Invité a un pariente.

I invited a relative.

Breakdown of Invité a un pariente.

• un: a
• a: to
• invitar: to invite
• el pariente: the relative

Questions & Answers about Invité a un pariente.

Why is there an accent mark in invité?

Because invité is the first-person singular preterite form of invitar: yo invité = I invited.

The accent mark is important because it distinguishes it from other forms:

• invite = present subjunctive / formal command
• invité = simple past (I invited)

It also shows where the stress goes: in in-vi-TÉ.

What tense is invité?

It is the preterite tense, which is used for a completed action in the past.

So Invité a un pariente means that the action of inviting happened and is viewed as finished.

Compare:

• Invito a un pariente = I invite / am inviting a relative
• Invitaba a un pariente = I was inviting / used to invite a relative
• Invité a un pariente = I invited a relative

Why is there an a before un pariente?

This is the personal a.

In Spanish, when the direct object is a specific person or a person being treated as an individual, you usually put a before it.

So:

• Invité a un pariente = correct
• Invité un pariente = sounds wrong in standard Spanish

Even though un pariente is indefinite (a relative), it still refers to a person, so the personal a is used.