Are there differences between «deber a » and «atribuir a»
Are there differences between «deber a » and «atribuir a»
I know both phases can be used to explain the reason.
Are these sentences correct?
Pedro debe su éxito a su suerte. Pedro atribuye su éxito a su suerte.
La gente atribuye ese accidente a la falta de responsabilidad de los guardias. La gente debe ese accidente a la falta de responsabilidad de los guardias.
What's the differences between two phases?
4 Answers
The differences are subtle, but fortunately they are almost identical across the two languages.
Pedro debe su éxito a su suerte. This could be the opinion of another person who says:
Pedro OWES his success to his luck. Pedro might disagree with this though and think that his hard work brought him success.
On the other hand, "Pedro atribuye su éxito a su suerte." means that Pedro himself says so and attributes his success to luck.
Pretty easy when you think of it this way.
I voted for you because you filled out your profile and I think the question is interesting. The member "kmartin69" says they mean the same thing and are interchangeable but I know nothing of his/her credentials or credibility because there is no profile information.
EleRo seems to speak only about the verb deber and it's uses. I think he could clarify if "Pedro debe su éxito a su suerte." and "Pedro atribuye su éxito a su suerte." say the same thing. ¿Son iguales en lo que dicen los dos oraciones o hay diferencia en significado?
I for one will be interested in seeing if this is made more clear.
"Deber a" doesn't sound good. "Debido a", "Debe a" or "debe", is used when you explain why you, or someone, do something. Also, it helps to explain why something happened "Debido al compromiso con su trabajo, Andrés es el trabajador del mes" (due to the commitment with his work, Andrés is the worker of the month. (I don't know if you have any special word for this recognition. Is given to someone who does a great job, the best, each month. "Andrés debe su éxito, al compromiso con su trabajo". (Andrés owes his success to his commitment with his work) Feel free to ask any doubt that you have. Siéntete libre de preguntar cualquier duda que tengas.
The second sentence about the accident sounds funny to me. Generally, I would say "deber" mean "owes," in that context while "atribuir" means attributes. So...they aren't totally interchangeable at all times.
