Apparently both Spanish and German distinguish between animated and inanimate(not animated),grammatically.
I speak both Spanish and German but don't know what is meant exactly. Could anyone enlighten me?
In French this is also the case, as for example the phrase "J'y pense" can only refer to an inanimate object since for an animate one -that is to say for a person-one would have to use either "Je pense à elle" or "Je pense à lui" (except for regional non-standard varieties, possibly).
Off the top of my head, the only thing I can think of in Spanish that is anything like an animate/inanimate distinction is the "personal a", where "a" is used with an animate direct object ( "Vi a José" compared to "vi una pelicula"). But I don't think it's truly animate/inanimate, as it's not always used with animals. The RAE says that use of "a" is frequent with domestic animals but unusual with other animals.
no i think you found it. the french "y" can also be applied to animals.
now for german anyone?