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dativo de interés |
1) The dativo de interés, represented by the indirect object pronoun (le,les), can be used to denote the person or thing benefiting from, or losing out as a result of, an event. The dativo de interés can usually be left out and the sentence still makes sense, although it will lose some of its meaning.1
Dativo de interés: "dativo que no está exigido por el verbo y designa a la persona beneficiada o perjudicada por la acción de este". RAE
-Se me cayó el vaso — I dropped the glass [With pronominal verb (caerse)]
-Se me escapó el canario — The canary got away (from me)
-Enciéndele la luz — Turn the light on for him
-Me buscó una habitación — He looked for a room for me
-Solía robar dinero a sus padres — She used to steal money from her parents
→Solía robarles dinero — She used to steal money from (off) them
-Nos llovió — It rained on us / We got rained on
2) As discussed previously, occasionally there may be ambiguity as to whether the person is losing out, i.e. the 'giver', or benefiting from, i.e. the 'receiver' of, an event. The following joke with the verb 'comprar' illustrates this perfectly:
Chiste
María le dice a su esposo Pepe:
-Pepe, llevamos 20 años casados y nunca me has comprado nada.Y él le contesta:
-Pero, María, ¿tú qué vendías?
-(Le) compré un reloj (al hombre) — I bought a watch from/for the man [Ambiguo: origen p.ej. que trabaja en la joyería; destinatario p.ej. por su cumpleaños]
3) As discussed previously, with certain verbs such as romper, perder, and olvidar, by using the pronominal version with the dativo de interés the speaker may be shirking responsibility or intention (sometimes called 'accidental Se'). English often doesn't differentiate between the two.3
-Se me rompió el vaso — I broke the glass (by accident, it broke on me, I had nothing to do with it)
→Rompí el vaso — I broke the glass (possible intention or responsibility)
- Se me perdió la cartera en el metro — I lost my wallet on the metro ('it got lost on me'; not my fault)
→Perdí dinero en la bolsa— I lost money on the stock market (my responsibility)
-Se me ha olvidado todo lo que me dijiste. Son muchos pasos — I've forgotten everything you told me. There are many steps (unintentionally; my memory has failed me)
→No he olvidado todo lo que me hiciste. Sufrí mucho — I've not forgotten all the things you did to me. I suffered a lot (intentionally, responsibility; possibly holding a grudge)
4) As discussed previously, the dativo simpatético/posesivo is very similar, but in this case the pronoun denotes possession and the person being affected. In this case, the pronoun is a dativo argumental and cannot be left out without changing the meaning.
-Le duele la pierna — Her leg hurts
-Se me cayó el pelo — My hair fell out [Posesivo; no se puede omitir sin cambiar el significado]
→Se (me) cayó el vaso — I dropped the glass [De interés; se puede omitir sin apenas cambiar el significado (≈it fell)]
-Se me empapó el pantalón — My trousers got soaked [Posesivo; si omitimos 'me' ya no se habla de 'mi' pantalón, sino de 'un' pantalón]
→Se (me) empapó el suelo — The floor got soaked [De interés; se puede omitir sin apenas cambiar el significado]
-Se le cerraron los ojos — Her eyes closed
→Cerró los ojos — She closed her eyes [On purpose: véase definite article for possession]
-Se me ha roto una uña — I've broken a nail / One of my nails has broken [Considered more or less spontaneous]
→Me he roto una uña [More their fault; reflexive]
→→Me he roto una pierna/un brazo — I've broken my leg [Ojo: when it is a leg or other body part, the pronominal form with the dative isn't usually used, since it is not normally considered spontaneous but rather the result of an action performed by the person (reflexive)]
5) Very similar to the dativo de interés is the so-called dativo ético. This is where the person is somehow affected indirectly by, or interested in, the event — although not necessarily losing out or benefiting from it.
As with the dativo de interés, these pronouns can be left out, but the change in meaning is usually more subtle with the dativo ético. This is especially common in colloquial Spanish, where you will sometimes hear some rather odd-sounding constructions that don't have a clear translation in English.3
Dativo ético: "Pronombre dativo no requerido por el significado del verbo que se usa con intención afectiva para aludir a la persona que se ve afectada indirectamente por la acción verbal". RAE
"Oraciones como 'no me canse usted al niño' sugieren, como se ha explicado, cierta relación afectiva entre los referentes de la expresiones que se subrayan. [...] El dativo 'me' puede designar aquí al individuo que se ve perjudicado por la acción que se menciona (dativo de interés), pero también aquel que desea implicarse en ella, mostrando preocupación, cercanía, y otras formas de relación afectiva hacia esa persona (dativo ético)".4
-Mi hijo no me come — My son isn't eating (this worries or affects me)
-El hombre se nos va a quedar enganchado en la valla — The man is going to get caught on the fence (this in some way affects or interests us)
-Se nos van los niños — The children are leaving us
-No me seas quejica, anda — Don't be such a whiner, will you!
-No te me pongas chulo — Don't get cocky on me!
-No me le des de comer al niño — Don't give the kid any food (do me a favour)
-Se nos ha muerto el perro — Our/The dog has died (on us) [Dativo posesivo (es nuestro perro) o ético (nos afecta)]
-Se nos está haciendo mayor — She's growing up/getting older (on us) [See se me hace (que)]
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En La Prensa
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Por lo que se ve, el presidente se nos está volviendo peleón con la Administración del Estado. La Verdad-Jul 2, 2017
In Español-Avanzado Articles
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-dativo de interés / ético | objeto / complemento indirecto-
