Questions & Answers about En cuanto te enteres de la nueva fecha, avísame, porque sospecho que otra persona todavía no lo sabe.
Why is it en cuanto te enteres and not en cuanto te enteras?
Because en cuanto refers to a future moment here: as soon as you find out. In Spanish, when words like cuando, en cuanto, tan pronto como, etc. refer to the future, Spanish normally uses the present subjunctive, not the present indicative.
So:
- En cuanto te enteres... = As soon as you find out...
- Cuando llegues... = When you arrive...
If you said en cuanto te enteras, it would sound wrong in this context.
What exactly does en cuanto mean, and is it the same as cuando?
En cuanto means as soon as. It is close to cuando (when), but it is more immediate.
Compare:
- Cuando te enteres, avísame. = When you find out, let me know.
- En cuanto te enteres, avísame. = As soon as you find out, let me know.
So en cuanto emphasizes that the second action should happen immediately after the first one.
Why is it enteres? What verb is that from?
It comes from the verb enterarse de, which means to find out or to become aware of.
The infinitive is:
- enterarse de algo = to find out about something
In the sentence:
- te enteres = you find out
- te is part of the pronominal verb enterarse
- de la nueva fecha tells you what you find out about
So the structure is:
- enterarse de + noun / information
Example:
- Me enteré de la noticia ayer. = I found out about the news yesterday.
Why is there a te in te enteres?
Because enterarse is a pronominal verb. You do not normally say enterar by itself with this meaning. The usual expression is:
- enterarse de algo = to find out about something
So the te is not meaning you in the same way as an object pronoun like I see you. It is part of the verb structure.
Forms of the verb include:
- me entero
- te enteras
- se entera
- nos enteramos
In your sentence, te enteres is the subjunctive form.
Why do we say de la nueva fecha after enterarse?
How is avísame formed?
Avísame comes from the verb avisar (to inform, to let someone know).
It is made of:
- avisa = informal tú affirmative command
- me = me
Together:
- avisa + me → avísame
So it means:
- let me know
- inform me
The written accent is needed because attaching me changes the stress pattern.
Why is the pronoun attached in avísame instead of written separately?
In Spanish, with affirmative commands, object pronouns are attached to the end of the verb.
So:
- Avísame. = Let me know.
- Dímelo. = Tell it to me.
- Escríbeme. = Write to me.
But with negative commands, the pronoun goes before the verb:
- No me avises. = Don’t let me know
- No me lo digas. = Don’t tell it to me
So avísame follows the normal rule for affirmative imperatives.
Why is it sospecho que otra persona todavía no lo sabe with sabe and not the subjunctive sepa?
Because after sospecho que, Spanish normally uses the indicative when the speaker presents the idea as a real possibility or belief.
So:
- Sospecho que no lo sabe. = I suspect he/she doesn’t know it.
The speaker is expressing a judgment about reality, not doubt in the grammar-triggering sense that would force the subjunctive.
You are more likely to see the subjunctive after expressions such as:
- No creo que...
- Dudo que...
- Es posible que...
- Dudo que lo sepa. = I doubt that he/she knows it.
With sospecho que, the indicative is the normal choice.
What does lo refer to in todavía no lo sabe?
Here lo refers to the information just mentioned, basically the new date or that information.
Spanish often uses lo to refer back to an idea or fact that is already understood from context.
So:
- otra persona todavía no lo sabe = someone else still doesn’t know it
In natural English, we might say doesn’t know yet, doesn’t know that, or doesn’t know the new date yet, depending on context.
Why do we need lo with saber here?
Because saber often takes a direct object when you mean to know something.
So:
- Lo sabe = He/She knows it
- No lo sabe = He/She doesn’t know it
If you remove lo, then sabe would need something else after it, such as:
In this sentence, lo avoids repeating the whole idea.
What is the difference between todavía and aún here?
In this sentence, todavía means still or yet.
- todavía no lo sabe = still doesn’t know it / doesn’t know it yet
In many cases, todavía and aún can mean the same thing:
- Todavía no ha llegado
- Aún no ha llegado
- both = He/She still hasn’t arrived
Todavía is extremely common in everyday speech. Aún can sound a little more formal or literary in some contexts, though both are standard.
Why is it otra persona and not una otra persona?
Because in Spanish, otro / otra normally goes directly before the noun without un/una.
So you say:
- otra persona = another person
- otro día = another day
- otra vez = again / another time
Not:
- una otra persona ❌
This is different from English, where another historically contains an + other, but in Spanish the structure is simply otro/otra + noun.
Why is there a comma after fecha?
Because the sentence begins with a dependent time clause:
Then comes the main command:
- avísame
Spanish punctuation often uses a comma after a fronted subordinate clause like this, especially when it is fairly long. It helps readability.
Then there is another comma before porque:
- ..., porque sospecho...
That comma separates the main request from the explanation.
Could the sentence be reordered?
Yes. Spanish allows different word orders, although the original sounds very natural.
- Avísame en cuanto te enteres de la nueva fecha, porque sospecho que otra persona todavía no lo sabe.
This means the same thing.
The original version puts the time condition first:
- En cuanto te enteres de la nueva fecha, avísame...
That gives extra emphasis to as soon as you find out.
Is avísame specifically Spain Spanish?
No. Avísame is standard Spanish everywhere.
What may vary by region is how often speakers choose alternatives such as:
- dímelo
- hazme saber
- me avisas
- me dices
But avísame is completely normal in Spain and across the Spanish-speaking world.
Since you mentioned Spanish from Spain, one thing to notice is that this sentence uses tú forms:
- te enteres
- avísame
In Spain, that is the normal informal singular pattern. A formal version would be:
Could porque sospecho que otra persona todavía no lo sabe be translated more naturally in different ways?
Yes. Even if the meaning is fixed, this part can sound natural in English in several ways:
- because I suspect someone else still doesn’t know
- because I think someone else doesn’t know yet
- because I suspect another person still hasn’t heard
- because I suspect someone else still doesn’t know about it
That is useful to know because Spanish often uses lo sabe where English may choose a less direct expression depending on context.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning SpanishMaster Spanish — from En cuanto te enteres de la nueva fecha, avísame, porque sospecho que otra persona todavía no lo sabe to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions