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Por favor, pasa las monedas a tu hermano y pídele que las guarde.

Por favor, pasa las monedas a tu hermano y pídele que las guarde.
Please hand the coins to your brother and ask him to store them.
FromLesson 9inHardcore Spanish (Latin America)

Breakdown of Por favor, pasa las monedas a tu hermano y pídele que las guarde.

el hermano
the brother
y
and
que
that
a
to
guardar
to store
tu
your
por favor
please
la moneda
the coin
pasar
to hand
pedir
to ask
le
him

Questions & Answers about Por favor, pasa las monedas a tu hermano y pídele que las guarde.

Why is the verb pasa used instead of da in this sentence?
In Spanish, pasar can mean “to hand over” or “to pass along,” emphasizing the action of transferring something from one person to another. By using pasa, you’re focusing on the motion of giving the coins rather than simply giving them, as dar would suggest.
What does pídele mean, and why is it used here?
Pídele is the command form of pedir combined with the pronoun le (“to him” or “to her”). It literally means “ask him” or “ask her.” In this sentence, you’re telling the listener to ask the brother to do something, hence pídele fits perfectly.
Why do we see que las guarde instead of a simpler form like guárdalas?
After verbs like pedir, Spanish commonly uses the que + subjunctive construction to express what you want someone else to do. So, pídele que las guarde tells your brother what action you want him to perform (“to keep the coins”). Guárdalas would be a direct command to the brother, but here the speaker is telling someone else to make that request.
Why is guarde in the subjunctive form?
The subjunctive is used to express requests, wishes, or commands indirectly. Because you’re saying “ask him to keep them,” the action is being requested rather than directly commanded. This triggers the subjunctive (guarde), which is common after verbs like pedir.
Why do we say las instead of repeating monedas?
Las is a direct object pronoun referring back to las monedas. Using pronouns like this in Spanish helps avoid repetition and keeps the sentence flowing naturally. Since we already know we’re talking about las monedas, the pronoun las is clear enough on its own.
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“How does verb conjugation work in Spanish?”
Spanish verbs change form based on the subject, tense, and mood. Regular verbs follow predictable patterns depending on whether they end in ‑ar, ‑er, or ‑ir. For example, "hablar" (to speak) becomes "hablo" (I speak), "hablas" (you speak), and "habla" (he/she speaks) in the present tense.

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