Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): 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.

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.

Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io

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

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

You've reached your AI usage limit