Tell me more ×
Spanish Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for students, teachers, and linguists wanting to discuss the finer points of the Spanish language. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 2 down vote favorite

Please read the following sentences:

Nos enteramos por las noticias que las flores valían más caras que los años anteriores.
Al comenzar este invierno me enteré de la noticia de que haría/iba a hacer mucho frío.

Questions:

  1. Are there any differences between "enterar por" and "enterar de"?
  2. Why should we need "de" in "la noticia de que haría/iba a hacer mucho frío"? Can we omit it?
share|improve this question

2 Answers

up vote 2 down vote accepted

The correct construction is always :

Nos enteramos de [algo / something ]

If the "something" is a phrase constructed with a verb, then it's preceeded with "que"; and in this last case, the "de" is sometimes omitted.

Examples:

Nos enteramos de la noticia.

Nos enteramos de la muerte de Juan.

Nos enteramos de que Juan murió. (slightly less correct: Nos enteramos que Juan murió)

Regarding the examples in the original question:

In the first phrase "por las noticias" is just a complementary expression, ("por medio de las noticias", "a través de las noticias" = "via the news", "by means of the news"), it is not gramatically attached to the verb, it could be put inside commas, or parentheses:

Nos enteramos, por las noticias, que las flores valían más caras que los años anteriores.

or even removed:

Nos enteramos (...) que las flores valían más caras que los años anteriores.

By the way: this reveals that the construction is slightly incorrect (though acceptable), it should be better "nos enteramos ... de que..."

The second phrase it's equivalent to:

Nos enteramos de la siguiente noticia: iba a hacer mucho frío.

Nos enteramos de lo siguiente: iba a hacer mucho frío.

Nos enteramos de que iba a hacer mucho frío.

The expression "la noticia" is slightly redundant here, it just emphasizes that the information was news for us.

EDITED: Regarding the added question:

me enteré de la noticia de que iba a ...

me enteré de la noticia que iba a ...

The first sentence is the correct one, although it doesn't sound very nice. The omission of "de" in the second sentece is incorrect, but it's a minor error: in common speak both forms are accepted. A nicer alternative is: "me enteré de la noticia: iba a".

Some reading material:

http://www.lapatria.com/story/salvataje-miedo-al-deque%C3%ADsmo-has-haz-barista

http://www.udistrital.edu.co/wpmu/flrodriguezh/files/2011/12/Padece-usted-de-dequefobia.pdf

share|improve this answer
@leonboy: Thanks for your detailed answer. I've edited my question again. In the second sentence, there are two "de", can I omit the second one? If not, why should we need it? – Cadenza Feb 7 '12 at 15:38
up vote 1 down vote

1.- "Me enteré por X de Y" means "I learnt through X that Y is the case".

2.- You can't omit "de" in "la noticia de que iba a hacer frío".

share|improve this answer
Thanks for your answer. I've edited my question again. In the second sentence, there are two "de", can I omit the second one? If not, why should we need it? – Cadenza Feb 7 '12 at 15:38
That's what I meant: you can't omit the "de" in "la noticia de que iba a hacer frío". More examples: "la razón de que vengas", "la excusa de que ibas a llegar tarde", "la importancia de que nos lo digas"... You see, it's a standard pattern in Spanish. :) – Javier Rodriguez Laguna Feb 7 '12 at 19:28

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.