Breakdown of El doctor me entrega el documento a mí.
el doctor
doctor
a
to
mí
me
el documento
the document
me
to me / me (direct object)
entregar
to hand over, to deliver
Questions & Answers about El doctor me entrega el documento a mí.
Why does the sentence use both me and a mí? Isn't that saying 'to me' twice?
Yes, it is! In Spanish, it is very common to use the short indirect object pronoun (me) even if you also state who is receiving the action with an 'a + person' phrase (a mí). The me is the required part, while a mí is just added for extra emphasis to mean that he hands it specifically to me.
Could I just drop the me and say 'El doctor entrega el documento a mí'?
Actually, no! In Spanish, when you have an indirect object (the person receiving something), the short pronoun like me, te, or le is mandatory. The extra phrase a mí is optional and used for emphasis, but the me has to be there.
Does entrega mean 'enters'?
No, that is a classic false friend! Entrega comes from the verb entregar, which means to hand over, to deliver, or to give. It is a verb of transfer. To say that someone enters a room, you would use the verb entrar instead.
Why is me placed before the verb entrega?
In Spanish, object pronouns like me go immediately before a conjugated verb. Unlike in English where we say 'hands me' (verb then pronoun), Spanish flips the order to me entrega (pronoun then verb).
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