Breakdown of A los charlatanes estos no los escucho por fastidiosos.
no
no, not
escuchar
to listen
estos
these
por
for / by / through / in/during (part of the day)
los
them (masculine direct object)
el charlatán
smooth talker
fastidioso
annoying
a
personal 'a' (marks a human direct object)
Questions & Answers about A los charlatanes estos no los escucho por fastidiosos.
Why is it los charlatanes estos instead of estos charlatanes?
Placing the demonstrative (estos) after the noun requires adding the definite article (los) before it. We do this to add an emotional tone, most often irritation, contempt, or distance. Here, it gives a dismissive vibe, like saying "these so-called smooth talkers" rather than just neutrally pointing them out.
Why do we have the pronoun los before escucho if we already stated who is being listened to?
This is because the direct object (A los charlatanes estos) is moved to the front of the sentence for emphasis. In Spanish, whenever a direct object is placed before the verb, you are required to include the matching object pronoun (in this case, los) right before the verb.
How does por fastidiosos translate to "because they are annoying"?
The preposition por can be followed directly by an adjective to express a reason or cause, essentially meaning "for being [adjective]." It is a punchy, very common alternative in everyday Spanish to saying porque son fastidiosos.
Why does the sentence start with the preposition A?
This is a quick refresher on the "personal a." The phrase los charlatanes estos is the direct object of the verb escuchar (to listen to). Because the direct object refers to specific people, Spanish requires you to put an a in front of it, even when the object is moved to the beginning of the sentence.
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