Sudden whims
When someone suddenly picks up a random new habit or jumps on a fleeting trend, Spanish uses the phrase darle por followed by an infinitive. It translates to "to take to doing something" or "to suddenly decide to do something."
| Lately, my cousin has taken to following fashion. | Últimamente, a mi prima le da por seguir la moda. |
Forming "darle por"
This expression works a lot like the verb gustar. You use an indirect object pronoun (me, te, le, nos, les) to indicate who is having the whim, followed by dar por.
Because the phrase describes a general urge, dar stays in the third-person singular—most commonly the present (da) or the preterite (dio).
| Pronoun | Form of dar | Preposition | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| me / te / le / nos / les | da / dio | por | infinitive |
Just like with gustar, you can add a + [person] (like a mi prima or a la gente) at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis or clarification.
| Since it's popular, people have taken to following that trend. | Como es popular, a la gente le da por seguir esa moda. |
| It's a sudden interest; since he wants to improve, he took to fasting. | Es un interés repentino; ya que quiere mejorar, le dio por ayunar. |
Fads and obsessions
Here are a few more examples of people picking up unexpected new habits:
| She has taken to obsessing over astrology and the tarot. | A ella le dio por obsesionarse con la astrología y el tarot. |
| You shouldn't obsess so much; you've taken to fasting all day. | No deberías obsesionarte tanto; te dio por ayunar todo el día. |
Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io