I lost my keys

In the audio lesson on the preterite tense, an example was given of "Perdí mis llaves" for "I lost my keys". However, in Jean Yates' book "Correct your Spanish Blunders", it is stated that this should be "Se me perdieron las llaves" because it is an accidental occurrence and therefore the keys become the subject and the person is the object of the accidental occurrence. Indeed, the audio lesson used this construction for "Se me cayó" ("I fell"). Any help would be appreciated! Seán

[quo]*Quote from * Roz2626 In the audio lesson on the preterite tense, an example was given of "Perdí mis llaves" for "I lost my keys". However, in Jean Yates' book "Correct your Spanish Blunders", it is stated that this should be "Se me perdieron las llaves" because it is an accidental occurrence and therefore the keys become the subject and the person is the object of the accidental occurrence. Indeed, the audio lesson used this construction for "Se me cayó" ("I fell"). Any help would be appreciated! Seán[/quo] Seán, I've been hoping someone would answer this question for you. I asked my Puerto Rican girlfriend about this and she said she used the two examples interchangeably. She says there is no right answer here. She did say her first impulse would be to say "se me perdieron mis llaves." She disagrees with academics that say "las" should be used in place of "mis." After all, she says, one should know exactly whose keys were lost... Greg

Thanks Greg for your (and your girlfriend's) input. It's useful to know that a native speaker would use either expression.

Hello Guys, I guess, "Perdí mis llaves" is like saying I have lost my keys and that's the end of them, like when I was once surfing and I forgot to take the car keys out of my shorts pocket... dow! I felt them hit my foot that was the end of them... anyway, when I had to tell my brother (The owner of the car) I couldn't really say "Se me perdieron las llaves" as that implies that you don't know where they are... I knew exactly where they were (bottom of the ocean) so I used "Perdí las llaves"... I lost them for good... then I suffered the consequences... lol I hope that gives you a little insight into the use of "Perdí" vs "Se me perdieron" All the best Mauricio.

On a related topic (9.3), why would "I left my keys in the car." be translated as "Dejé las llaves en el carro." instead of "Dejé mis llaves en el carro."?

I think your translation is technically more accurate. Depending on the context though, it may sound a bit redundant to use the possessive:
- Where did you leave your keys and wallet?
- Well, I left my keys in the car.

The second phrase is correct, of course, but it would still sound more natural to me to say, "Well, I left the keys in the car."