How do I ask someone ¨to do¨ an action
How would I ask someone to do an action? Some examples may include:
- I asked the employee to fix my phone
- I asked my friend to pass me my pencil
3 Answers
It's a lot more complicated than in English or French which use infinitive in the second clause, (to fix my phone) In Spanish you have to know verb tense forms in the indicative mood as well as the subjunctive. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you may need to study Spanish. You have not filled out your profile, so I have no Idea of what level you are at in Spanish, so I don't know how to help you.
I asked the employee to fix my phone. Le pedí al empleado que recompusiera/arreglara mi teléfono. If you understand what I have done here, you can try the second one and I will give a correction, if needed.
In the first clause I used the preterit indicative, and in the second, the imperfect subjunctive.
Like I said, for a newcomer to Spanish, this type of statement can get rather complicated.
What you're asking is more of an indirect command, where there are two subjects, and where you do not physically address the other, so you would need to conjugate in the subjunctive. A direct command is where you actually address the other. Try your hand at it, and we'll help you further!
If you're not a drill sergeant, you can also use "poder" + the infinitive of the action verb.
"Por favor, puede reparar mi teléfono?" (3rd person formal indicative present tense) "Please can you fix my phone?"
Or, a bit more polite, "Por favor, podría usted reparar mi teléfono?" (3rd person formal conditional) "Please, could you fix my phone?"
If you are a drill sergeant, then "¡Repara mi teléfono, Bolsa de Mugre!"
