Breakdown of El director pidió que lo interpretaras para poder verlo.
ver
to see / to look / appear
para
for
poder
to be able to / can
pedir
to ask for / to order
que
that / than
lo
it / him (direct object)
el director
the director
interpretar
to perform / to play a role
Questions & Answers about El director pidió que lo interpretaras para poder verlo.
Why do we use the imperfect subjunctive interpretaras here?
The main verb pidió (asked/requested) is in the past tense and expresses a command or request. When you report a past request, the verb for the action being requested must be in the imperfect subjunctive. In English, we say 'asked you to perform,' but in Spanish, it is structured as 'asked that you perform' (pidió que... interpretaras).
Doesn't interpretar usually mean 'to interpret'? Why is it translated as 'perform'?
Why is it para poder verlo (infinitive) instead of using the subjunctive like para que pudiera verlo?
You use para + infinitive when the person doing the action is the same as the subject of the main sentence. Here, the director is the one asking (pidió) and also the one who wants to see the performance (poder verlo). If the director wanted someone else to see it, you would use para que + subjunctive.
Why is the pronoun lo placed before interpretaras but attached to the end of ver?
Object pronouns like lo generally must go immediately before a conjugated verb (like lo interpretaras). However, when you have an infinitive (an unconjugated verb ending in -ar, -er, or -ir) like ver, the pronoun can be attached directly to the end of it to make a single word (verlo).
Learn El director pidió que lo interpretaras para poder verlo and more in Spanish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free