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estar seguro que sí - Queísmo |
In most of the Spanish-speaking world it is common to omit the preposition de after certain constructions when they are followed by a subordinate clause linked with the conjunction que. This is sometimes referred to as queísmo:1
"queísmo: la supresión indebida de una preposición (generalmente de) delante de la conjunción que, cuando la preposición viene exigida por alguna palabra del enunciado". DPD
The following constructions are some of the most frequently seen examples; the RAE recommends keeping the de in carefully written Spanish.
Darse cuenta de que, acordarse de que, estar seguro de que, estar convencido de que, alegrarse de que, ser consciente de que, olvidarse de que, enterarse de que.
One way to see if you are dealing with queísmo is to replace the subordinate clause with a noun or pronoun, e.g. me acuerdo que me ayudó a aprobar = me acuerdo eso?? (me acuerdo de eso).
The following cases are worth mentioning apart:
1) Estar seguro should always be followed by the preposition de, but it is commonly omitted in spoken Spanish. This is probably partly due to the confusion with seguro used as an adverb (without estar), which doesn't take the preposition de. Note: as an adjective seguro agrees with the noun; this is not the case when used as an adverb.
-Estoy seguro/segura de que vas a ganar — I'm sure you'll win ['Estoy seguro/segura que vas a ganar' is common but incorrect]
→Seguro que vas a ganar — You're sure/bound to win ['Seguro vas a ganar' is also heard, especially in Latin America]
→→Vas a ganar seguro —You're going to win for sure / You're definitely going to win
-¿Crees que me van a contratar? — Do you think they're going to hire me?
-Seguro que sí /Estoy seguro/segura de que sí — Yes, I'm sure they are ['Estoy seguro que sí' is common but incorrect]
-Estoy aburrida. Quiero ir contigo — -I'm bored. I want to go with you
-¿Seguro?/¿Estás segura? — -Are you sure?
2) As discussed previously, acordarse and darse cuenta are frequently heard without de, and even sometimes written in the press. In fact, in spoken Spanish acordarse is actually more common without de when followed by certain elements, such as cuando, where saying de makes the phrase a bit of a mouthful. Recordar may be the more "correct" option if one wishes to omit the preposition de.
-Me acuerdo de (recuerdo) que cuando le dije que no quería estar con él, se enfadó mogollón — I remember when I told him I didn't want to be with him he got really mad
-Me acuerdo de (recuerdo) cuando llegamos a casa — I remember when we got home
-Nos dimos cuenta de que era tarde — We realized it was late
In spontaneous speech, however, this omission of de can often be explained by the fact that the speaker is actually expressing two separate clauses linked by the conjunction que (used to introduce an explanation, clarification or reason –see cunjunción causal explicativa).
-¿Te acuerdas de aquella noche que te tiraste al guiri ese? -Sí, me acuerdo... que yo iba vestido de negro y...
-¿Has visto cómo Juan te evita? -Claro, me he dado cuenta... que no quiere hablar conmigo por algún motivo
3) Alegrarse is another common culprit for queísmo, partly due to the confusion with the non-pronominal version. In fact, omission of the de is so common that if you said, 'Me alegro que te guste,' no one would bat an eyelid.
-Me alegra que te guste — I'm glad you like it
→Me alegro de que te guste — I'm glad you like it
In Español-Avanzado Articles
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-estar seguro de que / seguro que - queísmo-
