Breakdown of Últimamente, a mi prima le da por seguir la moda.
la prima
female cousin
mi
my
a
to
le
to him / to her / to you (formal)
la
the (feminine)
por
for / by / through / in/during (part of the day)
últimamente
lately
darle por
to take to (doing something)
seguir
to follow
la moda
trend
Questions & Answers about Últimamente, a mi prima le da por seguir la moda.
How does le da por translate to "has taken to" in this sentence?
Why are both a mi prima and le used here?
In the darle por structure, the person who gets the sudden urge is the indirect object. Spanish frequently requires an indirect object pronoun (le) even when the person is explicitly named. The phrase a mi prima simply clarifies who the pronoun le refers to.
The translation says "has taken to," but da is in the present tense. Why not use the present perfect?
With the word últimamente (lately), Spanish often uses the simple present tense to describe a newly started habit that is still actively ongoing. While you could technically say le ha dado por, the simple present le da por is very natural and common here, unlike in English where "takes to" would sound strange with "lately."
Could I say estar de moda instead of seguir la moda?
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