Me lleva

[Josh]

I'm confused about llevar. I see it as me lleva, te lleva and les lleva. I would have expected it to be me llevo, te llevas and les llevan. In this case they're using "te lleva" to mean "it takes you..." Why isn't it conjugated like other ar reflexive verbs?

[wrholt]

Originally Posted by Josh

I'm confused about llevar. I see it as me lleva, te lleva and les lleva. I would have expected it to be me llevo, te llevas and les llevan. In this case they're using "te lleva" to mean "it takes you..." Why isn't it conjugated like other ar reflexive verbs?

Of the 60 or so definitions and idioms under "llevar" in one of my Spanish/English dictionaries, 6 of them are reflexive/pronominal, 2 of them are intransitive, and all the rest (nearly 90% of them) are transitive (they require a direct object, but it does not have to be the same as the subject of the verb).

[aleCcowaN]

Me lleva mucho tiempo lavar la ropa --> It takes me much time to do the laundry

Me llevan mucho tiempo las tareas de la casa --> It takes me much time to do the house chores. (also "Me lleva mucho tiempo las tareas de la casa" as it is often dealt as a sort of an impersonal)

¡Me lleva! (a mild swear form, short for "¡Me lleva el diablo!" -meaning "the devil drags me [through the road to perdition]"-, similar to "Darn!")

In this case, llevar is pretty versatile, like quedar. A lot of meanings use this structure, but you may group them in:

1) Use of resources (time, effort, money, material)

time --> Le llevó un día entero secar la casa (the drainage collapsed during an unprecedented storm)

material --> Ese pastel (te) lleva demasiado huevo (cost + cholesterror)

money --> Terminar la casa se llevó todos mis ahorros.

2) To be carried away; to succumb to emotion

Intenté mantener la calma, pero ese tipo me lleva loco.

La guapa adolescente lo lleva perdido a su compañero de pupitre en la escuela.

Some uses are regional.