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Interpretations of "nos compramos camisas."

 

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  #1  
Old August 14, 2010, 05:57 PM
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Interpretations of "nos compramos camisas."

So far I understand that, in reflexive usage, it means the action is initiated by the subject and the reflexive pronoun means it returns to the subject, so in the following sentence,
nos compramos camisas.
we seem to only know whom the action returns to.
When I try to translate this sentence into English properly, I've found that there are at least three interpretations that seem making sense to me.
1). this could me 'for each other'..
I bought a shirt for you, and you bought a shirt for me
;
or it could mean..
I bought a shirt for myself, and you bought one or yourself;
or it could also mean...
we bought shirts (for ourselves)
or could it better be understood as...
Shirts are bought for us?

one a second thought, additional question:
are 'we' more likely to be the subject or object of the verb comprar?
because nos vemos.. we (will) see each other
it wouldn't make sense at all if you will see someone.. and I will see someone else
but then nos casamos....
mabye we married each other(what it typically means)
but it could also mean 'you got married to someone' and 'I got married to someone (not you) as well', verdad?



*sigh* I loathe the reflexivo verbs...nasty,the lot...

Last edited by ceri; August 14, 2010 at 06:09 PM.
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  #2  
Old August 14, 2010, 06:18 PM
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Well......to me

nos compramos camisas

Just means.......we bought ourselves shirts/we bought shirts for
ourselves ("we" talking to a third party indicating that we each bought
a shirt for ourselves)

I don't think it would be understood as....
we bought a shirt for each other

Per your example....
We bought shirts = Compramos camisas
Shirts are bought for us = Camisas se compran para nosotros
I bought a shirt for you and you bought a shirt for me = Yo compré una camisa para tí y tu compraste una camisa para mi.

OR....

Yo te compré una camisa y tu me compraste una camisa.

I hope I haven't confused you.
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Old August 14, 2010, 06:44 PM
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Last week, I bought me a car. We bought us some shirts.
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Old August 14, 2010, 07:51 PM
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Gracias, Elaina!
your explanations are crystal clear.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Elaina View Post
Well......to me

nos compramos camisas

Just means.......we bought ourselves shirts/we bought shirts for
ourselves ("we" talking to a third party indicating that we each bought
a shirt for ourselves)

I don't think it would be understood as....
we bought a shirt for each other

Per your example....
We bought shirts = Compramos camisas
Shirts are bought for us = Camisas se compran para nosotros
I bought a shirt for you and you bought a shirt for me = Yo compré una camisa para tí y tu compraste una camisa para mi.

OR....

Yo te compré una camisa y tu me compraste una camisa.

I hope I haven't confused you.
Point taken, chileno
Quote:
Originally Posted by chileno View Post
Last week, I bought me a car. We bought us some shirts.
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Old August 14, 2010, 10:09 PM
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A week ago I bought me a t-shirt.
It's the usage of the pronoun.


Greetings.
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Old August 14, 2010, 10:42 PM
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I bought myself, guys.

The English reflexive pronouns are:

 Singular  Subject Pronoun  Reflexive Pronoun 
   I  myself 
   you  yourself 
   he  himself 
   she  herself 
   it  itself 
 Plural  Subject Pronoun  Reflexive Pronoun 
   we  ourselves 
   you  yourselves 
   they  themselves 

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Old August 15, 2010, 08:52 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rusty View Post
I bought myself, guys.

The English reflexive pronouns are:

 Singular  Subject Pronoun  Reflexive Pronoun 
   I  myself 
   you  yourself 
   he  himself 
   she  herself 
   it  itself 
 Plural  Subject Pronoun  Reflexive Pronoun 
   we  ourselves 
   you  yourselves 
   they  themselves 
Right. Maybe I should've placed the "bad" form in quotes. But as ceri said, she understood it.
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