Breakdown of Respetar el espacio privado de otras personas es una forma sencilla de obedecer la ley y mostrar justicia e igualdad.
Questions & Answers about Respetar el espacio privado de otras personas es una forma sencilla de obedecer la ley y mostrar justicia e igualdad.
In Spanish, the infinitive can function as a noun and be the subject of the sentence.
- Respetar el espacio privado… es… ≈ Respecting other people’s private space is…
Here, Respetar works like Respecting in English.
Alternatives and their feel:
- Respetando el espacio privado… – sounds more like a description of an ongoing action (while respecting), not a neutral general statement.
- El respeto al espacio privado… – also correct, but a bit more formal/abstract: Respect for private space…
So the infinitive is the most natural, neutral way to make a general statement here.
Spanish usually needs a definite article where English might omit it.
- Respetar el espacio privado de otras personas
literally: To respect the private space of other people
We’re talking about “the” private space (in general) that belongs to people, not some undefined private space. In Spanish, this generic/abstract sense still normally uses el.
Saying just respetar espacio privado (no el) sounds incomplete or telegraphic, like a note on a sign, not a full sentence.
They overlap, but they are not identical:
espacio privado
- More about privacy: private areas, private life, what others shouldn’t access.
- Can be physical (your room, your office) or abstract (your personal information).
espacio personal
- More about physical distance between people.
- Used when talking about how close someone stands, hugs, touches, etc.
In this sentence, espacio privado suggests respecting others’ privacy in a broad sense, not just physical distance.
All are possible, but they have slightly different nuances:
- de otras personas – neutral, clear: of other people
- de los demás – of others / of everyone else, a bit more idiomatic and compact
- de otra gente – less common here; gente is a collective noun and sounds more vague or informal
De otras personas is very straightforward and works well in a formal or neutral context like this sentence.
The structure is:
- una forma sencilla de + [infinitive] y [infinitive]
Spanish allows you to use de only once before a coordinated series of infinitives:
- de obedecer la ley y mostrar justicia e igualdad ✅
- de obedecer la ley y de mostrar justicia e igualdad ✅ (also correct, just a bit heavier)
Both are grammatically fine. Leaving out the second de is very common and sounds smooth and natural.
Two different reasons:
la ley
- La ley is a concrete system in society.
- In Spanish, generic institutions like la ley, la policía, la escuela usually take the definite article.
- So obedecer la ley ≈ obey the law.
justicia e igualdad
- Justicia and igualdad are abstract concepts.
- When listed as values in a general sense, Spanish often omits the article:
- amor, paz y justicia
- respeto e igualdad
So: article with la ley, no article with abstract values justicia e igualdad.
Both are possible, but they don’t feel exactly the same:
mostrar justicia e igualdad
- Talks about the qualities or values in general.
- Like saying: to show justice and equality (as values in your behavior).
mostrar la justicia y la igualdad
- Sounds more like referring to the specific systems or principles of Justice and Equality, almost like institutions or defined doctrines.
- It’s less natural in this everyday-ethics context.
For moral values or character traits, Spanish usually drops the article: mostrar respeto, mostrar empatía, mostrar justicia e igualdad.
Spanish changes y to e before words starting with an i sound, to avoid the awkward “ee” sound:
- y igualdad → becomes e igualdad ✅
- y inglés → e inglés ✅
- y inteligente → e inteligente ✅
Exception: If the word starts with h + ie / ia where the i is not the main sound (like hielo, hiena), we usually keep y:
- y hielo, y hiena ✅ (not e hielo)
So justicia e igualdad follows the normal sound rule.
Adjectives agree with the noun they modify:
- Noun: el espacio → masculine singular
- Adjective: privado → masculine singular form
Examples:
- el espacio privado (masc. sing.)
- los espacios privados (masc. plural)
- la zona privada (fem. sing.)
- las zonas privadas (fem. plural)
So privado matches espacio in gender and number.
Both exist and are often close in meaning, but there’s a nuance:
obedecer la ley
- Literally to obey the law.
- Emphasizes submission to an authority or rule.
cumplir la ley
- Literally to comply with / fulfill the law.
- Emphasizes meeting the requirements, acting in accordance with the law.
In this sentence, obedecer la ley is very natural; cumplir la ley would also be acceptable and common in Latin American Spanish, with just a slight shift of emphasis.
You can move elements, but not all orders sound equally natural.
Current version (very natural):
- Respetar el espacio privado de otras personas es una forma sencilla de obedecer la ley y mostrar justicia e igualdad.
A common alternative:
- Es una forma sencilla de obedecer la ley y mostrar justicia e igualdad respetar el espacio privado de otras personas.
This is grammatically fine, but feels more formal and a bit heavier.
Placing the infinitive Respetar el espacio privado… first makes it very clear what action we’re talking about and sounds more neutral and didactic.
It’s mostly literal, but commonly used in contexts like:
- Personal boundaries: not entering someone’s room, not reading their messages, not interrupting private conversations.
- Physical proximity: not standing too close, not touching people without consent.
- Legal/ethical contexts: respecting privacy rights, confidentiality, personal data.
So in Latin American Spanish, respetar el espacio privado naturally suggests both social etiquette and legal/ethical respect for privacy, depending on the context.