Lesson 1.13 ¿Qué dice Paralee en momento 0:35?

Question

Nadie le gusta una casa sucia.

Noone likes a dirty house.

I think I found it correct through the dictionary but I am not sure. And that le I guess is something I am not familiar with yet. What is the grammatical name for that me/te/se/le and do you think it will be covered in next lessons?

Answer 1

I don't know if this has been commented on before (there are several threads on lesson errors), but that sentence looks like it should be "A nadie le gusta una casa sucia."

A dirty house isn't pleasing to anyone. (English doesn't employ the double negative)

This is an interesting sentence. Normally with negative words if the negative word comes before the verb the sentence can be affirmative. If the negative word follows the verb the sentence must be in the negative.

Nadie va a comprender esto.

No va a comprender nadie esto.

I'm wondering if that still hold true in this intransitive sentence where the subject follows the verb?

I wish a native would reply to what sounds correct. Must this be a negative sentence? or is the fact that the le and a nadie precede the verb still mean that the sentence can be affirmative.

A dirty house isn't pleasing to no one. (Spanish's double negative)???

The "le, te, me" etc. are object pronouns

Just to add some more information: both the le and a nadie are indirect objects of the verb. Gustar in these ( to like) sentences is intransitive (there is no direct object) The subject often follows the verb. The subject in this sentence is "a dirty house" le is the i.o.p. and the prepositional phrase a nadie describes who the le refers to and is optional grammatically. The i.o.p (le) is mandatory.

Sorry this is way out of my league lol but A is a negative word or an expression? - neslita, Dec 28, 2009

nadie, ninguno, nada are examples of negative words in Spanish. Sorry, I know I'm speaking about things above your level. - 0074b507, Dec 28, 2009

The preposition "a" can be thought of as part of a clarifying preostional phrase. It is not the personal "a" because that only applies to direct objects which we don't have in these intransitive sentences. - 0074b507, Dec 28, 2009

Don't let me confuse you. I addressing other readers. Have we answered your questions? - 0074b507, Dec 28, 2009

Si si :) gracias. - neslita, Dec 28, 2009

Answer 2

A nadie le gusta una casa sucia.

The painfully literal translation ("painful" because the result, while reflecting the Spanish syntax, would not be said by an English speaker) is "To nobody is pleasing a dirty house." Better (but still a bit old-fashioned) would be "A dirty house is pleasing to no one." As already pointed out, the likely equivalent would be "Nobody likes a dirty house."

Quentin's digression into the issue of double negatives doesn't really apply to the sentence, as given, but would apply to the equivalent (in Spanish) expression "No le gusta a nadie una casa sucia."

What is the grammatical name for that me/te/se/le and ...

"le" is (as was mentioned) an indirect object pronoun. The others can be either direct or indirect pronouns (one needs to decide on the basis of the syntax rather than the form of the word).

Answer 3

No she is saying "Nobody likes a dirty house." I hope this helps.

Answer 4

The "le, te, me" etc. are object pronouns referring in this case to "nobody". I hope this helps. And yes, continue with the lessons as they will be covered!!