In "No le rías las gracias.", le is?

Question

Hi, I need your help.

Question 1: In "No le rías las gracias.", "le" acts as indirect object? a double object construction?

Question 2: In "Se le considera un autor importante."; "se" is impersonal subject? If "le" is direct object(instead of lo)? then "un autor importante" for what?

Question 3: In English,"I treat them my best friends." What is the counterpart expression for this structure in Spanish? Does it resemble that in Question 2?

Thank you very much. Lance

I treat them like my best friends. - 0074b507, Oct 2, 2010

Answer 1

Hi,

1) No le rías las gracias is the same that No le rías las gracias a él "Le" is indirect, "las gracias" is a direct object

2) Look link text (2.1.a)

**If you dont understand, tell me and I will explain

3) "Los trato como a mis mejores amigos" Los is a direct object.

Saludos,

Shouldn't it be "los trato como si fueran mis mejores amigos" or is "como a" a shortened form of "como si fueran" or something? Gracias. - jeezzle, Oct 2, 2010

your are right. "como si fueran" is more formal and more correct. We use "como a" like a shorten form in spoken language. Gracias por la nota - matujd, Oct 2, 2010

@matujd - .....*is* the same *as* ..... *short* form ..... - patch, Oct 2, 2010

thanks!!! :) - matujd, Oct 2, 2010

:) - patch, Oct 2, 2010

thanks patch:) - 00494d19, Oct 2, 2010

"Como a mis mejores amigos" is perfect Spanish. It is simply a short for "Los trato como trato a mis mejores amigos". Repeating the verb is stylistically unacceptable (unless you want to repeat for some reason), so it is supressed even in formal Spanish. - lazarus1907, Oct 2, 2010

Answer 2

Shouldn't it be "los trato como si fueran mis mejores amigos" or is "como a" a shortened form of "como si fueran" or something? Gracias

It depends. The original sentence is less than clear. "I treat them as though they were my best friends." (subjunctive) / "I treat them as (in the same way I treat) my friends." (indicative)