Breakdown of Deseo que se lo preguntes.
que
that / than
lo
it / him (direct object)
preguntar
to ask
se
to him / to her / to them / to you (formal)
desear
to wish / to desire
Questions & Answers about Deseo que se lo preguntes.
Why does the verb end in -es (preguntes) instead of its normal -as?
Because it is in the present subjunctive! For regular -ar verbs like preguntar, the subjunctive endings use "e" vowels instead of "a" vowels. Therefore, the tú (you) form changes from the normal preguntas to the subjunctive preguntes.
Why do we need to use the subjunctive in this sentence at all?
The phrase Deseo que means "I wish that" or "I desire that". When you express a wish, want, or desire for someone else to do something, it triggers the subjunctive mood for the second verb (in this case, preguntes).
What does se lo mean here, and why isn't it le lo?
lo means "it", and se means "to him" (or to her/them). Normally, the indirect object pronoun for "to him" is le. However, Spanish has a strict rule: whenever le or les is placed right next to lo, la, los, or las, it changes to se to avoid the awkward tongue-twister sound of "le lo".
The English translation says "ask him about it". Why isn't there a Spanish word for "about"?
In English, we ask someone about a topic. In Spanish, you simply ask the topic itself as a direct object. Here, the topic is represented by lo, meaning "it". So, you are literally saying "I desire that you ask it to him."
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