El or la agua direct object pronouns

Question

Prefiero hacer ejercicio en la mañana. No lo prefiero hacer por la tarde. Siempre traigo agua al gimnasio. Lo necesito para sobrevivir en el gimnasio con mi entrenador personal.

I prefer to exercise in the morning. I do not prefer to do it in the afternoon. I always bring water to the gym. I need it to survive in the gym with my personal trainer.

Here are some few things I want to understand:

Lo or la as the direct object pronoun for agua?

Which is more commonly said in Spanish speaking places: No lo prefiero hacer o no prefiero hacerlo?

Por vs en? Is "en" ever used?

By the way, I think you have a conjugation clash with "necesitamos" and "I need." - jellonz, Sep 28, 2016

Oh right! Thanks for noticing that! I will fix that - Ramonaspiker, Sep 29, 2016

Answer 1

I'll have a go Ramona (although your Spanish is better than mine).

I'd say "la" over "lo" because "agua" is a feminine noun.

The "lo prefiero hacer" vs "prefiero hacerlo" I' think comes down to regional/personal preference (based on what I have gleaned from native speakers).

"Por" vs "en": I think both are fine. Perhaps "por" carries more a sense of "during" but I think both work fine in the sense of our English temporal "in."

All of this stands to be corrected by a native speaker of course

Well thank you very much! :) - Ramonaspiker, Sep 29, 2016

Answer 2

I agree with jellonz: La necesito para sobrevivir.

The only time we use masculine gender with agua is when using an article in singular: El agua / Las aguas.

In this case of "La necesito para sobrevivir en el gimnasio" I would only say en and not por. Of course there are other times when we can use either one, ie: Ella anda por / en la casa media descarada pero en el trabajo se porta muy bien.

Thanks a bunch! For the por vs en, I was referring to por la mañana and en la mañana, but thanks anyways! - Ramonaspiker, Sep 29, 2016