Why is 'se' needed in this sentence
2
votes
I never would have known to use 'se' in this sentence. Something I'm not good at I guess. Is there an easy way to know?
"Si yo hubiera sabido la respuesta, se la habría dicho."
1234 views
updated Jul 26, 2011
posted by Erin
2 Answers
2
votes
If I had known the answer, I would have told it to him/her/you (usted), them/you (ustedes)
"se" is the indirect object pronoun used with "decir". "le (him/her/it)" or "les (them/you [ustedes])" becomes "se" when it comes before "lo","la","los" or "las". Looks like the reflexive pronoun, right? It wouldn't be nice to get that confused... 
updated Jul 26, 2011
edited by GuitarWarrior
posted by GuitarWarrior
Ahhhhhhhh yeah, I see it now. Thank you! - Erin, Jul 26, 2011
No problem, great to see you again, Erin :) - GuitarWarrior, Jul 26, 2011
1
vote
I've seen it referred to as the "la la" rule.
To keep two object pronouns starting with "L" from being next to each other, you change the first to "se" as mentioned above.
updated Jul 26, 2011
posted by Tosh
