Me imagino vs Me lo imagino

In lesson 8.2 (I) can imagine is translated as Me lo imagino. 

In lesson 9.2 (I can) imagine is translated as Me imagino.

Have to admit I tripped up on the  lo in 8.2 but figured it was really saying I can imagine it and I suspected the lo was optional (but didn't check that).

So when I saw Me imagino, I figured the lo really was optional. BUT what tripped me up now is the can being inside the parentheses. This would make it seem like lo was part of the can, but I am pretty sure that is not correct.

Thoughts?

¡Hola Scott_C!

Our apologies for the confusion here! There is a bracket error in the first sentence from Lesson 8.2: it should be written as “(I can) imagine.” This is to show that the Spanish version of the sentence doesn't include a word for “I” (yo) or a word for “can” (puedo); these are both simply implied. I'll let our Spanish team know that this needs to be corrected!

As for the lo in Me lo imagino, its job here is to represent the concept or idea that the speaker is imagining. As you've indicated, a closer translation of this sentence would be “(I can) imagine it.” In English, however, we don't normally include the “it”; instead, we drop it and simply say “I can imagine.” 

In many circumstances, the lo is indeed optional: you could say either Me lo imagino or Me imagino for “(I can) imagine” and it wouldn't really make a difference. That being said, there are some situations where the lo feels necessary; they're a little tricky to explain, as this is something that you'll get a feel for over time! A general rule of thumb, though, might be that lo should be included when whatever it is that you can imagine hasn't just been mentioned; therefore, it needs to be referred to in some way.

I hope that this is helpful! Let me know if you still have any questions!

Saludos,

Liss

Thanks Liss, that is exactly what I was thinking. You should include the lo there is a chance for confusion. And of course, I imagine you can always include it. It just might not sound so natural, but my accent will do the job in that regard! Thanks again.

¡De nada, Scott_C!
 

You're right, simply including the lo by default is generally going to be the safest way to go! It's unlikely to sound unnatural - as long as you're not also including a phrase to describe what you imagine (e.g. Me imagino que ... "(I can) imagine that ..." - lo cannot be included here).
 

As for whether or not the purpose of lo in Me lo imagino is to avoid confusion: it can certainly have that purpose; however, its use in a sentence like this really has more to do with the grammatical side of things than with anything else. You see, the verb imaginarse "to imagine" is normally transitive, which means it normally needs to have a direct object. So in situations where that object is obvious from the context of the conversation (e.g. someone just said it or described it), then you can usually do without the lo because the object is strongly and clearly implied. But in situations where that object feels lacking in the sentence, we have to add the lo.

I hope that doesn't make this more confusing again! It really isn't much of a problem if you just want to say "I can imagine" and leave it at that, since the lo is so often optional in these situations. But keeping this kind of thing in mind can help you out with other Spanish sentences where you might sometimes see lo included and sometimes see it dropped, such as No sé / No lo sé “I don't know.”

Let me know if you've still got any questions! :)

Saludos,

Liss

 I wondered about No sé. I knew Lo sé and now I know No lo sé is OK. Thanks for the excellent explanation above, it definitely makes sense.