Me place informarle

Question

Me place informarle

I am pleased to inform you ...

but why is it not:- me pazco informarle

This is very similar to my last question so apologies but I don't get it.

Answer 1

Placer is similar to gustar. It doesn't mean "to be pleased", it means "to please". So Me place literally means "it pleases me". Me plazco would mean "I please myself".

Answer 2

complacer

me complace anunciar… -> I am pleased to announce…

"Me complace anunciar..." sounds, to me, a lot better than "Me place anunciar..." - lazarus1907, Sep 17, 2010

I agree. I was just working with the original question. - KevinB, Sep 17, 2010

Answer 3

but why is it not:- me pazco informarle

This is very similar to my last question so apologies but I don't get it.

Simple: In Spanish we don't usually use verbs in the first person when we don't chose the feelings, but we are affected by things that happen. You don't decide that you are going to like something for 3 minutes or that you are going to be surprised or shocked in a couple of minutes. These sort of actions which affect you rather than being the result of your control, are expressed like "gustar" in Spanish, ie. the surprise/shock/feeling is the subject, while you are just the guy who experiences it. You don't decide that you are going to be pleased when you finish your sentence; this just (may) happens to you.

As a result, "informing the other person about..." is the subject of the sentence. This thing "pleases" (place) you. In English: "It pleases me that..."