Confused about sentence structure in Spanish

Question

I got confused forming a Spanish sentence. I don't know the structure anymore. This is the sentence I formed and apparently it was wrong. I was trying to say, "I told you to tell him." "te dije a decirle." which according to my understanding, should mean what I was trying to say in English. Isn't it like "verb + infinitive. for example, voy a correr"

Te dije = I told you. a = to decirle = say/tell him.

Are there many sentence structures in Spanish? Can someone tell them to me. I'm getting confused day by day. I feel like I can't even form a sentence. Is there something that I'm missing?

I forgot to mention that I was told that the correct sentence is, "te dije que se lo dijeras"

And I have no idea what "que" mean here "lo" should mean "it" but it doesn't here apparently.

Thanks!

Edit: One more thing, sorry if I bother, but would I follow the same pattern if I were trying to say "Why didn't you tell him what I told you?" I mean would that also be indicative mode + "que" + subjunctive mode?

Answer 1

When you tell someone to do something, the construction is subject + verb in indicative mood (tell) + que (not sure how to translate it, but que introduces the next clause of the sentence) + verb in subjunctive mood.

So I told you to tell him = Te dije (past tense verb in indicative mood) que se lo dijeras (past tense verb in subjunctive mood).

Que can be loosely translated as "so that". It's like saying I told you so that you might tell him.

Lo here means it ... in other words, to tell it to him (se lo dijeras). Se means "to him" in this context.

Basically, in English we use the infinitive, but in Spanish in the same context, the subjunctive is used, not the indicative.

This is not by far a complete answer to your question but it's the best I can do at the moment.

That might seem as a stupid question, but may I know why you used the subjunctive and why in the past thou I said "tell him not told him"? And I think "que" is a relative pronoun equivalent to "that" to us in English. - spuny, Jul 22, 2013

Thanks Sinmeta, you're a star! - annierats, Jul 23, 2013

spuny, I don't really know how to explain it other than what I said above. If you do a search on this site for articles relating to the subjunctive, I'm sure it's explained better. - sinmeta, Jul 24, 2013

I just want to confirm something and correct me if I misunderstood it. Is it correct to use the subjunctive mood if you are commanding someone to do something -- like in my example "I told you TO TELL HIM"? - spuny, Jul 24, 2013

You rock like annierats said! Really! I actually did some search on this topic, and according to the "book" I bought, it seems that when you are talking about a possibility or giving an order to someone to do something, you have to use subjunctive mode. - spuny, Jul 24, 2013

Also, if I said, "I asked you to inform him," shall I use the same pattern, past + que + subjunc? Sorry I bombarded you with a lot of question! - spuny, Jul 24, 2013

You're correct spuny. If you're asking/commanding someone to do something, it's subjunctive in Spanish (infinitive in English). As far as when you're talking about a possibility, it kind of depends on how probable the possibility is ... - sinmeta, Jul 25, 2013

... and what word you're using to express the possibility (tal vez, quiza(s), a lo mejor, acaso, etc.). You can have subjunctive after tal vez and quiza(s), not after a lo mejor. Not sure about acaso. - sinmeta, Jul 25, 2013

Same in past tense. I asked you to inform him = te pedí que le informaras (o informases). - sinmeta, Jul 25, 2013

Thank you so so sooo much! Appreciate your help and patience! - spuny, Jul 25, 2013

Sure thing! - sinmeta, Jul 25, 2013

Answer 2

I agree with tranllate-from-spanish-to-english that there would be various ways of saying this in a more natural and less complicated manner.

Sinmeta has explained the grammar very well, I just want to add, in case it helps you:

If you think of the sentence as:

''I told you that you were to tell ( it) to him, '' you may see the Spanish construction more easily. This is laboured English, but it makes it easier for me, anyway, sometimes.. I hope it helps!

Thank you! That made it a bit clearer to me now. - spuny, Jul 23, 2013

Good way to think about it Annie! - sinmeta, Jul 25, 2013

Answer 3

Hesitant suggestion after only about 23 minutes thinking time:

Te dije que lo se dijeras (dijeses).

it will have to be teh subjunctive, I think. - annierats, Jul 22, 2013

Hey Annie! It would have to be se lo dijeras (or dijeses). Can't have le lo. When you have the two pronouns together, the le becomes se. - sinmeta, Jul 22, 2013

Thank you sinmeta. Nearly right, after all that thinking, I will correct it! - annierats, Jul 23, 2013

Sorry Annie, the construction is "se lo", not "lo se". Te dije que se lo dijeras. - sinmeta, Jul 24, 2013

Answer 4

I agree that it could be subjunctive. However there is room for the indicative. It depends on context and how the speaker intends it.

'I told you to tell him' could be indicative,,, a simple statement of fact.

No. I told you is indicative, but the que is a connector to a 2nd clause and the 2nd clause in this cause is definitely subjunctive. - Westoncito, Jul 22, 2013

Yes, my long think also led tothe subjunctive. - annierats, Jul 23, 2013

Answer 5

te dije que decir le -most natives would say it that way asi es facil . just a tip: So that you will not be confused with conposition anymore, just scan through a whole Spanish textbook, MINE ALL of the sentence examples on your SRS preferably ANKI! review review review, your mind will work out the conposition rules by itself. Then watch a lot of Spanish movies even if you don't understand a dam word cheers

I asked a friend of mine who is born and raised in Spain and has always lived in Spain. He says the construction ¨te dije que decirle¨sounds very strange and is hardly ever, if ever used. He said people say te dije que le dijeras. - sinmeta, Jul 25, 2013