Do you (usted) like Don Quixote? (English to Spanish)

[Yoodle15]

What direct object pronoun should I use for "usted"? Lo and la?

[Rusty]

No direct object pronoun is used with the verb gustar. The subject is the book title 'Don Quixote'. The indirect object pronoun is 'le'. Since the third-person indirect object is ambiguous, you may add the indirect object 'a usted' to clarify to whom 'Don Quixote' is pleasing.

¿Le gusta (a usted) "Don Quixote"?

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

In Spanish we prefer "El Quijote" referring to the book. "Don Quijote" would be for talking about the character.

[Rusty]

Oops! I forgot to translate the title.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I've always been curious about how that "x" is pronounced in English.

[Rusty]

Most of us say an English 'h' sound (like the Spanish 'j', but not aspirated) in that word - /kiˈhoʊti/.
We have a different pronunciation for the 'x' in the word 'Mexico' - /ˈmɛksɪˌkoʊ/.

Some people apparently pronounce the word 'Quixote' as /ˈkwɪksət/. I've never heard it pronounced that way.

[Yoodle15]

Thank you!

[Glen]

Originally Posted by Rusty

Some people apparently pronounce the word 'Quixote' as /ˈkwɪksət/.

Maybe those people are thinking of the adjective "quixotic" - quijotesco - that comes from his name. Or maybe not, since it seems to be so rare to hear "quixotic" used in everyday speech.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Thank you, Rusty!

@Glen: Interesting pronunciation too.

[caliber1]

Rusty,
I just have a quick question on using "Le". Wouldn't you have to use "a usted" so that the person you are asking (hypothetically) knows you are asking them? I guess what I mean is that I could ask, "?Le gusta Don Quixote?" and it would be not specified who I am asking about. I may be way overthinking this though. I just want to be sure

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by caliber1

... "¿Le gusta Don Quixote?"

Teeny-tiny correction. Use the 'Accents' drop-down menu above the text box.


Context is key.
If you and another person are having this dialog, and nothing has been said about a third person, the 'le' would clearly be understood by your listener as himself/herself (the one you're addressing, albeit at a formal level). Remember, 'usted' is an addressed person, not a referenced person. This particular subject pronoun is included with the other third-person referenced persons because it is conjugated the same way.
In English, 'you' is a second-person (addressed) subject pronoun.

[caliber1]

That was my next question, if context played a roll. I figured it did, I just wanted clarification. Thank you sir!

[wrholt]

Originally Posted by caliber1

Rusty,
I just have a quick question on using "Le". Wouldn't you have to use "a usted" so that the person you are asking (hypothetically) knows you are asking them? I guess what I mean is that I could ask, "?Le gusta Don Quixote?" and it would be not specified who I am asking about. I may be way overthinking this though. I just want to be sure

It all depends on context.

When no third person is currently the topic or focus of a conversation, "¿le gusta Don Quixote?" has no pragmatic referent other than "a usted", and many people won't bother to say it.

However, if you have been talking about some third person, "¿le gusta Don Quixote?" probably asks about that third person, and it becomes natural to say "¿a usted le gusta Don Quixote?" to indicate the shift in the subject of the conversation.

Edit: Yup, Rusty's already on it.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Apart from what has been replied, for some of us, including the "a usted" makes the sentence sound more polite.

[Yoodle15]