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Spanish (Latin America)

### 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.

{{item:795610}}

### 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. 

{{item:795611}}

### 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**:

{{item:795614}}

{{item:795615}}

Here is the same structural swap with **mandar**:

{{item:795618}}

{{item:795619}}

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

{{item:795622}}

{{item:795623}}

Verbs of influence

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

expression

interjection

noun

numeral

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and 'to be' (el, la, soy)

Masculine and feminine pairs (el hermano, la hermana)

Basic sentences and negation (no)

Indefinite articles (un, una)

Formal and informal you (tú vs. usted)

Plural pronouns and the verb to be (somos, son)

Making nouns plural (-s, -es)

Plural articles (los, las, unos, unas)

Noun gender exceptions

Adjective agreement

Invariable adjectives

State and location (estar)

Ser vs. estar

There is / there are (hay)

Hay vs. estar

To have (tener)

Possession (de)

Possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su)

Regular -ar verbs

Yes/No questions

What and who (qué, quién)

Regular -er verbs

Regular -ir verbs

Asking where (dónde, adónde)

How, when, and why (cómo, cuándo, por qué)

How much and how many (cuánto)

Days of the week

Going to a place (ir a)

Preposition contractions (al, del)

In and by (en)

With me and with you (conmigo, contigo)

Prepositional pronouns (mí, ti)

Conjunctions (y, o, pero)

Giving reasons (porque)

Stem-changing verbs (e to ie)

Stem-changing verbs (o to ue)

Stem-changing verbs (e to i)

Irregular yo forms (hago, salgo)

To know (saber vs. conocer)

Weather expressions (hace, está)

Desires and plans (querer)

Ability and requests (poder)

Obligations (tener que)

Expressing likes (me gusta)

Plural likes (me gustan)

Verbs like gustar (encantar, doler)

Very vs. a lot (muy, mucho)

Numbers 0 to 15 (cero, uno, dos…)

Numbers 16 to 31 (dieciséis, veinte…)

Numbers 30 to 1000 (treinta, cien, mil)

Months of the year (enero, febrero, marzo)

Seasons and dates (el dos de mayo)

Telling time (es la..., son las...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero, segundo, tercero)

Reflexive pronouns and verbs (me, te, se, nos)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

The present continuous (estar + -ando, -iendo)

Near demonstrative adjectives (este, esta, estos, estas)

Medium demonstrative adjectives (ese, esa, esos, esas)

Comparatives of inequality (más / menos ... que)

Comparatives of equality (tan ... como)

Indefinite and negative pronouns (algo, nada, alguien, nadie)

Affirmative commands

Far demonstratives (aquel, aquella)

Possessive pronouns (el mío, el tuyo)

Shortened indefinite adjectives (algún, ningún)

Adverbs of quantity (demasiado, bastante)

Adverbs of frequency (a menudo, a veces)

Adverb formation (-mente)

Exclamations (¡Qué...!)

Irregular comparatives (mejor, peor, mayor, menor)

Relative superlatives (el más... de)

Adjective intensification (-ísimo)

Indirect object pronouns

Pronoun placement with infinitives

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

The 'se lo' rule (se lo, se la)

Impersonal statements (se)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Personal obligation (deber)

Starting actions (empezar a)

Finishing and quitting actions (terminar de, dejar de)

Repeating actions (volver a)

Continuing actions (seguir + gerundio)

Question	Answer
to conduct / to direct	dirigir
the orchestra	la orquesta
I advise you to conduct the orchestra today.	Te aconsejo dirigir la orquesta hoy.
I advise that you conduct the orchestra today.	Te aconsejo que dirijas la orquesta hoy.
to tune	afinar
the instrument	el instrumento
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.
the sheet music	la partitura
the violin	el violín
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.
the trumpet	la trompeta
the symphony	la sinfonía
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.
to mark (keep) the beat	marcar
the beat	el compás
the baton	la batuta
I beg you to mark the beat with the baton.	Te ruego marcar el compás con la batuta.
I beg that you mark the beat with the baton.	Te ruego que marques el compás con la batuta.
Could you tune the instruments for the symphony, please?	¿Podrías afinar los instrumentos para la sinfonía, por favor?
It bothers me that the director conducts without the baton.	Me molesta que el director dirija sin la batuta.
It excites me that you follow the sheet music and the beat.	Me emociona que sigas la partitura y el compás.
Could you play the trumpet in the orchestra?	¿Podrías tocar la trompeta en la orquesta?