Word
La música calma a mi gato en casa.
Meaning
The music calms my cat at home.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Lesson
Questions & Answers about La música calma a mi gato en casa.
Why is there a before mi gato?
Spanish requires the personal a when the direct object is a specific person or beloved animal. Since mi gato is a definite, animate object, you must insert a: calma a mi gato.
Could we omit the a and just say La música calma mi gato?
No. Omitting the personal a with a specific pet sounds ungrammatical in Spanish. The a signals that mi gato is a living being.
What part of speech is calma, and how is it formed?
Calma is the third-person singular present indicative form of the regular –ar verb calmar.
• calmar = to calm/soothe
• yo calmo, tú calmas, él/ella calma, nosotros calmamos, etc.
Why do we say La música instead of just Música?
Spanish often uses the definite article before abstract or general nouns.
• La música (music in general or a known piece)
• Without an article, música alone can sound like a heading or title rather than part of a sentence.
What does en casa mean, and why isn’t it en la casa?