"You" as in "One"
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Jellybaby
November 19, 2014, 11:35 AM
"Stop being difficult/awkward."
"No seas difícil."
"I know how it works, I live here. If you order a menu they always give you a medium menu unless you say otherwise or they've asked you first."
"Sé como es , vivo aquí. Si se pide un menú siempre (you as in "one") (le dan)? un menú mediano a menos que se diga al contrario o le han preguntado primero."
JPablo
November 27, 2014, 01:58 AM
Si [tú] pides un menú, siempre te dan uno mediano, a menos que digas [lo pidas] de algún otro modo o si te lo han preguntado antes.
Si uno [alguien] pide un menú, siempre le dan uno [un menú] mediano, a menos que [uno] lo pida de algún otro modo o si a uno se lo han preguntado antes.
Creo que la primera de las opciones suena más natural.
Rusty
November 27, 2014, 08:53 AM
I believe she wanted an example of the impersonal 'se' usage. Both the 'one' and the 'they' are impersonal in her sentence.
Something like ...
Si se pide un menú, siempre se le da un menú mediano, a menos que se lo pida de algún otro modo o si se lo ha preguntado antes.
JPablo
November 28, 2014, 04:56 AM
Ah, hi Rusty!
Then I'd do it like this... (I.e., I'd omit the "le" and the "lo", to make it totally "impersonal")
Si se pide un menú, siempre se da un menú mediano, a menos que se pida de algún otro modo o si es algo que se ha[ya] preguntado antes.
(Including the "le" and "lo", doesn't quite ring right to me, as it would "personalize" somewhat, the "se"...)
Interestingly enough, "tú" could be used (like in my example) in a way that is "impersonal".
I.e., "Siempre se puede aprender" and "Tú siempre puedes aprender" could be used both in the same "impersonal" sense. I.e., I am not saying "you" referring to "you" = Rusty, but "any you" who would care to listen...
Mmm... Am I making any sense?
poli
November 28, 2014, 05:58 AM
It's an idiosyncracy. It's nice to know that English isn't the only language with them.
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