Breakdown of Pregúntale a la farmacéutica si este enjuague bucal es suave.
Questions & Answers about Pregúntale a la farmacéutica si este enjuague bucal es suave.
Pregúntale is a command plus a pronoun: pregunta (command) + le (to him/her/you-formal). When you attach a pronoun to the end of an affirmative command, Spanish often adds an accent to keep the original stress.
Without the accent, preguntale would be stressed differently (and would sound wrong). The accent keeps the stress on PREGÚN-: pre-GÚN-ta-le.
Le is an indirect object pronoun meaning to him / to her / to you (formal).
Here it refers to a la farmacéutica (to the pharmacist). So Pregúntale = Ask the pharmacist (literally, Ask to her).
It’s very common (and often preferred) in Spanish to use both:
- the pronoun (le) and
- the full noun phrase (a la farmacéutica)
This is called indirect object “doubling.” It helps clarity and sounds natural. You can sometimes omit le if the noun is right there, but Pregúntale a la farmacéutica… is the most natural phrasing.
Because the verb preguntar commonly takes an indirect object introduced by a when you indicate who you ask:
- Preguntar a alguien = to ask someone
It’s also related to the personal a, which is used with people.
Farmacéutica is feminine: the (female) pharmacist.
If the pharmacist is a man, you’d say el farmacéutico.
If you don’t know or want to be neutral, you can choose what fits the context, e.g. Pregúntale al farmacéutico… / …a la farmacéutica…
They’re different words:
- si (no accent) = if / whether
- sí (with accent) = yes (or emphasis like indeed)
In this sentence, si introduces an indirect yes/no question: ask whether it’s mild.
After preguntar si…, Spanish normally uses the indicative because you’re asking about information (a fact you want to know), not expressing doubt in a way that triggers the subjunctive:
- Pregúntale si este enjuague bucal es suave.
Subjunctive can show up in other structures (e.g., with uncertainty words like no sé si… sometimes varies by region/meaning), but here es is the standard, natural choice.
Enjuague bucal is the standard term for mouthwash in Latin American Spanish.
- enjuague = rinse
- bucal = oral / of the mouth
Other options exist (like colutorio), but enjuague bucal is widely understood and common in everyday speech.
With products like mouthwash, suave means mild / gentle (not harsh, not strong).
It can mean “soft” in other contexts (like fabric), but here it’s about how strong or irritating it feels (often related to alcohol content, strong mint, burning sensation, etc.).
In Spanish, demonstratives like este/esta/estos/estas usually replace the article el/la/los/las, not combine with it. So you say:
- este enjuague bucal = this mouthwash
Not: este el enjuague bucal
Yes, it’s a tú command: Pregúntale… = (You) ask…
A more polite/formal option is the usted command:
- Pregúntele a la farmacéutica si este enjuague bucal es suave.
For plural:
- Pregúntenle… (ustedes)
- Pregúntales… (vosotros, mainly Spain)
Key stress points (because of the accents):
- pregÚN-ta-le (stress on ÚN)
- far-ma-CÉU-ti-ca (stress on CÉU)
Also, in much of Latin America:
- ll and y often sound like a y (or a soft j/sh depending on region), so enjuague is typically something like en-HWA-ge (with gua as hwa).