Spanish grammar - Destinations with the preposition a

Destinations with the preposition a

The preposition a is equivalent to the English preposition 'to'.

It is frequently used with the verb ir ('to go') to indicate direction or destination.

Note that when a is combined with the definite article el, it forms the contraction al.

When used with the article la it remains a la.

In colloquial Spanish, questions involving ir tend not to be inverted.

Examples:
	Juan va a la biblioteca. Juan is going to the library.
	¿Tú vas al trabajo? Are you (familar) going to work? a + el ⇒ al
	El profesor va al trabajo. The teacher is going to work. profesor (m) means 'teacher'
	¿María va a la tienda? Is María going to the store? tienda (f) means 'store'
	Nosotros vamos a la playa. We (masculine) are going to the beach. playa (f) means 'beach'
	¿Nosotras vamos a la oficina? Are we (feminine) going to the office?
	¿Vosotros vais al cine? Are you (informal, masculine, plural) going to the cinema?
	Vosotras vais a la fiesta. You (informal, feminine, plural) are going to the party.
	Ellos van al restaurante. They (masculine) are going to the restaurant.
	¿Las niñas van a la escuela? Are the girls going to school?
	¿Ustedes van al hospital? Are you (formal, plural) going to the hospital?
	¿Vas tú a la playa? Are you (familar) going to the beach?
	¿Vamos nosotros a la tienda? Are we (masculine) going to the store?
	Vamos a la biblioteca. We are going to the library.
	¿El doctor va al hospital? Is the doctor going to the hospital?
	¿La señora Pérez va al banco? Is Mrs. Pérez going to the bank? banco (m) means 'bank' señora (f) means 'Mrs.'
	El señor Sánchez va al banco. Mr. Sánchez is going to the bank.