Breakdown of Últimamente, veo un interés repentino en obsesionarse con el futuro.
un
a, an (masculine)
en
in / on / at
ver
to see / to look / appear
con
with
el futuro
the future
el interés
the interest
últimamente
lately
repentino
sudden
obsesionarse
to become obsessed
Questions & Answers about Últimamente, veo un interés repentino en obsesionarse con el futuro.
This lesson is about the structure darle por + infinitive, but it isn't used here. How could we rewrite this sentence to use it?
You could rephrase it as Últimamente, veo que a la gente le da por obsesionarse con el futuro. The phrase darle a uno por means to suddenly start doing something out of nowhere or to take up a capricious habit. Since the original sentence talks about a "sudden interest" (un interés repentino), rewriting it with le da por captures that exact spontaneous vibe perfectly.
Why do we use con in obsesionarse con when the English translation says "obsessing over"?
In Spanish, the verb obsesionar (and its reflexive form obsesionarse) almost always pairs with the preposition con. Direct translations of English prepositions rarely work with verbs of emotion or mental states. You must learn the verb and its preposition as a single chunk: obsesionarse con (literally, to obsess "with").
Could we use the preposition por after interés instead of en?
You will often see interés por when it is followed by a noun (e.g., interés por el futuro). However, when interés is followed by a verb to express an interest in doing something, the preposition en is standard, and it requires the infinitive form of the verb that follows it (interés en obsesionarse).
Why does the infinitive obsesionarse have the reflexive pronoun -se attached if the main subject is "I" (veo)?
The speaker (veo) isn't the one doing the obsessing; they are observing a general trend. The -se here acts impersonally, referring to "people in general" obsessing over the future. Furthermore, verbs immediately following a preposition (like en) must remain in the infinitive, which is why the pronoun is attached directly to the end of the uncongugated verb.
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