WHAT IS IT: DETRAS DE MÍ OR DETRÁS MÍO?

 

It is known that each of us speaks a language of our own and that we have our peculiar phonetics, grammar, idiomatic expressions which often are not common fare. And we influence others who pick up our nuances and spread them as if they were carriers of a language virus.

“Detrás mío,” “delante nuestro,” are solecisms that are gaining ground fast among all levels of speakers. “Quiero que me obedezcas porque no puedo ir detrás tuyo siempre,” a mother says to her offspring. “Los Pérez viven delante nuestro, en una casita azul,” explains a guy to one of his friends.

And the Spanish teenager shouts: “¡Todos están contra mía!”

For those of you who are laboring and struggling to learn Spanish, may I suggest you say: “No puedo correr detrás de ti” and “Los Pérez viven delante de nosotros.”?

“Detras de la estufa, de la casa, de nosotros, de mí, de ellos.”

“Delante de la estufa, de la tahona, de mí, de nosotros, de ellas.”

In a few years the above will make no sense. Mark my words.