Verbs of influence

Using infinitives with verbs of influence

When you want to tell, advise, or ask someone to do something, you use a verb of influence like aconsejar (to advise), pedir (to ask), or mandar (to order). These verbs take an indirect object pronoun (me, te, le, nos, les) to indicate who is being influenced.

One common way to structure these sentences is to follow the verb of influence directly with the second action in its infinitive form.

I advise you to conduct the orchestra today.
Te aconsejo dirigir la orquesta hoy.

The "que" + subjunctive alternative

You can express the exact same idea by swapping out the infinitive for que followed by a verb in the subjunctive mood. Both structures are perfectly correct, carry the same meaning, and are frequently used interchangeably in everyday Spanish.

I advise that you conduct the orchestra today.
Te aconsejo que dirijas la orquesta hoy.

Alternating between structures

As you practice using different verbs of influence, you will see these two patterns side-by-side. Whether you are asking, ordering, or forbidding, you can confidently choose either the infinitive or the que + subjunctive structure.

Here is how they alternate with pedir:

We ask them to tune the instruments.
Les pedimos afinar los instrumentos.
We ask that they tune the instruments.
Les pedimos que afinen los instrumentos.

Here is the same structural swap with mandar:

The director orders him to read the violin sheet music.
El director le manda leer la partitura del violín.
The director orders that he read the violin sheet music.
El director le manda que lea la partitura del violín.

And finally, the exact same rules apply when forbidding an action with prohibir:

He forbids us to play the trumpet in the symphony.
Nos prohíbe tocar la trompeta en la sinfonía.
He forbids that we play the trumpet in the symphony.
Nos prohíbe que toquemos la trompeta en la sinfonía.