Where/How to Convey "For Me" in the Sentence

[Bobbert]

Using the verb “agradecer,” what is the correct way to say: “I would appreciate it a lot if you ran the errands for me.” I'm not sure where or how to use "for me" in the sentence.

My attempts:

Te agradecería mucho si hicieras los mandados por mi.
Te agradecería mucho si me hicieras las mandados.

Are either of my translations correct? Is one better than the other?

Thank you for any help you can give me.

[poli]

They both are good, but use para instead of por in this case.

[aleCcowaN]

Both are right, but they may have different meanings.

With "por mí ", it suggests those errands are your obligation and you are asking for a substitute.

With "me (hicieras)", it suggests those errands are for your own benefit.

[Bobbert]

aleCcowaN,

Yes, my intent was to say that those errands are my obligation and I’m asking for a substitute, so I’ll use “por mí” at the end of the sentence.

It makes sense to me now that if I use “me hicieras,” I’m actually implying “for my benefit” and not “as a substitute on my behalf.”

Thanks. That's helpful.

Poli,

I should have added more explanation as to what I was trying to say instead of just underlining “for me.” I understand what “para mí” implies, and I appreciate your input.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Just for the sake of regional particularities: be careful when using "hacerle a alguien los mandados" in Mexico.
Saying that someone/something "te hace los mandados" is an expression of high-handedness where you think so highly of yourself, that the other person is inferior to you and does what you want them to do.
-- Ricardo, el jefe te va a regañar por no haber terminado el trabajo.
-- A mí, el jefe me hace los mandados. (I don't care about the boss, he can't do anything to me.)

Since we tend to be more specific about "errands", here are some ways we ask for those favors:
- Rosi, ¿me harías favor de pagar mi luz?
(Would you please go and pay the power bill for me?) -> Although there is a little room for the sentence being interpreted as if I were asking for a payment made to me, the context and the emphasis on "mi luz" will be clear enough.
- Ana, si vas al banco, ¿me haces mis pagos, por favor?
- Oye, cuando vayas al mandado, ¿me haces el mío?
- Beto, si te doy la lista, ¿me haces el súper? ¿Por favor? ¿Por favorcito, porfa? Y te invito un café.
(This is my friend asking her brother, while he jokingly replies "no" to every question until she offers him a little "bribe".)

[Bobbert]

Thank you, Angelica, for the detailed explanation. Most of the people I have an opportunity to speak Spanish to are from Mexico, so those are valuable tips.

[aleCcowaN]

To add more about vocabulary, in Argentina errands aren't mandados but trámites. Mandados is currently used to describe home shopping, like going to the grocer's.

There was a time mandados was used in the context of business, when a 12 or 13 old kid who ended elementary school would be taken to perform the simplest tasks, like moving things and messages between offices, bringing the mail to the mailbox next corner, or going to the grocer's to buy yerba mate and sugar. He would be known as "el pibe de los mandados" or "el che-pibe" (litterally: "hey, kid!"). These phrases remain today in a derogative way meaning the lowest position in ranks: "¿¡Quién te creés que soy yo!?¿!El pibe de los mandados!?". Now, there are not many 16 to 18 y.o. kids working as 14 years of education are mandatory, and young people with high school diplomas doing errands for corporations are known as cadetes.