Word
Mis padres desean que yo lave los platos antes de salir de casa.
Meaning
My parents want me to wash the dishes before leaving the house.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Lesson
Breakdown of Mis padres desean que yo lave los platos antes de salir de casa.
yo
I
de
of
que
that
antes de
before
Questions & Answers about Mis padres desean que yo lave los platos antes de salir de casa.
Why is lave used here instead of lavo?
Because the verb desear (to wish/desire) in the main clause is followed by que, which typically triggers the subjunctive mood in Spanish. The subjunctive (lave) is used to express desires, feelings, or requests about someone else's action instead of stating a simple fact.
Why do we say que yo lave rather than que lave or que él lave?
Spanish often allows the subject to be omitted, especially when the context is clear. In some regions, saying que lave alone would be perfectly acceptable. However, including yo makes it explicit that I am the one who has to wash the dishes. This helps avoid any ambiguity about who needs to do the washing.
Why is antes de followed by an infinitive (salir) and not a conjugated verb?
The phrase antes de (before) is always followed by an infinitive when referencing a general action or event. In Spanish, prepositions like de and a are typically followed by an infinitive. If a clause (with a different subject) follows antes de, we would usually introduce it with antes de que and use the subjunctive: antes de que yo salga.
Why do we say los platos instead of just platos?