Learn Spanish (Spain): Busco a la chica joven. - I am looking for the young girl.

Busco a la chica joven.

I am looking for the young girl.

Breakdown of Busco a la chica joven.

personal a (marks a person object)

buscar

to look for

Questions & Answers about Busco a la chica joven.

Why is there an 'a' after 'Busco'? Is it part of the verb?

No, busco just means 'I am looking for'. The a here is a special rule called the 'personal a'. In Spanish, when the direct object (the receiver of the action) is a specific person or pet, you must put an a right before them. Since we are looking for a specific girl (la chica), we need this a.

In English we say 'looking FOR'. Why isn't there a word for 'for' here?

The verb buscar (to look for) has the 'for' built right into its meaning. Busco means 'I look for' or 'I am looking for'. Adding a word like por or para is a very common beginner mistake because it would be like saying 'I am looking for for'.

Why doesn't the adjective 'joven' end in 'a' to match the feminine 'la chica'?

Adjectives that end in a consonant, like joven (young), usually have the exact same form for both masculine and feminine nouns. So it is el chico joven and la chica joven. You only change it if the noun is plural (by adding -es to make jóvenes).

Since this lesson is about question words, how would I ask 'Who are you looking for?'

Because of the 'personal a' rule we saw above, you have to include the a before the question word! You would ask ¿A quién buscas? which means 'Who are you looking for?'. When the answer requires a personal a, the question word must also use it.