Questions & Answers about Mi amiga me guiñó un ojo desde la otra mesa.
Why is it me guiñó and not just guiñó?
Because me means to me / at me here. With guiñar un ojo, Spanish often uses an indirect object pronoun to show who received the wink.
So:
- Mi amiga guiñó un ojo = My friend winked.
- Mi amiga me guiñó un ojo = My friend winked at me.
In English, we usually say winked at me, but in Spanish the person is often shown with a pronoun like me, te, le, nos, os, les.
Why does Spanish say guiñó un ojo literally winked an eye?
That is the normal Spanish expression. Guiñar un ojo is the standard way to say to wink.
It is built like this:
- guiñar = to wink / to squint
- un ojo = an eye
So although it sounds more literal in English, it is completely natural in Spanish. You will hear:
- Me guiñó un ojo. = He/She winked at me.
- Le guiñé un ojo. = I winked at him/her.
Why is it un ojo and not los ojos?