Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): El gerente dijo que un buen sueldo también depende del esfuerzo diario. - The manager said that a good salary also depends on daily effort.

In Spanish indirect speech you use decir que + a clause. The que functions like the English “that” (even though English often drops it in speech) and connects dijo with what follows. Omitting que would be ungrammatical—you must say dijo que un buen sueldo….

Why is the subordinate clause in the present tense depende after the past tense dijo, instead of dependía, dependerá, or dependría?

Because the manager is stating a general truth or principle, Spanish keeps the present indicative (depende) to express something that remains valid. Even though the main verb is past (dijo), the subordinate clause describes a universal fact. Using dependía would confine it to the past, while dependerá or dependría would add future or conditional sense, changing the original meaning.

Why is the indicative depende used here instead of the subjunctive dependa?

The subjunctive mood expresses doubt, wishes, or non-factual situations. In this sentence dijo que introduces a straightforward factual statement about how salary works, so you use the indicative (depende). The subjunctive (dependa) would be wrong here because there’s no uncertainty or emotion—just a reported fact.

Why does bueno become buen in un buen sueldo?

Spanish has an apocope rule for certain adjectives (like bueno, malo, primero, tercero, etc.): they drop the -o when placed before a masculine singular noun. Hence bueno sueldo becomes buen sueldo.

Is it correct to say un sueldo bueno instead of un buen sueldo?

Grammatically yes—you can place an adjective after the noun. However, in everyday Spanish the apocopated form un buen sueldo is far more idiomatic. Saying un sueldo bueno sounds technically correct but a bit awkward in most contexts.

Why is de + el contracted to del in depende del esfuerzo diario?

Whenever the preposition de is immediately followed by the masculine singular article el, Spanish requires you to contract them into del. So de el esfuerzo must become del esfuerzo.

What part of speech is diario here, and could I use diariamente instead?

In esfuerzo diario, diario is an adjective modifying the noun esfuerzo (“daily effort”). Diariamente is an adverb and only modifies verbs, so you can’t use it directly with a noun. If you wanted to use diariamente, you’d need a verb phrase (e.g. trabaja diariamente), not a noun phrase.

Can I move también around in this sentence, and does its position change the emphasis?

Yes. Common options are:

El gerente dijo que un buen sueldo también depende… (emphasizes that effort is an additional factor)
El gerente dijo que un buen sueldo depende también… (focuses on effort as one more element)
El gerente dijo que también un buen sueldo depende… (puts broader emphasis on the whole idea).
All are correct; you simply shift the nuance slightly.

Do we always need the article el before gerente? Why is it El gerente instead of just Gerente?

In standard Spanish you include the definite article before job titles or roles in sentences. So El gerente dijo… is natural. Omitting the article (“Gerente dijo…”) sounds like a headline or a label, not a normal statement.

What’s the difference between sueldo and salario? Are they interchangeable?

Both sueldo and salario mean “salary” or “wage” and are largely interchangeable. Salario can feel slightly more formal or legal (e.g. in contracts), whereas sueldo is very common in everyday speech. Regional preferences vary across Latin America, but you won’t go wrong with either term.