Personal A

used before a person who is not the subject

shows respect-denotes a person, not a thing

does not translate into English

not used after tener

clarifies flexible word order in Spanish

Ejemplos:

Miro la televisión. (thing)

Miro a Juan. (person)

These sentences all mean the same thing, but the personal a in each sentence identifies the subject

Juan mira a Luisa.

A Luisa mira Juan.

A Luisa Juan mira.

Mira Juan a Luisa.

Mira a Luisa Juan.