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- "You are going to look at the…
"You are going to look at the child."
Translation:Vas a mirar al niño.
55 Comments
The IOP is (usually) compulsory. The DOP replaces the object. You could say it with a pronoun: “Lo vas a mirar" (you're going to see him [or it]) or you can use the noun: “Vas a mirar al niño" (you're going to see the boy.
If there were an indirect object, you would have to use the proper pronoun:You're going to give the boy a motorcycle. Le vas a dar una moto (al niño).
You can include or leave off “al niño". Either way, you need to use “le" in this sentence (unless you replace 'moto' with the pronoun “it", in which case you'd use 'se'. Se lo vas a dar= To him +it +you are going to +give=You are going to give it to him... Sounds confusing, but it is very logical once you understand it.)
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"Lo" replaces a direct object and can mean him as well as it (at least in writing). I'm not sure why it's not accepted here, as you usually require the DO pronoun in a situation like this. Can someone please explain?
Normally, when you know the name of an animal, it's because you have affection for this animal, and you have to use the personal a. Same thing for human beings. Voy a buscar camareros para el bar. You want to hire some employees but you don't know them yet,no personal A. If you want to hire specifically employees that you already know them, because once, they were your employees, you have to use the personal a EX : Voy a buscar a los camareros.
tileulenspiegel- Mirar, observar and oír, are perceptions verbs. If there's a noun with an undefinite article after the verb, Personal A. EX : Oí A una mujer cantar ópera. I heard a woman singing opera. With percewpcions verbs, no matter if you know the person, Personal A. Ot5her verbs like BUSCAR, if you know the person that you're searching, Personal A, if not, no personal A.
I was completely surprised seeing "Vos vas a mirar al niño" marked as a correct answer here. It was the first time I run into "vos" stuff and after a quick online search it seems that it's informal Spanish used mostly outside of Spain. I have ambivalent feelings about the presence of informal words on duoling. Shouldn't there be at least a lesson about all that stuff?
Someone put a down arrow. I put an up arrow and added a linguot. I was happy to know about "vos" being a plural familiar form. I think that it's possible that maybe someone doesn't like using "vos" in a situation where a child needs attention. Maybe it's an etiquette thing. Anyone know? I am also curious to know the relationship between the words "vos" and "vosotros/vosotras." Anyone know?
"Look at" is synonymous with "examine" in English, so if you are a non-native speaker I would suggest not using this phrase unless you are a doctor and you are about to look at (examine) a child. Otherwise this sounds a little creepy in English to any native speaker and could be misconstrued. In most cases where a child is going to be observed, we would say I am going to watch the child. www.thefreedictionary.com/look+at
I answered "Le vas a mirar al niño", which was wrong, and I think I understand why, but the "correct" answer given then was "Vos vas a mirar al niño". Surely this is also wrong? Given that "vas" is the "tu" conjugation of "ir", how would "vos" fit into this sentence? Wouldn't that version of the sentence be "Vos vais a mirar al niño"?
380
What about "Tu le vas a mirar al niño"? Should it be right (I thought it needed the 'le') or why would it be wrong?
That doesn't make any sense at all. 'Your to him going to look at the boy.'
You don't need 'tú' if that's the word you were looking for. It is grammatically okay but sounds weird unless it is clearly being used emphatically. 'Vas' tells you who the subject is.
'Le' is an Indirect Object Pronoun. There are a few regions with leismos, but let's keep things simple... Indirect objects tell you to whom or for whom the direct object was (verbed). The Direct object receives the action of the verb.
The verb 'mirar' means 'to look at'. The boy is being looked at, so he's the Direct object. Direct object pronouns almost always replace the direct object. So pick the DOP (lo) or the noun (el niño) but not both. This is different than IOPs, which (usually) must be used, regardless of whether the object is stated.
That's a lot to take in, but it really is simple. It's just very different than English, and minor regional variance doesn't help.
2720
It wouldn't be "al" because "al" is used for masculine nouns (it is the contraction of a+el - the same thing as don't). If the child was female, it would be "a la".
I hope that helps. :-)
216
I agree with the comments about "al". Mirar is look at; just as buscar is look for and therefore needs an action. So I think that mirar el Nino should be correct without the "a"