irme, gustar, la, lo, le

[ujjain]

I have been practising Spanish for 3 months now. Mainly by having voice chats and chatting using online dictionaries. Normally I tend to imitate their Spanish and learn the language gradually by applying it.

However I am left with a few questions of which Google had no answer.

difference ir and irme / me quiero ir a España
How should I learn using the word “ir”. When should I use irme and when not?
Tengo que irme al supermecado
Me tengo que ir al supermecado
Tengo que ir al supermecado

I have learned all these 3 variants are correct, however I am not sure what the ‘me’ does.

Hablemos pronto vs. hablamos pronto
If you suggest, “let’s speak Spanish”, what do you say?
And if you want to say ”Let’s talk soon again”.
Hablamos pronto! (Let’s speak again soon)
Espero que hablemos (or subjective) pronto de nuevo.

Those would be most educated guesses, however my Spanish is limited and the Verbix verb conjugator still makes me wonder.

alli / ahí
What are the differences between these two?

The verb “gustar”.
I am starting to understand it finally. The simple constructions “me gustas tu”, “me gusta bailar”, “me gustan bailerinas”.

tu gusto me / You like me.

Then… what becomes “I hope/think she likes me”.

espero gustarle - I hope she likes him/her(?).
espero ella/la gusto me. – I hope she likes me.

You can see how troublesome the verb ‘gustar’ can still be for me.

Infinitiv and lo, la, le.
I have been thaught after asking that:

Lo – refers to object masculin
La – refers to object feminin
Le – refers to person (gender irrelevant)

“Muchas personas dijeron haberlo visto vivo”

I saw this phrase on the internet. Based on the context of the phrase it obviously means “Many people say having seen him alive”. Does that mean I have been misinformed about infinitiv+le?

I was explained:
I have seen him. – He le visto.
I have seen her. – He le visto.
“The Godfather” fue/era en la television. I have seen it. – He lo* visto.
* lo refering to the movie, masculin

[chileno]

Excellent!

I don't much time at this moment, as I have to head out to my job.

One question though, do you know English grammar? To the point of talking about Direct object or any other sort of esoteric term?

Out to the office now.

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by ujjain

difference between ir and irme / me quiero ir a España
First off, let's talk about the infinitives 'ir' and 'irse'. The latter is pronominal (the suffix 'se' marks a pronominal verb in dictionaries). The two verbs do not mean the same thing. 'Ir' means 'go' and it is always followed by the preposition a to indicate movement toward a place. The pronominal verb means 'leave', as in 'leave where one is currently'. It's not necessary to mention where one is leaving, so this verb can often be used alone. It's possible, however, to indicate where you're about to go (you're leaving your current location, about to go elsewhere). This is the construct your sentences are using. Remember, though, that the translation is not 'go'. I've provided a more suitable translation below.
The last note about your example is that the pronominal verb had 'me' suffixed to the end. This is one of the reflexive pronouns that must accompany a pronominal verb. It is the first person reflexive pronoun.

How should I learn using the word “ir”? When should I use irme and when not?
Tengo que irme al supermercado. = I have to leave for the supermarket now.
Me tengo que ir al supermercado. (same translation as given above)
Tengo que ir al supermercado. = I have to go to the supermarket.

I have learned all these 3 variants are correct, however I am not sure what the ‘me’ does. (Consider this AND the other reflexive pronouns.)

Hablemos pronto vs. hablamos pronto
If you suggest, “let’s speak Spanish”, what do you say? Hablemos español.
And if you want to say ”Let’s talk soon again”.
¡Hablemos pronto! (Let’s speak again soon!)
Espero que hablemos (subjunctive) pronto de nuevo. I hope we can speak again soon.


alli / ahí
What are the differences between these two? Look here. There are other threads on the topic, as well.

The verb “gustar”.
I am starting to understand it finally. The simple constructions “me gustas tú” (leave off the last word), “me gusta bailar”, “me gustan las bailerinas”.

tú gusto me / You like me. The sentence you want is 'Te gusto.'

Then… what becomes “I hope/think she likes me”.

Espero gustarle. - I hope she likes him/her(?). The translation would be 'I hope he/she/you/it likes me.'
Espero ella/la gusto me. (The sentence should be written 'Espero que le guste yo a ella.') – I hope she likes me.

You can see how troublesome the verb ‘gustar’ can still be for me. There are many good threads about this verb. Have a look here for starters.

Infinitive and lo, la, le.
I have been thaught, after asking, that:

Lo – refers to a masculine direct object (added 'direct')
La – refers to a feminine direct object (added 'direct')
Le – refers to a person (gender irrelevant) (can also refer to a thing - 'le' is an indirect object pronoun)

“Muchas personas dijeron haberlo visto vivo.”

I saw this phrase on the internet. Based on the context of the phrase it obviously means “Many people have said they've seen him alive”. Does that mean I have been misinformed about infinitive+le? Yes.

I was told:
I have seen him. – Le he visto. (Correct dialectual usage in Spain, but not considered good grammar in other places - 'Lo he visto' is used elsewhere)
I have seen her. – Le he visto. (Incorrect dialectual usage in Spain, and incorrect usage elsewhere - 'La he visto' is correct usage)
“The Godfather” daban por televisión. I have seen it. – Lo he visto. (Correct usage, with the corrections I indicated)
* lo referring to the movie, masculine

Welcome to the forums!

You've asked several questions in this thread. The rules state that only one question should be asked per thread.

The last thing you were asking about is the difference between lo, la and le. All are third-person pronouns, but as I indicated above, lo and la are direct object pronouns, and le is an indirect object pronoun. You can find many discussions about these pronouns. Search the internet for 'Spanish indirect object pronouns' and for 'Spanish direct object pronouns' to see how these object pronouns are used. Also read up on 'leísmo', 'loísmo' and 'laísmo' to learn why you'll see discrepancies. There are dialectual differences.

[ujjain]

Thanks, I have learned a lot. Things are a lot clearer now!

You explained very well, thanks.