Me los compré para mí

Question

Why is 'me' in this sentence? Encontré unos guantes muy finos y me los compré para mí. Is it because 'me' is a redundant IDOP? I bought (for me) them. '

Answer 1

ok, I think I understand, thanks.

lazarus1907 said:

The sentence would be perfect without that "me". However, although using it is not incorrect, it is avoided in formal Spanish.

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Answer 2

The sentence would be perfect without that "me". However, although using it is not incorrect, it is avoided in formal Spanish.

Answer 3

Would the sentence be correct (just less dramatic) without the 'me'?

lazarus1907 said:

It is not an indirect object pronoun. The technical term, if you are interested, is a "dativo".

In this particular sentence, it is completely redundant, but the sentence will not sound the same without it. That "me" in general simply suggests that the outcome of the action has an emotive impact in you. Particularly, here you are saying implicitly that it is for you, but because you really want it, because you want to keep it. Without that "me", the sentence sounds simply like an objective statement, without any emotional overtones.

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Answer 4

It is not an indirect object pronoun. The technical term, if you are interested, is a "dativo".

In this particular sentence, it is completely redundant, but the sentence will not sound the same without it. That "me" in general simply suggests that the outcome of the action has an emotive impact in you. Particularly, here you are saying implicitly that it is for you, but because you really want it, because you want to keep it. Without that "me", the sentence sounds simply like an objective statement, without any emotional overtones. These datives are use practically only in spoken Spanish, obviously.

Another example:

Mi hija se casa
Mi hija se me casa

Both sentences say "My daughter is getting married", but the second one is expressing the emotion that the mother feels when she thinks of her daughter going away from her. That "me" directs part of the attention also to her (me), because it affects her emotionally. It is a colloquial expressive tool that it is almost untranslatable.