One sentence from a video

[chileno]

Originally Posted by pjt33

Sí. Pero es un poco complicado, porque comprar + objeto directo + objeto indirecto puede significar dos cosas distintas: el objeto indirecto puede ser la persona para quien compras el objeto directo, o la persona de quien la compras. Me parece que en general se puede deducir del contexto de cuál se trata, pero si alguien tiene algunas normas para estar seguro me gustaría saberlas.

¿Puedes ilustrar con ejemplos? Me perdiste un poco con todo eso...

[laepelba]

Originally Posted by pjt33

Sí. Pero es un poco complicado, porque comprar + objeto directo + objeto indirecto puede significar dos cosas distintas: el objeto indirecto puede ser la persona para quien compras el objeto directo, o la persona de quien la compras. Me parece que en general se puede deducir del contexto de cuál se trata, pero si alguien tiene algunas normas para estar seguro me gustaría saberlas.

Originally Posted by chileno

¿Puedes ilustrar con ejemplos? Me perdiste un poco con todo eso...

I agree. Please give us some examples, and it would help to have English translations, too. My Spanish isn't quite advanced enough to always follow grammatical explanations OF Spanish IN Spanish....... THANKS!

[CrOtALiTo]

Originally Posted by laepelba

I have mentioned that I am using videos from http://www.laits.utexas.edu/spe/index.html to help me with my listening comprehension. Most of the videos come with a Spanish transcription, and an English translation.

In the video I've just been listening to, about purchasing clothing, the following were given for the last sentence given by the speaker as the Spanish transcription and the English translation:

Spanish: Nadie le va a dar un premio por pasar un examen, pero comprarse un regalito a ninguna persona le viene mal, ¿no?

English: No one is going to give you a reward for passing an exam, but buying yourself a gift, who doesn't like that, right?

I get the first part, I'm not so sure I follow.
- "comprarse"? Does using "se" with "comprar" make it something that one does to oneself? So if I buy myself a gift, I say "me compro un regalo"? Etc.?
- "a nunguna person le viene mal"?? This is the part that I really don't get. Does that really translate to (roughly) "who doesn't like that"?

Thanks!

I have a question.

I don't understand very well you translation in English, after me, it should be wrote so.

Spanish: Nadie le va a dar un premio por pasar un examen, pero comprarse un regalito a ninguna persona le viene mal, ¿no?

English: No one is going to give you a reward for passing an exam, but buying yourself a gift, who doesn't like that, right?


No ones will gives you a reward for passing a test, but yourself buy a little gift who any person doesn't likes wrong.

I don't know.

May you check my translation please.

[irmamar]

I think that pjt wanted to say that you can buy something from somebody or to somebody:

Le compré un coche a mi padre (el coche era de mi padre y yo se lo compré o compré un coche nuevo para mi padre).

I bought my father's car.
I bought a car to my father.

[chileno]

Pero no es lo mismo que "comprarse" algo, cualquier cosa.

[irmamar]

No te entiendo.

Comprarse algo, ¿para uno mismo te refieres?

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by irmamar

I bought my father's car.
I bought a car to my father.

I bought a car, then gave it to my father
I bought a car for my father.
I bought a car to give to my father
I bought my father a car

(To buy can't have an indirect object, but it can have an ethic dative, I think )

[irmamar]

Originally Posted by Perikles

I bought a car, then gave it to my father
I bought a car for my father.
I bought a car to give to my father

(To buy can't have an indirect object)

Bueno, tenía dudas sobre "to" y "for" . Thanks.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by irmamar

No te entiendo.

Comprarse algo, ¿para uno mismo te refieres?

Claro.

Caerle o venirle a uno bien.

De eso se estaba hablando, ¿no?

¿O acaso me perdí gramaticalmente?

[irmamar]

Originally Posted by chileno

Claro.

Caerle o venirle a uno bien.

De eso se estaba hablando, ¿no?

¿O acaso me perdí gramaticalmente?

No, sólo aclaraba lo que había dicho pjt.