Breakdown of La empresa despidió al empleado.
al
to the
la empresa
the company
el empleado
the employee
despedir
to fire (an employee)
Questions & Answers about La empresa despidió al empleado.
Why is it despidió and not despedido?
Despidió is the third-person singular preterite form of despedir, so it means fired.
- despedir = to fire / to dismiss / also to say goodbye to
- despidió = he/she/it fired
- despedido = fired / dismissed as a past participle, not the main finite verb here
So in this sentence, La empresa despidió al empleado, the verb has to be a conjugated form, and that is why despidió is correct.
Why is there al before empleado?
Because this is the combination of two things:
- the personal a
- the contraction a + el = al
Spanish often uses the personal a before a specific human direct object.
Here, el empleado is a person and a specific one, so Spanish says:
- a el empleado → al empleado
That is why you get despidió al empleado.
A very common learner mistake is to leave out the a and say despidió el empleado, but that would sound wrong if el empleado is the person being fired.
What is the personal a, and why is it used here?