ❌Aprender a español is wrong.
Enseñar a — teach (how) to
Mi abuelo me enseñó a jugar al ajedrez una tarde lluviosa de invierno.
My grandfather taught me to play chess one rainy winter afternoon.
¿Quién te enseñó a hacer este arroz? Está buenísimo.
Who taught you to make this rice? It's delicious.
Acostumbrarse a, atreverse a
Todavía no me he acostumbrado al horario español; cenar a las diez me sigue pareciendo tarde.
I still haven't gotten used to the Spanish schedule — eating dinner at ten still feels late to me.
No me atrevo a llamarle después de lo que pasó la última vez.
I don't dare call him after what happened last time.
Acostumbrarse a takes both nouns (al horario) and infinitives (a cenar tarde). Atreverse a is almost always followed by an infinitive.
Cluster four: influence and causation
When one person prompts, persuades, or compels another to do something, the second action is introduced by a.
Invitar a, ayudar a, obligar a, forzar a, animar a
Nos invitaron a cenar el domingo en su piso de Malasaña.
They invited us to dinner on Sunday at their flat in Malasaña.
¿Me ayudas a colgar este cuadro? Pesa más de lo que parece.
Can you help me hang this painting? It's heavier than it looks.
Le obligaron a firmar sin leer el contrato.
They forced him to sign without reading the contract.
Te animo a presentarte al examen; estás más preparada de lo que crees.
I encourage you to sit the exam — you're more prepared than you think.
The same shape covers llevar a in the metaphorical sense:
Las circunstancias me llevaron a aceptar el trabajo, aunque no era el ideal.
Circumstances led me to accept the job, even though it wasn't the ideal one.
Notice that ayudar in modern peninsular Spanish takes a direct object for the person helped, not an indirect object (ayudo a mi hermana — both a values present here: the personal a before the direct object, and the a required before the infinitive). For more on the personal a, see the dedicated page.
Cluster five: games — jugar a (peninsular)
This is one of the cleanest peninsular-vs-Latin-American differences in everyday Spanish.
De pequeño jugaba al fútbol todos los días en el patio del colegio.
As a kid I played football every day in the school playground.
¿Jugamos a las cartas un rato después de cenar?
Shall we play cards for a bit after dinner?
Mi padre y yo jugamos al ajedrez los domingos.
My father and I play chess on Sundays.
In Spain, jugar requires both the preposition a and the definite article before a game: jugar al fútbol, jugar al tenis, jugar a las cartas, jugar al ajedrez, jugar al escondite. In much of Latin America the construction is jugar fútbol, jugar tenis — no a, no article. Both are correct in their respective regions, but if you are learning peninsular Spanish, the al/a las form is the one to internalise. ❌Juego fútbol will mark you immediately as a non-peninsular speaker.
Cluster six: aspiration and competition
Aspira a una plaza fija en el ministerio, pero la competencia es feroz.
He's aiming for a permanent post in the ministry, but the competition is fierce.
Se presentó a la oposición de abogado del Estado y aprobó a la primera.
She sat the state lawyer civil-service exam and passed on her first try.
Hay que optar a la beca antes del quince de mayo.
You have to apply for the scholarship before the fifteenth of May.
Presentarse a un examen is the standard peninsular phrasing for "to take/sit an exam." Optar a and aspirar a are the verbs for applying or aspiring to a position, prize, or place.
Cluster seven: resembling, tasting, smelling
A small but lovely cluster: a introduces what something resembles, tastes, or smells like.
Esto sabe a chocolate, ¿le has echado cacao?
This tastes of chocolate — did you add cocoa to it?
La cocina huele a café recién hecho.
The kitchen smells of freshly made coffee.
Te pareces a tu madre cuando te ríes.
You look like your mother when you laugh.
Eso me suena a excusa barata.
That sounds like a cheap excuse to me.
The shape is fixed: oler a + N, saber a + N, parecerse a + N, sonar a + N. No article in front of the noun in the oler/saber/sonar uses (huele a café, not ❌huele al café — that would mean "smells AT the coffee" and is wrong).
A note on the personal a
This page is about verbs that lexically require a. It is not the same as the personal a — the a placed before a human direct object (Veo a María, Llamé a mi hermano). The personal a has its own page; you will see it appear alongside lexical a in sentences like ayudo a mi hermana (both a's are present: the personal one before mi hermana and, if an infinitive follows, the lexical one before the infinitive).
Common Mistakes
❌ Juego fútbol los sábados.
Wrong in peninsular Spanish — jugar requires both 'a' and the article: jugar al fútbol.
✅ Juego al fútbol los sábados.
I play football on Saturdays.
❌ Aprendo a español desde hace un año.
Wrong — aprender takes 'a' only before an infinitive, not before a language noun.
✅ Aprendo español desde hace un año.
I've been learning Spanish for a year.
❌ Asistí la reunión por la tarde.
Wrong — asistir always requires 'a'.
✅ Asistí a la reunión por la tarde.
I attended the meeting in the afternoon.
❌ Empezó llover sin avisar.
Wrong — empezar + infinitive always takes 'a'.
✅ Empezó a llover sin avisar.
It started raining without warning.
❌ Me invitaron cenar el domingo.
Wrong — invitar requires 'a' before the infinitive.
✅ Me invitaron a cenar el domingo.
They invited me to dinner on Sunday.
Key takeaways
- A large family of Spanish verbs lexically selects a before its complement — the preposition is part of the verb, not chosen for meaning.
- The four big clusters: motion (ir, llegar, asistir, subir), inception
- infinitive (empezar, ponerse, echarse), learning
- infinitive (aprender, enseñar, atreverse), and influence (invitar, ayudar, obligar).
- infinitive (empezar, ponerse, echarse), learning
- Jugar a + el/la/las + game is the peninsular form: jugar al fútbol, jugar a las cartas. Latin America often drops the a.
- Aprender
- infinitive takes a, but aprender
- language/skill noun takes a bare direct object: aprender a conducir vs aprender español.
- infinitive takes a, but aprender
- The lexical a is distinct from the personal a; they often appear together in the same sentence.
Now practice Spanish
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Spanish→Related Topics
- A personal: con objetos directos humanosA2 — The personal a is the small word that marks a human direct object in Spanish. Mandatory before specific people and personalized animals, optional or absent before non-specific humans. One of the great learner traps.
- Verbos con preposición 'de'B1 — A large family of Spanish verbs lexically selects 'de' — acordarse de, olvidarse de, alegrarse de, dejar de + infinitive, tratar de, enamorarse de — clustered around memory, emotion, cessation, source, and topic.
- Verbos seguidos de 'a' + infinitivoB1 — Verbs that lexically require 'a' before an infinitive — empezar a, aprender a, ayudar a, atreverse a — usually involve motion, initiation, learning or commitment toward an action.
- Verbos seguidos de 'de' + infinitivoB1 — Verbs that demand 'de' before an infinitive — acabar de, dejar de, tratar de, acordarse de — cluster around stopping, completing, remembering, and trying.
- Verbos seguidos de 'en' + infinitivoB2 — A small but high-frequency set of verbs takes 'en' before an infinitive — insistir en, pensar en, tardar en, consistir en — clustered around focus, duration, and absorbing one's attention into an action.