¿Puedes avisar a mi hermana si llego tarde?

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Breakdown of ¿Puedes avisar a mi hermana si llego tarde?

• mi: my
• tú: you
• llegar: to arrive

Questions & Answers about ¿Puedes avisar a mi hermana si llego tarde?

Why does the sentence use puedes?

Puedes is the tú form of poder, so here it means can you and makes the sentence an informal request.

• ¿Puedes avisar...? = informal, singular
• ¿Puede avisar...? = formal, singular
• ¿Podrías avisar...? = softer / more polite, like could you...

In much of Latin America, whether you use tú or usted depends on the country and the relationship between the speakers.

What does avisar mean here?

Here avisar means something like to let someone know, to inform, or to tell.

It is very common in everyday Spanish. In this sentence, avisar a mi hermana means to let my sister know.

It is similar to decir, but avisar often suggests giving someone notice or a heads-up.

Why is there an a before mi hermana?

That a is needed because the verb is being used with a person: avisar a alguien.

So:

• avisar a mi hermana
• avisar a Juan
• avisar a tus padres

This is related to the personal a, which often appears when the object is a specific person.

Why isn’t there a le in the sentence, like ?