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I'm confused...

I've heard conflicting instruction regarding this, from both Mexicans and "sabelotodos" from NOB...

Entonces, dijiste "Si llegues allí cerquitas, todo mundo lo conoce", but I've been told that "le", "les" is supposed to be used when referring to a person (male or female), "lo", "los" or "la", "las" is for animals or inanimate objects? In other words, would it be wrong to say "Todo el mundo le conoce"?

Does it depend on context or something? Or the placement of the article in the sentence? Am I totally missing something?

¡Ay!

Here in Mexico, "lo" can function as either a masculine or neuter direct object pronoun. You will see "le" more often in Spain; there's even a word for it: leísmo.

Example: "Conoces tú a Juan Carlos?" "No lo conozco."

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quisquilloso,-a adjetivo & m,f

1 (meticuloso) fussy

2 (suspicaz) touchy

Chiqueado(a): spoiled

Mimado(a): spoiled

Neither of those means 'nitpicky', i.e., fussy. Quisquilloso (kee-skee-OH-soh) is the word you want, I promise.

More Liana

I agree with you on this. Remember, there is what we call regionalisms: Different words for the same thing. Example in Puerto Rico they call olla ( cooking pot) in one area and caserola( same cooking pot) in a different area. In Puerto Rico a chavo is a penny, in Mexico a chavo is a small child. Regionalisms are not recognized by La Real Lengua Espanola. This entity has the last word on the proper used of the Spanish Language and every year they may revised their standards for new additions to Spanish, some are taken from other languages, like some of the terms used in technology.

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Here in Mexico, "lo" can function as either a masculine or neuter direct object pronoun. You will see "le" more often in Spain; there's even a word for it: leísmo.

Example: "Conoces tú a Juan Carlos?" "No lo conozco."

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Here in Mexico, "lo" can function as either a masculine or neuter direct object pronoun. You will see "le" more often in Spain; there's even a word for it: leísmo.

Example: "Conoces tú a Juan Carlos?" "No lo conozco."

More Liana

Conoces tu a Juan Carlos? Redundancy. Conoces a Juan Carlos? You are addressing a person directly on this question and the word "tu" (you) is not needed because the word conoces implies a direct question to the person been address. I don't consider myself an expert on proper Spanish, but this is the language I've been using since I was born. Also, in schools and universities in Puerto Rico, Spanish ; written and phonetic, is taught as a requirement to go from one grade to the other ( in grade school) and in college to be able to graduate, which I did.

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More Liana

Conoces tu a Juan Carlos? Redundancy. Conoces a Juan Carlos? You are addressing a person directly on this question and the word "tu" (you) is not needed because the word conoces implies a direct question to the person been address. I don't consider myself an expert on proper Spanish, but this is the language I've been using since I was born. Also, in schools and universities in Puerto Rico, Spanish ; written and phonetic, is taught as a requirement to go from one grade to the other ( in grade school) and in college to be able to graduate, which I did.

Well...yes and no to the use of the possibly redundant 'tú'.

I have the habit--perhaps a bad habit--of writing Spanish as it is often spoken. In the example, "Conoces tú a Juan Carlos?", the 'tú' is usually part of the question if there is more than one person in the group--i.e., I (as the speaker), the person to whom the question is directed, and one or more other people. The 'tú' is used to differentiate one person from another, or used for emphasis. In this case, you couldn't have read my mind for context.

In English, the same construction is accomplished by stress on the word 'you', since there is no 'tú' form. And of course English-speakers have no choice in using 'you' or not--it would be ridiculous to say "Know Juan Carlos?", although I've heard that from speakers of extremely colloquial or poor English. In this case, to show the stress, one might write, "YOU know Juan Carlos?" However, this use of stress is substantially different from the stress used in the example in Spanish.

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As a beginner I don't like to butt in and ask dumb questions in English when I am lost in a post that was written in Spanish. I appreciate the fact some of the bilingual posters take the time to translate an explanation in both English and Spanish. I usually get most of the msg, but the details are often times most important for someone with limited experience.

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As a beginner I don't like to butt in and ask dumb questions in English when I am lost in a post that was written in Spanish. I appreciate the fact some of the bilingual posters take the time to translate an explanation in both English and Spanish. I usually get most of the msg, but the details are often times most important for someone with limited experience.

Ask away. It's called the "Learning Spanish" forum. All of us asked "dumb questions" at one time or another. I still do.

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Well...yes and no to the use of the possibly redundant 'tú'.

I have the habit--perhaps a bad habit--of writing Spanish as it is often spoken. In the example, "Conoces tú a Juan Carlos?", the 'tú' is usually part of the question if there is more than one person in the group--i.e., I (as the speaker), the person to whom the question is directed, and one or more other people. The 'tú' is used to differentiate one person from another, or used for emphasis. In this case, you couldn't have read my mind for context.

When in a group, the question Conoces a Juan Carlos? stays the same because you are directly addressing the person intended. If you want to address the group the question will be as follow Conoce alquien a Juan Carlos? meaning: Does anyone knows Juan Carlos? Usually when asking a question within a group, eye contact is the only thing you need to convey the message to the intended receiver.

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As a beginner I don't like to butt in and ask dumb questions in English when I am lost in a post that was written in Spanish. I appreciate the fact some of the bilingual posters take the time to translate an explanation in both English and Spanish. I usually get most of the msg, but the details are often times most important for someone with limited experience.

Kiko, just a word of advice here. Try not to get bogged down in minute details. First of all, learning Spanish is a process, during which you will make a lot of mistakes. Some of them will be really funny, I have my own list which occasionally gets trotted out at cocktail parties. Just relax. After a short time with a group, the best way IMHO is to find a really good maestro (a), and spend at least an hour a week one on one. I find that groups allow you to slow down and become too comfortable, people are generally tempted to slack off, or avoid asking questions in deference to the group.

The point is not perfect Spanish, it is communication. When starting out, the temptation is to wish for instant perfection. This is not possible, and will limit your progress. Have fun, practice with the locals, and don´t worry.

Just for laughs, here´s one of my all time favorite gaffes. I asked if a certain food contained preservativos.

Now look that up if you don´t already know the answer, and enjoy. Nothing like a good dose of schadenfreude to start off the day. What happened, you might ask? Everyone, including myself laughed hysterically.

I wouldn´t give up any of my infamous goofs for all the tea in China. Despite all the sometimes embarrassing situations, I am able to converse pretty fluently. Perfect, no, but that can wait. Just consider the process in levels. There´s always more to learn.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
Mucha gente queda muy impresionada con los grupos 'Warren Hardy Method' en la LCS. No conozco el método, pero lo que oigo de mis amigos suena bien.

En mi opinión, el mejor maestro que da clases individuales en Ajijic es Agustín Velarde. Pregunte por él.

Some time ago, Agustin gave up his place here in Ajijic and moved to Guadalajara where he has family. I don't believe he's returned, but you could try the last email address I had: esoise@yahoo.com.

Another excellent one-on-one teacher is Herlinda Diex in San Antonio. I don't know if she is still teaching. She is an educated Mexican woman with years of teaching experience. But she's a task master, so it's best to be serious about wanting to learn. . .and do homework. The tel number I have on her card says 766 60953--so I believe it will work if you leave out one 6.

Good luck. . .

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