Le dio por escuchar

15:35 Sep 20, 2008 

Before anybody jumps on this...sorry, I should have put "lo usó" and not SHE "lo usó...

15:32 Sep 20, 2008 

Álvaro is correct. I should have said colloquial and NOT low register. I realized this yesterday, but didn't have time to post. SO glad he said it and corrected the confusion I caused by using the WRONG TERM. Goes to show, the WRONG word can cause a lot of problems. As we have seen here, if Asker says, "she started listening to the radio [per baligh, below], none of this would have happened. Colloquial usage is a questionable choice (unless the context calls for it). Asker has the context and has determined that she "lo usó junto con escuchar," so I am trusting Asker's instinct. Remember, written work should use the best choice, not just something "I have heard." Thanks AGAIN to Álvaro, for the substantive comment. mea culpa ;-)

08:48 Sep 20, 2008 

que lo hiciera, pero en este punto no hay ninguna mención al respecto y por lo tanto, desde mi punto de vista, no cabe traducirlo en esta oración. Espero que esto te ayude. :O) :O)

08:45 Sep 20, 2008 

Hola srmoreno. Perdona, pero a la pregunta "¿voy bien?", pienso que no. Aunque el texto lo pueda especificar más adelante, en la frase que diste no hay ninguna indicación o evidencia de que usara el diccionario cuando escuchaba la radio. Como digo, puede

08:32 Sep 20, 2008 

Regarding the register of the Spanish turn of phrase, I wouldn't say that it is formal; colloquial perhaps, but definitely not what I understand as "low register".


As for the discussion on "take", to me it's blatantly obvious: we should not be discussing the verb "take" but the collocation "take to", which is an entirely separate dictionary entry. In this particular case we would be referring to definition 1(b) for "take to" in the Oxf. EN<>ES dict.: (form habit of) to take to drink - darse a la bebida; to take to -ING: she's taken to painting - le ha dado por pintar.

The second example provided is a perfect illustration of the case at hand and, funnily enough, back-translates to "darle a algn por".

20:16 Sep 19, 2008 

I hope these definitions help. Note that the usage of "took" as per some of these suggestions is listed as the SIXTH definition, not anywhere close to a commonly used or accepted definition.
took, an intransitive verb meaning: 1. To acquire possession.
2. To engage or mesh; catch, as gears or other mechanical parts.
3. To start growing; root or germinate: Have the seeds taken?
4. To have the intended effect; operate or work: The skin graft took.
5. To gain popularity or favor: The television series, which didn't take, was later canceled. 6. To become: He took sick.

10:10 Sep 19, 2008 

It's not entirely clear whether Esmeralda is saying that the English or the Spanish is low register. Here are examples of highish register in English:

"In 1788, instead of fixing the price in advance, the Company took to selling to the wholesalers by auction" (re salt tax: http://iref.homestead.com/files/Salt.htm)
"Suspicion of the new commission amongst grassroots groups could be tackled in the approach the Government took to appointing new commissioners," (Disability Rights Commission: 83.137.212.42/sitearchive/DRC/newsroom/news_releases/2006/governments_single_equality.html )

09:34 Sep 19, 2008 

Under:
dar vi. III 2 (hablando de ocurrencias, manías)
(a) -le a algn POR algo: le ha dado por decir que ya no lo quiero / he's started saying that I don't love him any more. le ha dado por beber / he's taken to drink.

Several more examples. In this case, the idea definitely seems to be "take to doing" rather than "take to thinking". Another English alternative provided is "to get into" or, as Lisa suggested more simply, "start".

09:19 Sep 19, 2008 

See "verbo instransitivo" II 4. in the above ref. It's crystal clear and no mention of "hillbilly usage" at all:
(hablando de manías, ocurrencias) ~le a algn por hacer algo ‹por pintar/cocinar› to take to doing sth;

09:12 Sep 19, 2008 

Fully agree: no direct or indirect evidence in the text that she actually used the dict. when listening to the radio. The only connection between the two in this excerpt is that they demonstrate her (sudden perhaps?) interest in the Spanish language.

01:34 Sep 19, 2008 

"Le dió" indica que la escuchó, no neceriamente significa que lo siguio haciendo o que se haya aficionado a ello. Más que una idea es un hecho

00:55 Sep 19, 2008 

Thinking about something and doing it are not mutually exclusive ideas. One can think about doing something, and then DO IT or NOT DO it. Based on this, Rosa's DISAGREE with Chris is confusing.

00:42 Sep 19, 2008 

lo usó junto con escuchar la radio, i.e., the radio to listen AND when necessary look up things she heard

17:51 Sep 18, 2008 

This is exactly what it´s saying. The dictionary to look up stuff and the radio to practice her listening skills, etc.

15:09 Sep 18, 2008 

Really, the sentence doesn't say "she used the dictionary by listening..."
1. She bought the dictionary. Why? For a Spanish class? Because she was going to visit Spain/Mexico? Because her new boyfriend was Spanish/Mexican? We really don't know.
2. She decided to start listening to Spanish on the radio. Her interest in the Spanish language, as evidenced by having bought the dictionary, lead her to take up the complementary listening activity. (Whether or not she used the dictionary while/after listening to the radio is not explicit in the sentence.)