Question 1

Why is the pronoun las needed here when we already mentioned esas revistas viejas?

Accepted Answer

This is a great example of left-dislocation, also known as topicalization. In Spanish, when you move a direct object to the very beginning of the sentence to emphasize it (establishing it as the main topic), you generally must double it with a clitic pronoun. Since revistas is feminine plural, we use las to echo it back to the verb.

Question 2

Can I attach las to the end of the infinitive instead?

Accepted Answer

Yes, absolutely! Because descartar is an infinitive, you have two grammatical choices for pronoun placement. You can put the pronoun before the conjugated verb, as in las voy a descartar, or attach it directly to the infinitive, making it voy a descartarlas. Both options are perfectly correct and common.

Question 3

I usually hear tirar or botar for throwing things away. Why use descartar here?

Accepted Answer

While tirar and botar mean to physically throw something in the trash, descartar translates closer to discard, rule out, or eliminate. It is often used when you are sorting through a collection of things, like deciding which old magazines to keep and which ones to remove from your possession.

Question 4

Even though the magazines are old, we use esas instead of aquellas. Why?

Accepted Answer

Demonstratives in Spanish express physical or mental distance relative to the speaker and listener, not the age of the object itself. The speaker is likely standing somewhat near the magazines or looking right at them, making esas (those) the most natural choice. Aquellas would imply the magazines are physically far away from both people.

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