Phrase · 📜 Proverbs in conversation
Lo ayudé en todo y ahora me critica: cría cuervos y te sacarán los ojos.
I helped him with everything and now he criticises me: no good deed goes unpunished.
C2complaining about ingratitudelearned as a wholeAudio · coming soon
Why every word is where it is
Lo4object pronounhimél · 3rd sing. · direct objectayudé4verbI helpedayudar · past · 1st sing.enprepositionintodopronouneverythingmasc. · sing.yconjunctionandahoraadverbnowmeobject pronounmeyo · 1st sing. · direct objectcriticaverbhe criticisescriticar · present · 3rd sing.:cría2verbraisecriar · imperative · 2nd sing.cuervos1nounravenscuervo · masc. · pl.y3conjunctionandte1object pronounyour (to you)tú · 2nd sing. · indirect objectsacarán3verbthey will pluck outsacar · future · 3rd pl.los1determinertheel · masc. · pl. · definiteojos1nouneyesojo · masc. · pl..
- cría → ojos: frozen proverb
- cría → sacarán: imperative + y + future: a warning
- te → ojos: te: whose eyes (dative)
- Lo → ayudé: lo: the person helped
Word for word: “…raise ravens and they'll peck your eyes out.”
Why it's built this way
The notes match the numbers above.
- 1Cría cuervos y te sacarán los ojos = help the ungrateful and they will turn on you (lit. raise ravens and they'll peck your eyes out).
- 2Strong and bitter: natural when you feel betrayed, harsh in front of the person. Often cut to cría cuervos…
- 3Imperative + y + future = a warning: do this and that will happen. Conditions without si: como, en caso de que, a menos que, gerund, imperative →
- 4lo ayudé: ayudar takes a direct object (lo / la), though many speakers say le ayudé. Direct object pronouns and personal a →
Variations
- Lo ayudé en todo y ahora habla mal de mí: cría cuervos…
- Le di trabajo y ahora me critica: cría cuervos y te sacarán los ojos.
- Lo ayudé en todo y ahora me critica; qué ingratitud.