2 Vote

Al menos es lo que pienso yo.
At least that's what I think.

I have seen and heard this construction before but I do not understand why you need "yo" at the end of the sentence. Would someone please explain?

Now a handy hint...

A lightbulb sometimes blinks on when I discover a trick to help me remember a spanish word that I have trouble with. I always seem to forget which word(s) to use for "this" and "that" but now I use my trick and it is no longer a problem:

The words this and that have an order by using the "i" and the "a". Therefore that comes before this. Now we will put the spanish words for this and that in a similar order. Three letters come before four letters so therefore "esa" comes before "esta" and "ese" comes before "este". Now you have the key as to which one to use.

Posted Feb 11, 2012
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I think the "yo" is there to make the sentence easier to understand. - Jasmine101 Feb 11, 2012 flag

I would say it is there to add emphasis. :) - NikkiRivera Feb 11, 2012 flag

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2 Answers

2 Vote

NikkiRivera

Al menos es lo que pienso yo.

At least that's what I think.

I would say it is there to add emphasis.

-- From about.spanish.com

For emphasis: In English, unlike Spanish, we often use verbal stress to emphasize a pronoun. For example, if a strong emphasis is placed on the "I" in "I am going to the supermarket," the understood meaning of the sentence might be "I (and not somebody else) am going to the supermarket" or possibly "I am going to the supermarket (and I'm proud of myself)." In Spanish, one could similarly add an emphasis by using the grammatically unnecessary pronoun: Yo voy al supermercado. Similarly, haz tú lo que tú quieres could be understood as "you do what you want (and see if I care)."