When should I put the letter "a" in front of a name?

Question

So I am trying to decide between these 2 sentences:

Anthony Solares es una persona que limpia muchas casas. Él tiene un ingreso predictible.

and

A Anthony Solares es una persona que limpia muchas casas. Él tiene un ingreso predictible.

Which one is correct? If you could tell me when to use / not to use "A" in front of a name, please do so.

Just a comment, the usual word for "predictable" is predecible. — Martin Argerami, Mar 31 '21 at 10:38

score 8 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 30 '21 at 21:16

That usage of the preposition "a" is sometimes called a personal (personal "a"). It is used before all indirect objects, and before direct objects that refer to a person. It is never used before the subject of a sentence.

For example:

Dale el documento a Juan (indirect object).
No veo a Pablo (direct object that refers to a person).
No veo la estrella (direct object that does not refer to a person, so no "a").
Anthony Solares es una persona que limpia muchas casas. (subject, so no "a").

The complete rules and all the edge cases are listed in DPD.

This answer is really helpful. It summed up all the confusion I had around this topic. — FairOPShotgun, Mar 31 '21 at 00:13

When should I put the letter "a" in front of a name?

1 Answers1