Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Busco mi cargador y mi llavero; siempre los guardo juntos. - I’m looking for my charger and my keychain; I always keep them together.

Busco mi cargador: natural, can mean “I’m looking (right now)” or “I look for (habitually).”
Estoy buscando mi cargador: highlights the ongoing process right now.
Ando buscando mi cargador: very common in Latin America, casual “I’m out looking for…”

Do I need a preposition after buscar (like “for”)?

No. Buscar already means “to look for,” so it takes a direct object without a preposition:

Correct: Busco mi cargador.
Incorrect: ❌ Busco por mi cargador. Use prepositions only in specific cases:
Place: Busco en la mochila.
Purpose: Busco un cargador para mi celular.
Personal “a” (for people/pets): Busco a mi hermano.

Why is it los guardo and not las guardo or lo guardo?

Because the pronoun refers to two masculine nouns, cargador and llavero. For a masculine (or mixed) plural direct object, use los.

Two feminine nouns → las
One masculine + one feminine → still los (masculine wins in mixed groups)
One single object (masculine) → lo; (feminine) → la

What does juntos agree with? Why not juntas?

Juntos is a predicate adjective that agrees with the thing(s) kept together—in this case, the two items referred to by los (masculine plural). If both items were feminine, you’d use juntas:

mi billetera (f) y mi tarjeta (f); siempre las guardo juntas.
Mixed or masculine plural → juntos.

Can I drop los in the second clause?

Only if you repeat the nouns. You need something (nouns or a pronoun) for juntos to refer to:

With pronoun: Siempre los guardo juntos.
With nouns: Siempre guardo mi cargador y mi llavero juntos.
❌ Siempre guardo juntos (incomplete; what is “together”?)

Can siempre move around? Is there a difference?

Yes. Common, natural options include:

Siempre los guardo juntos.
Los guardo siempre juntos.
Siempre guardo mi cargador y mi llavero juntos. They’re all correct; differences are slight and mostly about rhythm/emphasis.

Is the semicolon necessary? Could I use a period or a comma?

A semicolon is fine to link related but independent clauses. A period is also perfectly natural:

Busco mi cargador y mi llavero. Siempre los guardo juntos. Avoid a comma between two full independent clauses (comma splice) in careful writing.

What does guardar mean here? Could I use mantener, poner, meter, or dejar?

Here guardar means “to put away/keep/store.” Alternatives:

mantener juntos: “to keep together” (more about maintaining a state than putting away).
poner juntos: “to put together” (at a given moment), less about storage.
meter juntos: “to put in (some container) together,” very colloquial.
dejar juntos: “to leave together (somewhere).” For “I keep them together (as a habit/in storage),” los guardo juntos is the most idiomatic.

What’s the difference between llavero and llaves?

llavero: the keychain/key ring (and often informally, the whole bunch).
llaves: the keys themselves. Depending on context, people may say el llavero to mean “my keys (on the keychain).”

What gender are cargador and llavero?

Both are masculine: el cargador, el llavero. That’s why you see los and juntos later.

Why is it mi cargador y mi llavero, not mis?

Each noun is singular, so use singular mi. You can repeat mi or say mi cargador y llavero; repeating is common for clarity. Use mis only with plural nouns (e.g., mis llaves).

Why not les guardo?

Because guardar takes a direct object here, so you need the direct object pronoun los. Les is indirect object:

Direct: Siempre los guardo juntos. (“I keep them together.”)
Indirect: Siempre les guardo sus cosas. (“I keep their things for them.”) In Latin America, using le/les as a direct object here would be considered incorrect.

Where do object pronouns go with infinitives, gerunds, and commands?

With a conjugated verb: before it → Siempre los guardo juntos.
With an infinitive/gerund: before the conjugated verb or attached to the non-finite:
- Los quiero guardar juntos / Quiero guardarlos juntos.
- Los estoy guardando / Estoy guardándolos. (note the accent)
Affirmative commands: attached → ¡Guárdalos juntos! (accent required)

Should I use e instead of y before llavero?

No. Y changes to e only before words that begin with the sound /i/ (spelled i or hi), e.g., padres e hijos. Llavero begins with the “y/ll” sound, not /i/, so keep y: …cargador y mi llavero.

Can I emphasize “both” with los dos or ambos?

Yes:

Siempre guardo los dos juntos.
Siempre guardo ambos juntos. (more formal) But Siempre los guardo juntos usually sounds most natural. Avoid doubling the reference (e.g., ❌ Siempre los guardo los dos).

Any pronunciation tips for Latin America?

llavero: often “ya-VE-ro”; in parts of Argentina/Uruguay, “sha/ʒa-VE-ro.”
cargador: stress the last syllable: car-ga-DOR.
guardo: “GWAHR-do” (the u is pronounced; the g is hard).