Breakdown of Yo le dije que el viernes tendría mejor conexión y que encendería la cámara entonces.
Questions & Answers about Yo le dije que el viernes tendría mejor conexión y que encendería la cámara entonces.
Spanish often uses an indirect object pronoun with decir to show to whom you say something.
- Yo dije que… = I said that… (no mention of who heard it)
- Yo le dije que… = I told him/her that… (explicit: I said it to someone)
So le means to him / to her / to you (formal).
You can say Yo dije que…, but then the listener is left unspecified.
Because here le is an indirect object pronoun (the person you speak to), not a direct object.
- Structure: decir algo a alguien
- algo (what you say) = direct object
- a alguien (who you say it to) = indirect object → le
So:
- Yo le dije que… = I told him/her that… (I said that to him/her)
- Lo dije = I said it (the it is the direct object; no person mentioned)
In Spain you will also see le sometimes used as a direct object for males (leísmo: Le vi ayer = I saw him yesterday), but in le dije it’s the normal indirect usage.
Because the sentence refers to something you told someone in the past, not something you are telling them now.
- Yo digo que… = I say / I’m saying that… (now, habitual or present)
- Yo dije que… = I said / I told (someone) that… (completed past event)
The tense dije is the pretérito indefinido (simple past), used for a finished action at a specific time.
Because this is reported speech with a past reporting verb (dije). Spanish often does a kind of “backshift”:
- Direct speech (what you originally said):
- El viernes tendré mejor conexión y encenderé la cámara.
- Reported later:
- Yo le dije que el viernes tendría mejor conexión y que encendería la cámara.
The conditional here shows “future from a past point of view” – what was in the future relative to the moment you spoke.
It’s similar to English “I told him I would have a better connection and would turn on the camera.”
You could use future (tendré / encenderé) if you’re focusing on the fact that it’s still future from now, but the conditional is the textbook option in this kind of narrative.
Yes, but the nuance changes slightly:
- …que el viernes tendría…
→ neutral reported speech from a past viewpoint (I would have…). Very standard. - …que el viernes tendré…
→ you’re bringing the listener’s attention to the fact that, from now, it is still a future event. It can sound more immediate or like you’re reaffirming a plan that is still valid.
Both are grammatically correct. In careful written Spanish, the conditional is more typical after dije when you are strictly reporting what you said.
Both forms are possible:
With repetition (more explicit, slightly more careful):
- Yo le dije que el viernes tendría mejor conexión y que encendería la cámara entonces.
Without repetition (more natural in everyday speech):
- Yo le dije que el viernes tendría mejor conexión y encendería la cámara entonces.
Repeating que makes the two clauses feel more parallel and clear. Omitting it is also very common and correct.
In Spanish, days of the week used to indicate when something happens normally take the definite article:
- El viernes = on Friday
- El lunes, el martes, etc.
You don’t normally use en before the day in this sense:
- ✅ El viernes voy. = I’ll go on Friday.
- ❌ En viernes voy. (unnatural in this meaning)
So el viernes tendría mejor conexión = I would have a better connection on Friday.
Because in Spanish, days of the week and months are written with lowercase letters, unless they start a sentence:
- el viernes, el lunes, enero, octubre
Compare with English: Friday, January.
This is just an orthographic convention.
Yes. In Spanish, subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb ending already shows the subject:
- Dije clearly indicates yo (1st person singular).
So:
- Yo le dije que… and
- Le dije que…
are both correct.
Using yo can add emphasis: I (and not someone else) told him/her.
Entonces here is a time adverb meaning “then / at that time” (not “therefore”).
- With it:
- …y que encendería la cámara entonces.
→ “…and that I would turn the camera on then (at that moment in the future).”
- …y que encendería la cámara entonces.
- Without it:
- …y que encendería la cámara.
→ “…and that I would turn the camera on.” (still understandable from context)
- …y que encendería la cámara.
You can generally omit entonces if it’s obvious from context that the camera will be turned on on Friday (or at that future moment you are talking about). Entonces just makes the timing explicit.
Yes. Word order with adverbs is flexible:
- …y que encendería la cámara entonces.
- …y que entonces encendería la cámara.
Both are correct.
Typical positions for entonces are:
- Before the verb: entonces encendería
- After the verb or after the object: encendería la cámara entonces
All of these keep the same meaning here.
Yes. That’s perfectly natural:
- …y que encendería la cámara entonces.
- …y que la encendería entonces.
In the second version, la is the direct object pronoun for la cámara (feminine singular). This avoids repeating the noun when it’s already clear what you’re talking about.
Both versions are common; using the pronoun is often more colloquial and fluid.
The form tendría is the simple conditional. It has several uses:
Future in the past (the one in your sentence):
- Dije que tendría mejor conexión.
→ I said I would have a better connection.
- Dije que tendría mejor conexión.
Polite / softening requests or statements:
- ¿Tendría un momento? = Would you have a moment?
- Tendría que irme. = I should / I’d have to go.
In your sentence it’s clearly the future-in-the-past / reported-speech use, not the politeness one.