Help with Commands

Question

I'm learning Affirmative Familiar Singular Imperatives. Otherwise known to me as "the tú command" because the formal name is overwhelming!

My book shows these examples for Direct Objects Pronouns:

¡Ciérrala!
¡Cómela!
¡Ábrela!
¡Hazlo!
¡Ponlo aquí!

My question is - how do I know whether it's a "la" or "lo"? Logically, it would depend on the object but they neglected to mention that in the book so I want to make sure. If someone can explain this to me in a very simple way I'd appreciate it so much. ¡Muchas Gracias!

Answer 1

You're right on.
Close it (the door) (la puerta).
¡Ciérrala!
Close it (the book) (el libro)
¡Ciérralo!

Answer 2

CalvoViejo - thank you!

CalvoViejo said:

You're right on. Close it (the door) (la puerta).

¡Ciérrala!

Close it (the book) (el libro)

¡Ciérralo!

>

Answer 3

If the object is feminine, use "la"; if it is masculine, or something for which you don't have a name, or you can't think of one, use "lo":

Ahí tienes huevos y aceite para la tortilla. Hazla.
Ahí está el abrigo. Póntelo.
Entra frío por la ventana. Ciérrala.
Lo que dice tu profesora es importante, así que hazlo.
¡Qué guapa es! Mírala.

Answer 4

Ahí tienes huevos y aceite para la tortilla. Hazla.

I was puzzled by this for a minute, until I realized that you are talking about Spanish tortillas (omelettes), rather than the real tortillas. haha

Waiting to be flamed,

James

Answer 5

Jame:

I was puzzled by this for a minute, until I realized that you are talking about Spanish tortillas (omelettes), rather than the real tortillas. haha

I'm not gonna fall for it, James, don't worry. Any food circular (or similar) and flat in shape can be regarded as torta or tortilla, The latter is just a diminutive of "torta", and in Spain is used to differentiate the floury that we normally call "torta" one from the eggy one. By the way, the one with just eggs is called "tortilla francesa", and the one with eggs and potatoes, "tortilla española", a term which has been in the language for centuries. Etymologically it means bread anyway.

Answer 6

The first time I visited Spain, I went to a restaurant and saw tortilla española on the menu. Not knowing much about Spanish cuisine, but having been told that Mexican-style tortillas weren't eaten there, I was surprised and delighted to find it on the menu. Imagine my disappointment when the food arrived! It was good, but it wasn't what I had my heart (and stomach) set on.

When the conquistadores saw the flat bread that the native Mexicans ate, I guess they just used the Spanish word that most closely approximated it. I wonder what the word for tortilla is in Nauhuatl or Mayan.

Answer 7

James Santiago said:

When the conquistadores saw the flat bread that the native Mexicans ate, I guess they just used the Spanish word that most closely approximated it.

I doubt it: the original word, "torta", is Late Latin (before going to America), and it means "a kind of cake made from flour", from Greek "artós" (bread).

Answer 8

I doubt it: the original word, "torta", is Late Latin (before going to America), and it means "a kind of cake made from flour", from Greek "artós" (bread).

Right, I understand that, but wasn't a torta in Spain pretty distinct from the tortillas eaten in Mexico? I don't know anything about 16th-century Spanish cuisine.

Given the Moorish presence in Spain up until the late 1400's, and given that flat breads are a staple of Middle-Eastern diets, I would have thought that Spanish from that time period would have had a word for something similar to tortillas. Maybe something like what we call pita bread in English.

Answer 9

James Santiago said:

Given the Moorish presence in Spain up until the late 1400's, and given that flat breads are a staple of Middle-Eastern diets, I would have thought that Spanish from that time period would have had a word for something similar to tortillas. Maybe something like what we call pita bread in English.

The DRAE from 1739 sayas:

torta
Masa de pan dispuesta, y formada en figura redonda, en que se echan varios ingredientes según su calidad,... y echándolo todo incorporado, se cuece en el horno a fuego lento.

Answer 10

Masa de pan dispuesta, y formada en figura redonda, en que se echan varios ingredientes según su calidad,... y echándolo todo incorporado, se cuece en el horno a fuego lento.

It doesn't mention a lack of leavening, which is sort of a key characteristic of tortillas versus European breads, but if the torta defined above does contain yeast, it sounds pretty much like what we would call a cake (or a round loaf of leavened bread), which is a very different thing from a tortilla (Mexican style).

Answer 11

Hey! What about Erin? Looks like another hijacked thread.
We're going to have to do something about all the hijacking on this site.
Erin, my original answer still stands. You were right in your logic, pita bread notwithstanding.

Answer 12

Haha, Thanks Calvo! I'm used to it, I know when one or the other replies that shortly after the other one will as well and then the debate ensues. But it's ok - I can edit. tortilla, torta.... tomato, tomahto

CalvoViejo said:

Hey! What about Erin? Looks like another hijacked thread. We're going to have to do something about all the hijacking on this site.

Erin, my original answer still stands. You were right in your logic, pita bread notwithstanding.

>

Answer 13

As I've said before, hijacking a thread is when someone opens a new thread (completely different topic) by posting to an existing thread. That has not happened here. Threads naturally evolve, finding their way down the hill like water, and often branch off in different directions. This is very common and to be expected. Talking about a question often brings up other questions, and I don't think it would make sense to open a new thread every time that happens, because the questions are often related, even if only tangentially.

Answer 14

Were everyone to stick strictly to answering the original question, it would be a far less interesting (and informative) forum.

Answer 15

James Santiago wrote: ''When the conquistadores saw the flat bread that the native Mexicans ate, I guess they just used the Spanish word that most closely approximated it. I wonder what the word for tortilla is in Nauhuatl or Mayan.''

I have two bids: in maya ''ua''
and in tzotzil, a dialect similar to nahuátl; ''baj''

University of Yucatán dictionario says ''waah'' for tortilla and ''wah'' for bread.