Breakdown of El supervisor manda que escribas el reporte.
escribir
to write
que
that / than
el reporte
the report
el supervisor
the supervisor
mandar
to order (to command)
Questions & Answers about El supervisor manda que escribas el reporte.
Why do we use the subjunctive escribas here instead of the normal present tense?
We use the subjunctive because mandar (to order) is a verb of influence. When one person (the supervisor) tries to influence or command what another person (you) does, the second verb must be in the subjunctive. The word que connects these two different clauses.
I thought mandar meant "to send". Why does it mean "to order" here?
Mandar is a flexible verb! It does mean "to send" (like sending a package or an email), but it also means "to order" or "to command" (think of the English word mandate). When used with que and the subjunctive, it almost always means "to order".
How do we know the supervisor is ordering me specifically, since there is no te before manda?
Can I use an infinitive here instead of que and the subjunctive?
Yes! With verbs of influence like mandar, you can sometimes drop que and use an indirect object pronoun plus an infinitive. You could say El supervisor te manda escribir el reporte. Both ways are very common and mean the exact same thing.
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