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-   -   O arréglate para estar a gusto contigo mismo (http://forums.tomisimo.org/showthread.php?t=28877)

Michael30000 April 12, 2024 02:21 AM

O arréglate para estar a gusto contigo mismo
 
Hola a todos,

La frase en cuestión es del libro Cuenta contigo de Patricia Ramírez Loeffler.

No guardes nada para los momentos especiales, porque todos lo son. Sal a la calle con la mejor ropa interior que tengas, estrena esos zapatos que estás reservando para la ocasión que nunca llega, abre un buen vino para una cena diaria con tu pareja, compra flores frescas de vez en cuando y deja que tu casa se inunde de olores, cuida los detalles en casa a la hora de poner la mesa o arréglate para estar a gusto contigo mismo.

Does "o arréglate para estar a gusto contigo mismo" refer to "a la hora de poner la mesa", i.e. does the author suggest that we do only one of the two things when setting/laying the table - "cuidar a los detalles en casa" or "arréglarse para estar a gusto con si mismo"?

Or is it a completely separate phrase that has nothing to do with "a la hora de poner la mesa"?

Many thanks in advance.

Rusty April 12, 2024 07:26 AM

It's evident that many suggestions are being presented, so what we have is technically a horizontal list. The series includes only the one coordinating conjunction 'o'.
Since the only coordinator is 'or', the author isn't suggesting that all her suggestions be done at once, but that you can choose to do any one of them (not just choose between the last two and do everything else).
You can choose any one of them and do it on a day of your choice, then choose to do another whenever you feel like it.

If I were writing this list of suggestions in English, I would employ an Oxford comma after the second-to-last suggestion, just to make it clear that I'm suggesting that any one of these suggestions can be done, whenever, and that the last two are just that, two more suggestions to consider doing sometime.

Michael30000 April 12, 2024 08:03 AM

Thank you very much, Rusty!

AngelicaDeAlquezar April 13, 2024 09:57 PM

"Arreglarse" means to groom yourself and wear nice clothes as if you were going to attend a party or celebrate a special occasion.
The paragraph says that you don't have to save anything for a celebration, since you can decide when to make a special occasion out of any day or any time. If you dress up, you don't have to do it for anyone else, you can do it just to feel good with yourself.

Michael30000 April 14, 2024 06:24 AM

Thank you very much, Angelica!


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