Breakdown of Tu novia saluda a su tía y a su prima.
y
and
tu
your (singular)
su
his / her / their / your (formal)
a
personal a (marks a person object)
saludar
to greet
la tía
the aunt
la prima
the cousin
la novia
the girlfriend
Questions & Answers about Tu novia saluda a su tía y a su prima.
Why is there an a before su tía?
In Spanish, when the direct object of a sentence (the person or thing receiving the action) is a specific person, you must put the word a in front of it. This is known as the personal 'a'. Because the aunt (su tía) is a person being greeted, she gets the personal a.
Why do we repeat the a before su prima? Can we just say a su tía y su prima?
The translation says 'his aunt,' but doesn't su also mean 'her'?
Yes, it does! The possessive adjective su can mean his, her, their, or your (formal). Without more context, su tía could easily be 'her aunt.' The translation assumes she is greeting a specific guy's family, but 'her aunt and her female cousin' is an equally correct translation.
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