"Tu te lo sabes" vs. "Tu lo sabes"

The original complete phrase is: "No es necesario, porque tú te lo sabes y haces de guía turística." What does the "te" in the first construction add to the meaning? I see this a lot, too: "él se lo comió", etc.

"Tú te los sabes" vs. "Tú lo sabes" [I hate it when I make spelling mistakes - and I can't change the title...] I've come across this construction fairly often. "La comida, ella se la comió toda." I don't understand what the "te" or the "se" in these two examples adds to the meaning of the phrase. Any ideas?

Hola Steven, In a lesson from Learning Spanish Like Crazy : Ella se comió mi algodón dulce. When comer is used in it's relexive form this would translate to "She has eaten UP my cotton candy." Saberse can mean to know something completely or by heart. Perhaps that is the case here depending on the context. Saludos, Ricardo

Hola Ricardo, Perfect. Your explanation gives me insight into exactly what is being said and for what purpose the reflexive is used for in these contexts. "No es necesario, porque tú te lo sabes y haces de guía turística." The context of the above phrase is that Mauricio didn't read up prior to visiting an historical site but his friend did. So he essentially says to her, "Hey, you know this stuff backwards and forwards, so you play tourist guide!" Muchas gracias, Ricardo! Steven

What is the reflexive form of a verb? I am not familiar with it. But its okay, I hope to learn it later. I have seen te and lo and the addition of se in a word, but no idea how to use it. Oh I know, I'll ask Diana when I see her.

A phrase is reflexive when the subject and the object are the same person or thing. The action of the verb is reflected back onto the subject. The one we learned first is: Me llamo Dan. I call myself Dan. Me, te, se, nos, and os are the reflexive pronouns.

Thanks. I found it in 17.7 in Platinum. I was just starting the first lesson in Platinum but I skipped to 17.7 and the reflexives are explained well. I also went to Barnes and Nobles today and looked at their Spanish section. With all my points, I felt like a very beginner still when I skimmed at the Spanish books. I even looked at the children's fairy tales and understood it better. I did not buy it. I thought for $8.00 for a few pages it's not worth it. I know the reflexive pronouns and verbs were mentioned in the Premium and Premium Plus. I was just memorizing them. I wish I could hear from Alfredo f and see how he is doing. Our points are about the same. I wonder if he is doing lessons from other sources or if he is using a tutor. I really appreciate DanH24 and StevenW15 trying to help us get better toward the road to fluency. Also Ricardo/Rich who sounds very advanced.

Hey, I must chime in to include Christian Montes de Oca as a valuable resource in our forums. He is a Spanish Yoda!

Hola a todos, Patrice tiene razón. Cristian es nuestro mejor maestro. Saludos, Ricardo

You guys are absolutely right. Christian is awesome. I hope that when StevenW15 is finished with the RS lessons, he would stick around and help us like Christian does. Thank you everyone. I'm sure I missed some people who have been very helpful through the years.

I will surely check in from time to time to contribute where I can, thanks for asking, though I would not anticipate "help like Christian does." :-) I did look at Alfredo f's profile and he has never used the forum from what I can see. I've been a member for quite some time and only started using the forum since June/July of this year. So who knows, he may chime in one of these days...

Hola!!!! WOW! I am speechless!!! (Me quedé sin palabras...yeah, I am using 'me' ) I wish I was a better teacher and could explain all your questions in a better way , the one who is really learning here while explaining all of this is me. Sometimes I don't have the answers and need to read a bit more , understand it in spanish first, and then try to translate it to english. Now , back to the questions, I think Dan , Rich and Steven have given all the right answers to this matter (I sometimes think they are actually native speakers). Yes, 'me', "le" , 'te' , etc are all " pronombres reflexivos", the type of pronouns are used to either change the meaning of the verb, put empashis in something or, like in most cases, indicate that the verb or action has a direct effect on the subject. 1)For the first example (change of meaning) we have the following: ¿Ves a ese hombre? Es él que DIRIGE la orquesta. ( Do you see that man? He is the one that directs the orchestra). Perdone señor, ¿a dónde SE DIRIGE este tren? (Excuse me sir, were is that train headed/going ("directed") to?) 2)Emphasize Comí una manzana. (I ate an apple) Ayer me comí un pollo entero! (Yesterday I ate a whole chicken)! 3) And finally, when the verb has a direct effect on the subject. El se cortó el pelo (He cut his hair *himself*) Los 2 gatos se miraban uno al otro (The 2 cats looked at each other*themselves*) Tu te lo sabes (You know it *yourself*) Me los encontré (I found them *myself*) I hope it makes sense! Me voy, pero regreso pronto (I will go (myself) but I'll be back soon) Saludos!

Thank you. There is still a big difference in understanding and actually using. Today I greeted 10 of my co-workers with "Hola (name) que tal, tanto tiempo. Como estas?. This was in the Platinum first lesson. I'm still at work and not sure whether it is "tanto tiempo".

I think Dan and I are still a ways off, but Rich could definitely give Mauricio a run for his money. :-) As always, thanks for the terrific explanations, Cristian.