I told her to tell him.....
La dije decirlo.... o La dije decirle..... Which one is correct? I'm leaning towards the first one
10 Answers
Thanx Heidita, I understand why the subjunctive is used but what is the reason you use le instead of la is it because your telling her something
The thing that she has to say is the direct object (lo), and the person to whom she has to tell is the indirect object (le). Indirect objects can only be "le" or "les".
At least you understand the subjunctive here. Have you tried the approach [that] I always suggest, or [did] you use a different one?
Well, my first thought was that it revolved around the fact that this was an imperative usage also.
But just to discuss your method without knowing the answer, would you first insert the indicative into the clause... que le decía... and consider what is being declared in that mood and compare it to what we are trying to say. If we are not declaring what the indicative clause means then we use the subjunctive''?
Let me just plain guess: since we don't know whether she did tell him or not, we can't declare that she did, so we use the subjunctive.
Qfreed, I don't even think that it goes as far as a native speaker wanting to express themselves in a certain mood. Most native speakers I speak to have no idea what the subjunctive is and if they do they generally have no idea what it expresses.
When you say "I would rather go to Peru than Colombia" (random example) do you feel like you are not declaring something or is it just that it sounds correct?
I would be very surprised if a native speaker said (here I am not declaring that they are saying it) that they consciously choose to use the subjunctive because they don't want to declare something. Surely, to natives, it is simply a case of using certain words in a certain way to express themselves.
Ha! I thought that you might have corrected it before I made the correction so I decided to scrap the message.
That's what I was thinking q
I thought I was going crazy. I was quoting your message about my typo
[I was going to tell you that I had been taking typing lessons from Heidita] when your reply kept changing. Apparently you were editing your reply.
As for the answer, I wouldn't take bets on its veracity.
I think that the subjunctive just has to feel right to you (after years of using it) rather than be understood. I can't believe a native stops and analyzes all of this when he chooses his verb form in speech. I think it just goes with the mood of the conversation, whether he's trying to declare something or express his feelings.
That's what I was thinking q
Mozilla
And to Lazarus: I just thought you would use the subjunctive because your recommending that (moreso oredering) she do something instead of you simply telling her something. For example: Le dije la receta
Sidebar: How do you do that thing where you copy someones post into your own
Sidebar: How do you do that thing where you copy someones post into your own
Just click on "quote" below the post.
Thanx Heidita, I understand why the subjunctive is used but what is the reason you use le instead of la is it because your telling her something
The thing that she has to say is the direct object (lo), and the person to whom she has to tell is the indirect object (le). Indirect objects can only be "le" or "les".
At least you understand the subjunctive here. Have you tried the approach I always suggest, or you use a different one'
Thanx Heidita, I understand why the subjunctive is used but what is the reason you use le instead of la is it because your telling her something.
Sidebar: I keep getting a database error when I try to go directly to the Vocab & Grammar Forum
Sorry raven, neither.
Le dije que le dijera.....
(I love your avatar, a unique Brando. )
