grammar.prepositions.a-uses
The preposition a: direction, time, manner
Direction (voy a Lima), clock time (a las tres), distance (a dos cuadras), rate (a 90 km/h), manner (a mano, a pie), and the marker of indirect objects.
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Explication
A is one of the busiest prepositions. Its core sense is movement toward a destination: voy a Lima, llegamos a Tarija, subió al techo. It also pins points in time — clock times and moments: a las tres, a mediodía, al final, a los veinte años.
Beyond direction and time it marks distance and position (a la derecha, a dos cuadras, a 10 km), rate and price (a 90 km/h, a dos por uno), and manner in fixed phrases (a pie, a mano, a tiempo, a oscuras).
Grammatically, a introduces indirect objects (le di el libro a Juan) and the personal a (vi a María), and it binds many verbs to their complement (empezar a, aprender a — see verbs with a). A very useful pattern is al + infinitive = 'upon/when doing': al llegar, llamame; al salir, apagá la luz.
Exemples
The meeting is at nine.
Région: global
When you leave, turn off the light.
Région: global
We turned left and continued on foot.