"Que" used as "You"??
I've been watching alot of Spanish videos and movies lately and I can't help but notice "Que" being used in some sentences as "You" sort of.
For example:
"Necesito que me hagas un paro".
I understand that more or less it means "I need you to cover up for me." So is Que,"You" in this context or am I missing something?
1 Answer
The ways of expressing things in different languages does not allow for a direct one-to-one correlation of each word in all cases. Because English and Spanish are so closely related, it actually correlates well in many cases, so it seems strange to people when it doesn't.
Words can be left implicit, but which words can be done so vary from language to language. In English we often drop "that" where in Spanish they don't. In Spanish they often drop subject pronouns, whereas in English we don't- to the point we use "it" in cases where we don't even know what it refers to, as in "it is raining" - "está lloviendo". Only two words in Spanish, the "it" whatever it is is not put in Spanish.
"Necesito que me hagas un paro".
"Necesito que (tú) me hagas un paro".
Necesito= I need (the I is implicit in the conjugation of necesitar)
que= that
me hagas= you do for me (The you is implicit in the conjugation of hacer)
un paro- a favor (this is Mexican slang, see below)
In English we say I need you to do me a favor, but that is not the exactly the way it is said in Spanish- with necesitar you have to separate it with que and make it a separate (subjunctive) clause- I need that you do me a favor.
http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/hacer-un-paro.428242/
Tengo un amigo en mi trabajo que es de Mexico. El me pidio si pudiera hacerle un paro. Me dijo que es lo mismo que hacer un favor. ?es verdad? porque siempre me estan tomando el pelo y no lo encontre en el diccionario. ?Esa es una frase conocida?
Es correcto. Es una expresión utilizada por algunas gentes (principalmente jóvenes), que significa "favor", pero no la vas a encontrar en el diccionario porque es "Mexican slang"
