CH2 Para mí lo eres todo

Question

I wonder what the significance of the lo is in that sentence? Gracias. To me (for me) you are everything.

Answer 1

What is the significance of "it" in "I like it when you smile"? That "it" means "when you smile", so why using both? In Spanish we must say "I like when you smile"? Adding "it" looks ludicrous.

After fighting back, I'll give you an answer. The word "todo" is quite peculiar, since it is the only non-pronominal direct object that can appear along with its object pronoun (and other "objects") in a normal position. You can say:

Veo tu casa

La veo

buy you can't say "La veo tu casa", since the pronoun cannot be used if the object appears after the verb. However, with "todo" is different:

Veo todo

Lo veo

Lo veo todo

Here you can keep both at the same time no problem. While in "Lo eres todo (para mí), "todo" is not strictly speaking a direct object (don't ask, too technical), the behaviour is the same: both "lo" and "todo" are the same thing, like "it" and "when you smile".

I will accept this after I review it and your other response, very thorough to look through, don't want accept until I completely understand it all. Gracias.. - jeezzle, Nov 14, 2010

There are entire grammatical articles dedicated to this particular behavious of "todo" as a direct object. Feel free not to believe me, but I know what I am talking about. - lazarus1907, Nov 14, 2010

By "accept" I mean "click the accept button and be done with this forever". Not "believe" as I already believe you I just haven't accepted the question yet. - jeezzle, Nov 14, 2010

Silly misunderstanding, then. I do not even know what the "accept" button is for, hehe. - lazarus1907, Nov 14, 2010

Great explanation. Why fight it, jeezzle? You know Lazarus has the technically correct answer, while my answer is, "Because that's the way they say it." - KevinB, Nov 14, 2010

Great answer and good to be enlightened. I agree that this accept button is kind of peculiarity ;) - bomberapolaca, Nov 15, 2010

Fantastic Lazarus, yet again! I forget about the Accept button half the time. :( - galsally, Nov 15, 2010

Answer 2

Lo is providing the adjective todo with a ´noun status´ in that sentence.

It´s a grammatical peculiarity.

That's an interesting interpretation, but "todo" is regarded as a noun morphologically speaking anyway. - lazarus1907, Nov 14, 2010

Answer 3

Jeezzle, lo eres todo para nosotros aquí en Spanishdict. Nunca fallas en tus preguntas...siempre algo para meditar.

Hear hear! - galsally, Nov 15, 2010

Answer 4

In that statement, do you need the "lo"? Para mí, eres todo. Is that wrong? s

That's what I wonder. - jeezzle, Nov 14, 2010

It just doesn't sound as "complete" as with "lo". Think of English: you often use pronouns and prepositions that also seem unnecessary for non-English natives. - lazarus1907, Nov 15, 2010

Answer 5

It seems to me that lo is used in these situations to represent abstract concepts. Por ejjemplo: Es una mezcla de lo viejo y de lo nuevo. Concepts that can be interpreted differently by everybody.

Answer 6

To me "lo eres todo para mí" sounds more emphatic than "eres todo para mí" Both sound correct to me. But I'm wrong routinely in Spanish.

Answer 7

"For me you are all of it". Actually, I had no idea why lo was there until I read Lazarus' post. Now it makes sense.

Answer 8

I think because lo is what the todo is all about. "You are everything to me."

By the time I got mine posted there were 2 other answers to you can ignore it. - Echoline, Nov 14, 2010