Tengo que refrescarme las ideas

Question

Tengo que refrescarme - I need to get a breath of fresh air. Tengo que refrescar. - I need to cool down. Tengo que refrescarme las ideas. - ??

Gracias.

Answer 1

Tengo que refrescarme las ideas. This is obviously a colorful way of saying "I need to give my ideas more consideration," but I would prefer to say "Tengo que refrescar mis ideas."

Answer 2

Depends on the context. Both of the above are acceptable.

It can also mean need a cold drink, especially a cola.

Why las ideas? - jeezzle, Mar 5, 2011

Answer 3

In Spanish, when we do something for ourselves, especially when it refers to the body, we state it a little differently. Examples:

I'm going to wash my hands. = Voy a lavarme las manos./Me voy a lavar las manos. (Instead of Voy a lavar mis manos.)

Take your hat off. = Quítate la gorra. (Instead of Quita tu gorra.)

He has to brush his teeth. = Tiene que lavarse la boca. (Instead of Tiene que lavar su boca.)

I changed my sheets. = Me cambié las sábanas. (Instead of Cambié mis sábanas.)

This is not to say the the "Instead of" sentences in parentheses are incorrect; we just don't usually say things that way. Just as in English, although "I will wash myself the hands" is not an "incorrect" sentence, we just don't say things that way.

I know all that stuff, I'm actually fairly advanced, but this seems like an odd use no because of me / las ideas, but how does refresh ideas? Do your ideas get unfresh? Gracias. - jeezzle, Mar 5, 2011

I guess ... "old ideas" "new ideas." A good translation would be, "I need some fresh ideas." It could be that all the ideas I've tried haven't worked, so I need some fresh (new) ones, kind of like refreshing my computer screen. - hhmdirocco, Mar 5, 2011