Learn Spanish (Latin America): Últimamente, a mi prima le da por seguir la moda. - Lately, my cousin has taken to following fashion.

Últimamente, a mi prima le da por seguir la moda.

Lately, my cousin has taken to following fashion.

Breakdown of Últimamente, a mi prima le da por seguir la moda.

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?

This is the structure darle (a uno) por followed by an infinitive (here, seguir). It is used to describe someone suddenly adopting a new habit, often on a whim or out of nowhere. You can think of it as "to take to doing something" or "to get the sudden urge to do something."

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?