Breakdown of Es necesario escuchar a las autoridades.
ser
to be
a
personal a (marks a person object)
escuchar
to listen to
necesario
necessary
la autoridad
the authority
Questions & Answers about Es necesario escuchar a las autoridades.
Why do we use the infinitive escuchar here instead of the subjunctive?
Impersonal expressions like es necesario only trigger the subjunctive when there is a specific subject introduced by the word que (for example, Es necesario que escuches meaning 'It is necessary that you listen'). Since this sentence is a general statement applying to everyone and doesn't specify exactly who needs to listen, we drop the que and use the infinitive.
Why is there an a after escuchar? Isn't 'to listen to' translated just as escuchar?
You are right that escuchar alone means 'to listen to' and doesn't take a preposition for things (like listening to a song). However, this a is the 'personal a'. In Spanish, whenever the direct object of a verb is a person or a group of people (like las autoridades), you must place an a right before it.
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