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- Topic: Spanish >
- "Te lo has ganado."
36 Comments
Why isn't it "Tu lo has ganado"? What is the function of "te" here? Please help. Thanks.
'Te' is not a subject pronoun, but an indirect object pronoun because here 'ganar' is being used reflexively, since the subject, 'you,' has 'earned something for yourself.' The 'te' is the 'for yourself' part.
I guess the meaning is slightly different. Compare: "I bought myself a shirt" and "I bought a shirt myself". The first one means this shirt is for you, the second one means you bought it without anyone's help.
When you say "You have earned it", in English it is implied that you "got yourself some money by working". In Spanish, however, it seems that you have to use a reflexive verb.
You have won it. (accepted) The reflexive pronoun isn't commonly translated in the English.
So you're saying the sentence translates to “you won yourself it" instead of "you won it yourself." I wonder if that would have been accepted. And if you wanted to say the latter, would you use a ti mismo?
"You won yourself it" doesn't sound right in English. But a sentence such as "You won yourself a car" is correct English. It does not really have a different meaning from "You won a car," it just emphasizes that "you" won it for yourself.
kathryn.dr1.
I think basically, yes. "You won yourself it" is the way to think of the sentence. Then, just put it into good English. "You have won/gained it."
English does not have reflexive verbs in the way Spanish does.
And yes, I believe that "you yourself have won it" (or "you have won it yourself"). would be translated as: "Tú mismo lo has ganado." (or "lo has ganado tú mismo.")
Could a native Spanish speaker confirm or correct my translation attempt?
While thinking of the "te" as meaning "yourself" is a good way to help learn how to approach reflexive pronouns, they are not always translated directly that way.
Often, a reflexive pronoun will change the entire meaning of the verb.
https://www.thoughtco.com/verbs-that-change-meaning-in-reflexive-3079894
No, because "se" is the third-person reflexive, not for the second person. However, "tú" could be added to the sentence here: "Tú te lo has ganado.". The usted form, which would also be translated with "you", would be "(Usted) se lo ha ganado.".
1156
The reflexive form ganarse usually means "to deserve" or otherwise suggests extraordinary effort. It also is frequently used to refer to those who win a lottery or drawing. https://www.thoughtco.com/how-to-use-ganar-3079801
you have won it for yourself....marked wrong...should I report or am I wrong?
"You have won it for yourself" is very different from "You have won it." Do, don't report.
As Kirsten637255 below and her reference suggest, that may not be a good translation of the reflexive "ganarse"
I tried "You have won him" (?!) Would I have had to put "a él" or something like it at the end?
http://dictionary.reverso.net/spanish-english/ganarse http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-spanish/deserve http://dictionary.reverso.net/spanish-english/ganar http://context.reverso.net/translation/spanish-english/te+lo+has+ganado I think that without context you should use the most common meaning as there is another verb for "deserve". It really only means "you have deserved it" in the sense that "you have earned it". I commonly say "you deserve it." in present tense but am more likely to say "you have earned it." in the present perfect. I think you either deserve it or not, but all the tenses apply to earn. I mean "You have deserved it." what until now? Suddenly you might not deserve it any more? You deserved it sounds like you never had to do anything to deserve it and that would be outside the purview of this verb in which you deserve it because you earned it. What do you think?
The reference of Kirsten637255 above says that "to deserve" is a good translation of the reflexive, "ganarse".
However, tu.8zPhLD72zzoZN also makes good points.
"Earned" is probably a better choice here. http://www.spanishdict.com/translate/ganarse
If you were having a car race and your friend won, would you say "Te lo has ganado."? In English I would say "You won." and leave the it out. Not unlike "No lo sé." for "I don't know."
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With the male voice, there is no slow pronunciation. The slow button is the same as the normal button.
I said "you have beaten it". It marked me wrong so i clicked on ganado and one of the definitions was "beaten it"!
