'te lo'

[Eerie]

I'm confused. Can someone translate the phrase 'no te lo puedo creer' and I'd also like to know how 'te lo' is used.

Shan't it be "no te puedo creer"?

[pjt33]

"Te" here is an indirect object pronoun (dative), and "lo" is a direct object pronoun (accusative). My instinct is that this is the ethical dative: this sentence could be written as "No lo puedo creer" - "I can't believe it" - but adds a dative to show a relationship. Depending on context (does the person saying it consider you trustworthy?) I might translate it as "I can't believe that, coming from you" or "I can't believe that, even coming from you".

[chileno]

Originally Posted by pjt33

"Te" here is an indirect object pronoun (dative), and "lo" is a direct object pronoun (accusative). My instinct is that this is the ethical dative: this sentence could be written as "No lo puedo creer" - "I can't believe it" - but adds a dative to show a relationship. Depending on context (does the person saying it consider you trustworthy?) I might translate it as "I can't believe that, coming from you" or "I can't believe that, even coming from you".

Exactly right.

I can't believe it, even coming from you.

[Eerie]

That was clear, thank you.

[irmamar]

I've heard "no lo puedo creer" or "no me lo puedo creer" or "no te creo/no te puedo creer". But it's the first time I've seen "no te lo puedo creer".

[Eerie]

I heard it on this song.

[irmamar]

A sentence in a song doesn't mean that it's grammatically correct. "No poderse creer" is equivalent to "no creerse" that would be the verb "creer" used in a pronominal way. As in pronominal verbs the pronoun must agree in person with subject, the correct sentence would be: "no me lo puedo creer / no me lo creo". In the former sentence "te" would be used as an indirect object, which is not possible in this case with a pronominal verb.

Maybe it's widely used, I don't question that. I'm just saying that it's not grammatically correct (in my opinion).