For clarification, is ‘le’ used when the verb is not naturally a reflexive? And when it’s reflexive you would use te instead?
‘Te’ corresponds to second person and can be used in reflexive verbs and non-reflexive verbs. ‘Le’ corresponds to non reflexive verbs in the third person (eg. Pedro le da los libros… Note that it is not part of the verb). ‘Se’ is the third person used in reflexives (eg. Se levantó a las 8).
I remember having a similar problem when I was trying to learn Spanish.
I wanted to say “fui a mi hermano a pedirle un préstamo” or “fui a la casa de mi hermano a pedirle un préstamo” (I went to my brother to ask for a loan), but was told I should say “fui a lo de mi hermano a pedirle un préstamo.” I had no idea about the “a lo de” construction.
That’s silly. Your sentence is perfectly right. I guess your Spanish informant was not very reliable
Hmmm… I wonder if it’s not a difference between Latin American Spanish and Spain Spanish? The person who helped me was from Argentina.
I don’t think so. We also say “fui a lo de” here in Andalusia. It’s mostly supposed to be colloquial.
At any rate, it’s not compulsory.
“Fui a casa de mi hermano a pedirle un préstamo” is completely right and understandable in every variety of Spanish.
Maybe that person wanted you to say it exactly as s/he would but that is not a helpful or right tip.
OK, thanks Francisco!
What I was actually doing at the time was translating the lyrics to a Johnny Cash song called ‘Busted’ (written by Harlan Howard) into Spanish, which was a a lot of fun to do. And to sing and play. I gave it the translated title ‘Sin un peso.’ If you’re interested I can share the (translated) lyrics with you.
Sure! It sounds like fun, thank you. I’m a big fan of Cash.
Btw, in this context I’d go for
“Fui a pedir un préstamo a mi hermano” (notice the word order)
thanks, ftornay
Here are the lyrics:
sin un peso
(Spanish lyrics translated from Johnny Cash song ‘Busted’
by Harlan Howard)
todas mis cuentas están vencidas
y los bebés necesitan zapatos
pero estoy sin un peso
el algodón ha bajado
a un peso por kilo
y estoy sin un peso
tengo una vaca que no da leche
una gallina que no pone huevos
un montón de deudas
que crecen cada día
la policía se llevará
todo lo que tengo
estoy sin un peso
fui a lo de mi hermano
a pedirle un préstamo
estaba sin un peso
detesto mendigar
como un perro por un hueso
pero estoy sin un peso
mi hermano dijo: “no hay nada
que pueda hacer,
mi esposa y mis hijos
están enfermos con gripe
y estaba pensando
en pedirte ayuda,
estoy sin un peso!”
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So for ‘you’, ‘te’ is always used? ‘Le’ is a non-reflexive verb form for el, ella, usted?
Wonderful translation! I really enjoyed it.
As a little note: one alternative to “estoy sin un peso” is “estoy sin blanca”
That’s correct