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Questions & Answers about Ella se da cuenta de la verdad.
Why do we use de after cuenta in this sentence?
The verb phrase darse cuenta (to realize) is a verb with a governed preposition. This means it has a built-in preposition that must be used whenever you mention what is being realized. For this verb, that preposition is always de. You cannot just say Ella se da cuenta la verdad.
Could I just use the verb realizar to mean "realizes" here?
No, this is a very common false friend! In Spanish, realizar means to carry out, achieve, or make something real (like carrying out a project or making a dream come true). To talk about a mental realization or becoming aware of a fact, you must use darse cuenta de.
Why is there a se before da?
The verb for "to realize" is darse cuenta, which requires a reflexive pronoun. The se matches the subject ella. If you drop the se and just say dar cuenta de, it changes the meaning completely to "to give an account of" or "to report on."
If the sentence were "She realizes THAT it is the truth," would we keep the de?