Breakdown of La nutricionista dice que una porción de pastel ya es suficiente para mí.
Questions & Answers about La nutricionista dice que una porción de pastel ya es suficiente para mí.
In Spanish, when you report what someone says (indirect speech), you normally use “decir + que + clause”:
- La nutricionista dice que… = The nutritionist says (that)…
The “que” here is a conjunction meaning “that”, introducing the whole idea “una porción de pastel ya es suficiente para mí”.
You cannot skip “que” in Spanish the way you can often skip “that” in English.
- English: She says (that) one piece of cake is enough for me.
- Spanish: Ella dice que una porción de pastel ya es suficiente para mí.
(❌ Ella dice una porción de pastel ya es suficiente para mí.)
Using “de que” here (“dice de que”) is incorrect and is called dequeísmo (overusing “de”). With “decir” in this meaning, you use “que”, not “de que”.
Spanish uses the present tense here for the same reasons English might say “The nutritionist says…”:
- It can describe something she says regularly or generally (her rule or recommendation).
- It can describe what she is currently saying in a consultation (present time).
If you want to talk about something she said on a specific past occasion, you would use the past:
- La nutricionista dijo que una porción de pastel ya era suficiente para mí.
= The nutritionist said that one piece of cake was already enough for me.
So “dice” suggests a current or habitual statement, not a one-time past comment.
“Ya” literally means “already”, but in this sentence it has a more nuanced role:
- “Una porción de pastel es suficiente para mí.”
= One piece of cake is enough for me. - “Una porción de pastel ya es suficiente para mí.”
= One piece of cake is already enough for me / is more than enough for me by now.
“Ya” suggests that:
- you have reached the point where it’s enough;
- anything more would be too much or unnecessary.
You can omit it (the sentence is still correct), but “ya” adds a subtle emotional or evaluative nuance: that’s it, that’s enough, we don’t need more.
The difference is about specific vs. non-specific:
una porción de pastel
→ a portion of (some) cake, just the type/amount, not referring to any particular cake.una porción del pastel
→ a portion of the cake, a specific cake that both speakers know about (for example, the cake on the table).
In this sentence, the nutritionist is speaking generally about how much cake is enough for you, not referring to one specific cake, so “de pastel” (without the article) fits better.
In Latin America, the word for “cake” varies a lot by country:
- In Mexico and much of Central America, “pastel” commonly means cake.
- In other places:
- torta can mean cake (e.g., some South American countries) but also sandwich (Mexico).
- queque is used for cake in places like Costa Rica, Peru (informally), etc.
- bizcocho can mean cake, sponge cake, or other baked goods in different regions.
The sentence uses “pastel” because it’s widely understood as “cake” across much of Latin America, but local everyday usage might prefer another word in some countries.
“Nutricionista” is a common-gender noun: it has one form for both men and women.
- la nutricionista = the (female) nutritionist
- el nutricionista = the (male) nutritionist
There is no form “nutricionisto” in standard Spanish.
The article (la / el) tells you the person’s gender if it matters. In your sentence, “la nutricionista” tells us the nutritionist is female.
Both “para mí” and “a mí” can translate as “for me” or “to me”, but they’re used differently.
- para mí focuses on benefit, purpose, or suitability:
- Es suficiente para mí. = It’s enough for me (it satisfies my needs).
- a mí often marks a person affected by an action or adds emphasis:
- A mí me dijo que no comiera más pastel. = Me, she told not to eat more cake.
In your sentence, the idea is “enough for me / for my needs”, so “para mí” is the natural choice:
- …es suficiente para mí.
= …is enough for me (appropriate quantity for me).
Spanish distinguishes two words:
- mi (no accent) = my (possessive adjective)
- mi casa = my house
- mi nutricionista = my nutritionist
- mí (with accent) = me (strong pronoun after a preposition)
- para mí = for me
- de mí = about me
In “para mí”, the word is a pronoun after a preposition (“para”), so it must be mí with an accent.
“Suficiente” is an adjective that:
- Doesn’t change for gender (same for masculine and feminine):
- un pastel suficiente (masc.)
- una porción suficiente (fem.)
- Does change for number:
- suficiente (singular)
- suficientes (plural)
In your sentence:
- porción is singular, so the adjective must be singular: suficiente, not suficientes.
- Gender doesn’t matter because the form is the same for masculine and feminine.
So:
- Una porción de pastel ya es suficiente. (one portion = singular)
- Dos porciones de pastel ya son suficientes. (two portions = plural)
Some variation is possible, but each option sounds slightly different:
Una porción de pastel ya es suficiente para mí.
– The most natural and neutral order.Una porción de pastel es ya suficiente para mí.
– Grammatically correct but less common in everyday speech; “ya” sounds a bit more formal or emphatic placed after “es”.Ya una porción de pastel es suficiente para mí.
– Possible, but “ya” at the beginning often adds stronger emphasis, like:- Already, just one piece is enough for me / By now, even one piece is enough…
For regular, natural speech in Latin America, the original order is the best choice:
La nutricionista dice que una porción de pastel ya es suficiente para mí.
Yes, you can say:
- La nutricionista me dice que una porción de pastel ya es suficiente.
The difference:
Original:
La nutricionista dice que una porción de pastel ya es suficiente para mí.- Emphasis: the statement is about what is enough for me (using “para mí”).
- No explicit object pronoun (me) for “says to me”.
With “me dice”:
La nutricionista me dice que una porción de pastel ya es suficiente.- Emphasis: she says this to me (I’m the person she’s addressing).
- It’s understood that this rule applies to me, so “para mí” can be omitted.
Both are correct; the second one highlights the act of speaking to you personally.
After “decir que”, you usually use:
Indicative (es suficiente) when you’re reporting information:
- La nutricionista dice que una porción de pastel ya es suficiente para mí.
= She says (states) that one piece is enough for me.
- La nutricionista dice que una porción de pastel ya es suficiente para mí.
Subjunctive (sea suficiente) is not natural here because we’re not expressing a wish, doubt, or something hypothetical. We’re just reporting her opinion as a statement.
You get subjunctive with “decir que” mainly when “decir” expresses an order or request, often with an infinitive or with a verb like “comer”:
- La nutricionista dice que coma menos pastel.
= The nutritionist tells me to eat less cake.
Here, though, it’s a reported fact/opinion, so indicative: “es suficiente” is correct.