Verbs with a

Spanish verbs requiring a preposition

Spanish verbs that need prepositions
Share / Tweet / Pin Me!

A number of Spanish verbs require the preposition a in front of a noun or infinitive.

Verbs + a + noun

acercarse a to approach
acostumbrarse a to get used to
aficionarse a to become fond of
asemejarse a to resemble, look like
asistir a to attend
asomarse a to appear at
cuidar a to take care of
dar a to face, overlook
dedicarse a to devote oneself to
dirigirse a to go toward, address
echar la culpa a to blame
entrar a to enter
equivaler a to equal, be equivalent to
estar sentado a to be seated at
ir a to go to
jugar a to play (a game, sport)
llamar a to call, telephone
llegar a to arrive at/in
oler a to smell like
paracerse a to look like
querer a to love
resistirse a to resist
responder a to answer
saber a to taste like
ser aficionado a to be a fan of
sonar a to sound like
subir a to board, get on/into
tocar a to knock on
tocarle a ___ to be ___’s turn
viajar a to travel to (a place)

 Note: Some of these are the personal a, included here because they are common verbs and English speakers don’t always remember that it’s required in front of people.

Verbs + a + infinitive

Note that this construction may be equivalent to an English infinitive (e.g., to do) or a gerund (doing).

acertar a to manage to
acostumbrarse a to be/get used to
alcanzar a to manage to
animar a to encourage to
aprender a to learn to
atreverse a to dare to
ayudar a to help
bajar a to go down to
comenzar a to begin to
comprometerse a to undertake to
conducir a to lead to
contribuir a to contribute to
convidar a to invite to
decidirse a to decide to
dedicarse a to devote oneself to
desafiar a to challenge to
disponerse a to get ready to
echar(se) a to begin to
empezar a to begin to
enseñar a to teach to, show how to
forzar a to force to
impulsar a to urge to
incitar a to incite to
inclinar a to incline to
invitar a to invite to
ir a to be going to(near future)
limitarse a to limit oneself to
llegar a to manage to, succeed in, end up
llegar a ser to become
llevar a to lead to
mandar a to send to
meterse a to start to
negarse a to refuse to
obligar a to force, compel to
pasar a to go on to
persuadir a to persuade to
ponerse a to begin to, set about
prepararse a to get ready to
renunciar a to renounce
resignarse a to resign oneself to
resistirse a to resist
tender a to tend to
venir a to come (in order) to do something
volver a to ___ again

 Related lessons

Learn French En français

 Share / Tweet / Pin Me!

Spanish verbs followed by the preposition a