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- "A ellos no les gustan los ca…
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I don't understand why both "A ellos" and "les" are needed here. Some sentences seem to require the double reference to the indirect object while other sentences do not require this. Very frustrating and confusing. I think I'll have to go outside DuoLingo to really be able to understand this element of Spanish.
It is redundant but a part of Spanish grammar. It is added as to not confuse, as the pronoun les could mean " to you formal" or to them. So to put the "a ellos", clarifies it to mean "to them", If you were in a conversation with someone, and you knew already to whom they were referring, you might not add the "a ellos"
No, really, it is not Spanish grammar. The rule is when one uses the verb gustar then gusta or gustan requires and is Mandatory that an indirect object pronoun is required.
Sometimes it is redundant if you name the indirect object anyway such as 'a ellos'; 'a ellos' clarifies the indirect object pronoun, but it is a prepositional phase used as a indirect object.
'beben la leche is a totally different situation. La leche is the direct object noun.
I have found the following tutorial very helpful: http://www.studyspanish.com/lessons/gustar.htm
It's important to not try and translate too directly here. In English, "vacation" or "vacations" is "generic," while "a vacation" and "the vacation" are more specific. However in Spanish, nouns don't really walk around "naked," so "las vacaciones" is used to refer to the generic concept of vacationing."
It's important to try and think of the nonverbal meaning of a sentence, then how to express that meaning in the target language as you translate. The more advanced you get, the more word-for-word translation will start to abandon you.
The subject of the sentence is NOT "ellos". The subject of the sentence is a plural "it", but "it" is never used in Spanish. "Los caballos" identifies who "it" is. What this sentence is really saying is, To them, it doesn't please them, the horses. Try to understand that this is how the Spanish mind works with the language. That why we translate thoughts, not just word for word. Gustarse doesn't translate as "to like", it translates more literally as " (it) pleases someone". Now you still have to identify WHO it pleases, and WHAT is pleasing. "A ellos" identifies who it is pleasing to, and since it is a reflexive verb, it has to have a direct object, in this case, "los" referring back to "ellos". And you have to identify what is pleasing - "los caballos". Not sure if I explained this adequately. Suffice it to say, some things are better said in English- ha!
'a ellos' is the indirect object and the verb is gustar which always requires an indirect object pronoun and it is not reflexive. The third person reflective pronoun is 'se'."Les' is the third person plural and without context, many people use 'a ellos' so as not to confuse the meaning of the pronoun 'les' which could mean 'to them' or 'to you (plural).
The use of the indirect object pronoun is redundant and is something that English speakers to not expect. The subject of the sentence is "los cabollos'. So the literal translation would be:
'a ellos' =to them
les =to them
los cabollos=the horses
no gustan= is not pleasing to
So, the horses are not pleasing to them
In English we just translate : They do not like horses. and 'They' is the subject
This is my first time to comment on the learning sessions. This session is very confusing to me, and I am not sure if I will get through it without a lot of peeking. Of perfect sense to me is "no les gustan los caballos". I checked on a Spanish dictionary, and it came up with this solution. Learning is a challenge without this added complexity! Otherwise ... so far ,so good.
Ok the translation is " they don't like horses". How would you say "they don't like the horses"? Is it the same? Just wondering
Also this topic is so hard. This is my fourth attempt at this lesson but I'm about to complete it! Wooooo! Needed a lot of peeks though. Would be good if Duolingo recorded your peeks. Maybe it does.