"to, at" in seven languages
Meaningto, at
Spanish
a
/a/
inherited
Also marks a person as direct object: veo a Juan.
French
à
/a/
inherited
Italian
a
/a/
inherited
Often ad before a vowel: ad Anna.
Portuguese
a
/a/
inherited
Brazilians often say para (pra) for motion: vou pra Roma.
Romanian
la
/la/
other source · Latin ILLĀC 'that way'
Catalan
a
/ə/
inherited
English
to
/tu/
native English · Old English tō
Native 'at' is the distant cognate of Latin AD (PIE *h₂ed).
English → Italianto, ataNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: ad- (advent, admit, address).What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
AD‘to, toward’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Latin AD lost its d everywhere (Italian brings it back before vowels). With the article it fuses: es al, fr au, it al.
English relatives: ad- (advent, admit, address)
Learn it
In a sentence
- esVoy a Roma.
- frJe vais à Rome.
- itVado a Roma.
- ptVou a Roma.
- roMerg la Roma.
- caVaig a Roma.
- enI'm going to Rome.