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Question about decidir

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HannahLy
October 31, 2013, 11:53 PM
In English, we say "I can't decide the seafood or the ham". But in Spanish it says "No me decido entre los mariscos y el jamón."

Why use me instead of yo?

Rusty
November 01, 2013, 05:31 AM
You can use 'yo', in addition to the reflexive pronoun 'me', but it would serve only to provide emphasis. Both the verb ending and the reflexive pronoun are conveying the fact that the subject is first person.

The verb 'decidirse' is pronominal, so the appropriate-to-person reflexive pronoun must be used.

The subject pronoun 'yo' is rarely used in Spanish, since the verb ending quite often conveys the person.

HannahLy
November 02, 2013, 02:27 AM
Thank you so much for the reply!

Then how do I know when I should use "decidir" or "decidirse" in a sentence"?

For example,
No me decido entre los mariscos y el jamón.

Anoche Pilar y Guillermo decidieron cenar en un restaurante elegante.

Rusty
November 02, 2013, 06:49 AM
When there is a choice to be made between two items, you use decidirse. You are making up your mind.
When you are done making up your mind, you can then state what you decided upon. That is when you use decidir.

HannahLy
November 02, 2013, 02:45 PM
Thank you soooo much!

Rusty
November 02, 2013, 03:55 PM
You're welcome.

Welcome to the forums, by the way.