Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): La casera nos dio una sugerencia: limpiar el fregadero con jabón. - The landlady gave us a suggestion: clean the sink with soap.

Mexico/Colombia/Peru: la casera is widely understood as landlady; la dueña is very common.
Argentina/Uruguay: people often say la dueña; casera can also mean caretaker.
Chile/Peru/Bolivia: casera can also be a friendly term used by market vendors. As an adjective, casero/a means homemade (e.g., comida casera), but here it’s a noun meaning landlady.

Why is it dio and not dió?

Because dio (he/she/it gave) has no accent in the preterite. It’s an irregular form of dar: di, diste, dio, dimos, dieron.

Why the preterite dio instead of ha dado?

In Latin America, the simple preterite (dio) is the default for completed past actions, even recent ones. Ha dado (present perfect) is more common in Spain for recent past, but dio is perfectly natural in Latin American Spanish.

What does nos do in La casera nos dio…?

Nos is an indirect object pronoun meaning to/for us. With dar, the person who receives is the indirect object:

La casera nos dio una sugerencia = The landlady gave a suggestion to us. For emphasis, you can add a clarifier: A nosotros nos dio…

Could I say nos la dio?

Yes, if you’re replacing una sugerencia with a pronoun after it’s already known:

La casera nos dio una sugerencia. Luego, nos la dio por escrito. Here la stands for la sugerencia. Pronoun order with two objects is IO + DO: nos la dio.

Is dar una sugerencia the most idiomatic? What about hacer or sugerir?

All are valid, but:

Very idiomatic: hacer una sugerencia (to make a suggestion).
Also common: dar un consejo (to give advice).
Direct verb: sugerir with a subordinate clause. Examples:
La casera nos hizo una sugerencia…
La casera nos sugirió que limpiáramos el fregadero con jabón.

Why is there a colon and then an infinitive (…: limpiar …)?

The colon introduces the content of the suggestion; the infinitive limpiar works like a headline or label for the action. Alternatives:

La casera nos hizo una sugerencia: limpiar el fregadero con jabón.
La casera nos sugirió que limpiáramos el fregadero con jabón. (subjunctive clause with que)

Could I write una sugerencia de limpiar… instead of using a colon?

Yes: La casera nos dio la sugerencia de limpiar el fregadero con jabón. With an indefinite article it’s possible too (una sugerencia de…), though stylistically many prefer the colon or a que-clause.

Why not say para limpiar after sugerencia?

Una sugerencia para limpiar el fregadero describes the topic (a tip about cleaning). Your sentence gives the actual instruction. Both are correct, but they differ:

Topic: Nos dio una sugerencia para limpiar el fregadero.
Content/quote-like: Nos dio una sugerencia: limpiar el fregadero.

Why is it el fregadero? Are there regional alternatives?

Yes. Kitchen-sink terms vary a lot:

Mexico: el fregadero (also regional la tarja).
Colombia/Central America/Chile/Peru: el lavaplatos often means the sink.
Argentina/Uruguay: la pileta or la bacha. Note: lavaplatos can also mean dishwasher in some places, so context matters. Lavadero usually refers to a laundry sink, not the kitchen sink.

Is fregadero related to the verb fregar? And should I use fregar for “to clean” here?

Etymologically yes, but usage differs:

In Spain, fregar commonly means to wash/scrub (e.g., dishes, floors).
In much of Latin America, fregar may mean to scrub in certain contexts, but it also colloquially means to bother/annoy or even to mess up. To avoid ambiguity, limpiar or lavar is safer in Latin America for this sentence.

Why is it con jabón and not con el jabón?

Spanish often omits the article with substances/tools used in general: con jabón, con agua, con vinagre. Use el jabón when referring to a specific soap already known: con el jabón que compramos.

Is jabón the same as dish soap? Should I say detergente or something else?

If you mean dishwashing liquid, you can be specific:

jabón para platos / jabón para trastes (Mexico)
detergente para platos / lavavajillas (varies by country) Your original con jabón is fine if the context already implies dish soap.

Could I attach a pronoun to the infinitive to avoid repeating el fregadero?

Yes: La casera nos dio una sugerencia: limpiarlo con jabón. Here lo replaces el fregadero. With the reporting verb:

Nos sugirió limpiarlo.
Or with a que-clause: Nos sugirió que lo limpiáramos.

Why is it lower case after the colon?

In Spanish, after a colon you normally use lower case unless what follows is a full independent sentence that some styles choose to capitalize. Here it’s a fragment (limpiar …), so lower case is standard.

Could I use an imperative instead of the infinitive?

If you’re quoting her words directly, yes:

La casera dijo: Limpien el fregadero con jabón. (addressing ustedes)
…: Limpia el fregadero… (addressing tú) But when reporting indirectly, Spanish often prefers an infinitive or a que
- subjunctive: …: limpiar… / …que limpiáramos…

Why que limpiáramos (imperfect subjunctive) after sugirió?

After verbs of suggestion, recommendation, or advice (sugerir, recomendar, aconsejar), Spanish uses que + subjunctive to report what is suggested:

Present: Nos sugiere que limpiemos…
Past: Nos sugirió que limpiáramos…

Is the word order fixed? Could I say Nos dio la casera una sugerencia?

Standard and clearest is Subject–Verb–Object: La casera nos dio una sugerencia. You can front objects for emphasis, but Nos dio la casera… sounds marked or literary. Better options:

A nosotros, la casera nos dio una sugerencia. (emphasis on recipients)

Do I need to say nuestra casera?

Not necessarily. The definite article la can identify a known person in context. If it’s clearer, you can say Nuestra casera nos dio…

Any punctuation spacing rules around the colon I should know?

In Spanish, no space before the colon and one space after it:

…una sugerencia: limpiar…

Could I say nos dejó una sugerencia?

Yes, but it means she physically left a suggestion (e.g., a note). Nos dio/hizo una sugerencia focuses on giving/making the suggestion, whether spoken or written.

Is there any difference between sugerencia and consejo?

Sugerencia = suggestion, a softer proposal.
Consejo = advice, often sounds a bit firmer or more guiding. Both can fit here; choose based on nuance:
Nos dio una sugerencia… (soft)
Nos dio un consejo… (advisory tone)

Is alguna sugerencia better than una sugerencia?

Not here. Alguna sugerencia usually means any/some suggestion in questions or negatives (e.g., ¿Tienes alguna sugerencia?). To state she gave one suggestion, una sugerencia is right.