Breakdown of El mecánico me pide que vuelva a arrancar el motor.
pedir
to ask for / to order
que
that / than
me
to me / me (direct object)
el mecánico
the mechanic
arrancar
to start (a vehicle/engine)
el motor
the engine
volver
to do again (volver a + infinitive)
Questions & Answers about El mecánico me pide que vuelva a arrancar el motor.
Why is volver conjugated as vuelva here?
The phrase me pide que (he asks me to) expresses a request or influence over someone else. In Spanish, this triggers the subjunctive mood for the second verb. Therefore, volver changes to its present subjunctive form, vuelva.
Doesn't volver usually mean "to return"? Why does the English translation say "again"?
By itself, volver does mean "to return." However, when you use the structure volver a followed by an infinitive verb (like arrancar), it changes the meaning to doing that action again. So, vuelva a arrancar translates to "start again."
Since the mechanic is "asking," why use pedir instead of preguntar?
How do we know who is supposed to start the engine again?
The clue is in the first part of the sentence: me pide (he asks me). Because he is making the request to you, the verb in the second clause (vuelva) is conjugated for yo (I). Even though the yo and él/ella/usted forms of the present subjunctive are both vuelva, the context makes it clear that you are the one who needs to turn the key!
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