"I was not expecting it from you."
Translation:Non me l'aspettavo da te.
14 Comments
Hello! I tried:
- "Non me lo aspettavo da te." and apparently I am wrong.
I checked on google and I got:
- 299,000 results for "Non me lo aspettavo da te"
- 270,000 results for "Non me l'aspettavo da te"
So I have a question: "Are both forms correct?"
1403
Actually, since I asked that question 5 months ago, I have found out the answer. When "aspettare" is used reflexively, it means "to expect" rather than "to wait for". However, I'm not sure why it's "me" instead of "mi". ;-)
Questo è utile. Even if you could explain the "me vs mi" thing I feel like clitics are a little beyond my full grasp for now. Grazie per la tua risposta. :-)
- 1403
Here's a simple explanation via this site: http://italian.about.com/library/fare/blfare168a.htm :
"There are many times when the same verb has both a direct object pronoun and indirect object pronoun. Usually, the indirect object pronoun precedes the direct object pronoun and the indirect object pronouns mi, ti, ci, and vi change to me, te, ce, and ve:
Renato porta il libro a me. (Renato brings the book to me.)
Renato me lo porta. (Renato brings it to me.)
Il professore insegna la lezione a voi. (The professor teaches the lesson to you.)
Il professore ve l'insegna. (The professor teaches you the lesson.) "
====
(Lynn speaking now...) So.... in other words, in this sentence:
"Renato me lo porta" (Renato brings it to me)" = "me" is used because it is the INDIRECT object along with another pronoun (lo) that is the direct object.
WHEREAS, in this sentence:
"Renato mi porta alla festa" (Renato brings me to the party)" = "mi" is used because it is the DIRECT object of the verb "portare".
====
Here are a few other resources. Some are useful, while others are at least amusing. ;-)
A funny Duo comments thread with a few good (and easy to understand) explanations: https://www.duolingo.com/comment/1899399
An interesting chart that is completely incomprehensible to me(!): http://duolingo.wikia.com/wiki/Italian_Skill:Clitic_Pronouns
An entire paper on the subject. While very good, I think some people do need to get a life: http://www.math.washington.edu/~mitchell/Misc/Italian/Grammar/pro.pdf -
A book called 'I Pronomi Italiani', which is part of an excellent series I've been studying from. I haven't received this one as of this writing, but the other books are so good I would probably recommend this one too: http://amzn.to/1W14ArU
