where to go, etc.

Question

I'm kind of embarrassed to ask such an elementary question, but the fact that it's elementary makes it all the more important that I understand it.

My question is about the English structure: imperative + indirect object + interrogative pronoun + infinitive verb

Examples:
Show them where to go.
Tell her what to do.
Describe to the class how to walk on stilts.

Now, without the interrogative pronoun, it just a straight-forward subjunctive construction in Spanish. So, "Tell her to do it" is "Dile que lo haga." But when the interrogative pronoun is used, I'm not positive about how the verb at the end is conjugated. For instance, is the first example above "Enséñales adónde ir" or "Enséñales adónde (que) vayan"? Or something else?

What is the general rule for such constructions'

Answer 1

James Santiago said:

I understand replacing a noun with a pronoun, but if adónde is an adverb, I don't understand why we would replace an adverb with an adverb, or what the replaced adverb would be, but please don't spend time explaining it.

I won't explain; just state: It makes reference to any adverb or adverbial expression which will be the answer to an indirect interrogative clause:

¿Adónde vas? Voy allí / a mi casa / a la calle /....

P.S. Normal place adverbs refer to specific places, not to places that will be answered later.

Answer 2

As samdie said, according to most grammars, "(a)dónde" is an interrogative adverb. Pronouns replace nouns, but "adónde" replaces an adverb, so it cannot be a pronoun.

I understand replacing a noun with a pronoun, but if adónde is an adverb, I don't understand why we would replace an adverb with an adverb, or what the replaced adverb would be, but please don't spend time explaining it.

Thanks to all for replying. I pretty much knew this construction, but wasn't sure for some reason.

Answer 3

The "general" rule for subordinates is that you use infinitive if the subject can be easily and unequivocally from the structure of the main sentence, but unfortunately, the reality is more complex than just this, and there are other factors to take into consideration.

In "Enséñales adónde ir", the pronoun "les" gives all the necessary information for others to know that th subject of "ir" is "them" (they). Notice also that "adónde ir" is an indirect interrogative because of "adónde", so "Dile qué hacer" is fine, but "Dile que hacer" makes no sense, because "hacer" could also be interpreted as a noun by anyone. In many other cases, you'll have to conjugate the verb after "Enséñales adónde....".

As samdie said, according to most grammars, "(a)dónde" is an interrogative adverb. Pronouns replace nouns, but "adónde" replaces an adverb, so it cannot be a pronoun.

Answer 4

You are right. it`s "lo que" instead " lo qué" , "que" is without written accent.

Answer 5

"Dile lo qué tiene que hacer" o "Dile lo que debe hacer"

My question was about the "lo qué." I think it should be "lo que." In the above two phrases, there is no difference in the part after "dile," so they should both be "lo que," no'

Answer 6

At least in Spain is common to say, "Dile lo qué tiene que hacer" o "Dile lo que debe hacer", i don`t know in other countries.
Also you can say:
" Dile qué tiene que hacer" or " Dile que debe hacer" (both sentences are common too, without the pronoun "lo")

Answer 7

Thanks, iker, but are you certain that we can say "lo qué" (rather than "lo que")? I've never seen lo used with qué like this before. In particular, "Dile lo qué tiene que hace" looks very odd to me.

Based on your additional comments, I assume that the general English construction I gave is not commonly used in Spanish, and that it is more common to use additional verb, such as deber. Is that right'

Answer 8

I would say:

"Enséñales adónde ir"
"Dile lo qué hacer."
"Enseña a la clase cómo andar por con zancos."

But it is more common to say:

" Enséñales adónde tienen que ir" ó bien "Enséñales adónde deben ir"
" Dile lo qué tiene que hacer" o bien " Dile lo qué debe hacer"

Answer 9

The first and last are not pronouns. They're interrogative adverbs.

Hmmm. This seems confusing. My dictionary says that "where" can be an adverb (Where is he'), a conjunction (The cup is where you left it), or a pronoun (This is where the boat docks). It's making my head hurt. I also find lots of sites that give information such as this:

*In modern English there are five interrogative pronouns:
what, which, who, whom, and whose.
Note that all five words may also be used as relative pronouns. A relative pronoun may be found in a question; an interrogative pronoun is found only in a question.

In addition, these pronouns may take the suffixes -ever and -soever.
Examples (interrogative pronoun in italics):
What did you say?
Who said that'*

Anyway, the grammar lingo isn't my main concern. Thanks for the input on my question, and I hope to hear from some others for further confirmation.

Answer 10

My vote is for:
"Enséñales adónde ir"
"Dile qué hacer."
"ÿnseña a la clase cómo andar por zancos."

P.S. The first and last are not pronouns. They're interrogative adverbs.