This sentence has got me confused.

Question

"Me mataron a uno en casa y ahora me vienen a matar a éste" So this translates to "I killed one at home and now come to kill it". This makes no sense to me because "me mataron" means they killed me. I have never seen a sentence set up with the third person THEY have a meaning of I , very strange. What am I missing here? Also would't you say this "Maté a uno en casa y ahora vienen a matarlo"

Answer 1

"Me mataron a uno en casa y ahora me vienen a matar a éste"

"They (unmentioned person or people) killed someone (a person) at home and now they are coming to kill this guy". The me indicates the speaker who is affected by the killing, but is not the person killed or about to be killed. He could be the homeowner or someone else in the home - more context is needed to know this.

This is the answer. - Daniela2041, Aug 6, 2016

:) - FELIZ77, Aug 7, 2016

Answer 2

I am tired to try to explain this in English , so I'll try to explain it in Spanish.

"Me mataron a uno en casa y ahora me vienen a matar a éste.

"Me", aqui indica pertenencia, o cercanía afectiva del que está hablando. No es parte del sujeto ni del objeto indirecto.

En la frase el sujeto es ellos, y el objeto indirecto es uno ( el , ella, o mascota .)

Ellos mataron a uno en casa es casi lo mismo que decir,ellos me mataron a uno en casa, solo que sin contexto añadido podemos suponer que en la segunda oración a quien mataron era alguien cercano a el o ella como por ejemplo un hijo, y que además fué en su casa.

(Ellos) mataron a uno en casa y ahora vienen a matar a éste. They killed one at home/or in their home) and now they come to kill this one. With out context we can't suposse anything.

(Ellos) me mataron a uno en casa y ahora me vienen a matar a éste. They killed one ( of my sons,pets) at home, and now come to kill this (son ,pet).

We can easily assume the words into parentheses

Answer 3

The translation "I killed one at home and now come to kill it" it's wrong. It's more like "They killed one at home and now they come to kill this one". The sentence it's a little weird, but it could refer to pets "Me mataron a uno(un perro) en casa y ahora me vienen a matar a éste(otro perro)", makes more sense.

Welcome to SpanishDict. Please add your language proficiency to your profile. - rac1, Aug 6, 2016

Hello fcocardenas, welcome to Spanishdict :) I agree with your translation...it makes more sense than the questioner's version ;) - FELIZ77, Aug 6, 2016

...especially considering that 'mataron' signifies that the subject doing the action is they (or you) 3rd person plural - FELIZ77, Aug 6, 2016

Answer 4

Its not referring to pets, from doing a little book digging, i think they are using a formal style. Thats all I can come up with. Thanks for the answer but that still does not make sense to me, mataron is they killled.

The answer given is all I can see in it either- they killed one (on me) at home, and now they are coming (on me) to kill this one." It does sound a bit literary. :) - bosquederoble, Aug 6, 2016

As fcocardenas notes, asesinar would be more usual if you are talking about someone murdering another person. :) - bosquederoble, Aug 6, 2016