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Connecting verbs to infinitives with 'a'

In English, we often place two verbs right next to each other. We say phrases like I learn to drive or she helps me clean. In Spanish, you cannot always stick these verbs together directly. You often need an invisible bridge between the conjugated verb and the infinitive that follows it.

For many common Spanish verbs, this bridge is the preposition a. Since English does not use a direct equivalent for this bridging word, English speakers routinely forget to add it. Getting used to the a will make your Spanish flow much more naturally.

Word list
aprenderA1 to learn aprender a + infinitive ayudarA1 to help ayudar a + infinitive enseñarA2 to teach enseñar a + infinitive invitarA2 to invite invitar a + infinitive acostumbrarseB1 to get used to acostumbrarse a + infinitive adaptarseB1 to adapt adaptarse a + infinitive contribuirB1 to contribute contribuir a + infinitive negarseB1 to refuse negarse a + infinitive persuadirB1 to convince persuadir a + infinitive apresurarseB2 to hurry apresurarse a + infinitive apurarseB2 to hurry apurarse a + infinitive arriesgarseB2 to take a risk arriesgarse a + infinitive atreverseB2 to dare atreverse a + infinitive comprometerseB2 to promise comprometerse a + infinitive condenarB2 to sentence condenar a + infinitive desafiarB2 to challenge desafiar a + infinitive forzarB2 to force forzar a + infinitive habituarseB2 to get used to habituarse a + infinitive obligarB2 to force obligar a + infinitive renunciarB2 to give up renunciar a + infinitive retarB2 to challenge retar a + infinitive tenderB2 to tend tender a + infinitive alentarC1 to motivate alentar a + infinitive animarC1 to motivate animar a + infinitive incentivarC1 to motivate incentivar a + infinitive instarC1 to urge instar a + infinitive motivarC1 to motivate motivar a + infinitive rehusarseC1 to refuse rehusarse a + infinitive exhortarC2 to urge exhortar a + infinitive
Learning and Helping

Let us start with three of the most common verbs that require a: aprender, enseñar, and ayudar. When these verbs are followed by an infinitive, you must insert the preposition.

Notice how the person doing the second action changes. With aprender, the subject does both actions. With enseñar and ayudar, you are helping or teaching someone else to do the action, so the person receiving the help is mentioned before the verb.

Quiero aprender a cocinar comida mexicana.
(I want to learn to cook Mexican food.)
Mi hermano me ayuda a limpiar la casa.
(My brother helps me clean the house.)
Mi padre me enseñó a conducir.
(My father taught me to drive.)
Influencing Others

Many verbs used to motivate, invite, or force someone to do something also require a before the infinitive. This includes positive verbs like invitar, animar, and persuadir.

Laura nos invitó a cenar en su casa.
(Laura invited us to have dinner at her house.)
Sus amigos lo animaron a participar en el concurso.
(His friends encouraged him to participate in the contest.)

If the influence is stronger, you will use verbs like obligar or forzar. The grammatical pattern remains exactly the same.

El guardia me obligó a esperar afuera.
(The guard forced me to wait outside.)
Committing and Resisting

You will also see this pattern with verbs related to personal commitment, habits, or resistance. Many of these are reflexive verbs.

For instance, when you commit to something, you use comprometerse. When you adapt to a new routine, you use acostumbrarse or habituarse.

Poco a poco me acostumbro a levantarme temprano.
(Little by little I get used to waking up early.)
Me comprometí a ayudar en el evento.
(I promised to help at the event.)

On the flip side, verbs expressing resistance like negarse or renunciar follow the same rule. If you dare to do something, you use atreverse.

Él se niega a salir de la cama.
(He refuses to get out of bed.)
No me atrevo a preguntar el precio.
(I do not dare to ask the price.)
Summary

Whenever you learn a new Spanish verb related to learning, helping, influencing, or committing, check if it needs a preposition to connect to an infinitive. If it does, there is a very high chance it will be a. Memorize the preposition as an inseparable part of the verb, such as aprender a or ayudar a, rather than trying to translate it word for word.