Word
Mi hermana se da cuenta de que la carta es falsa.
Meaning
My sister realizes that the letter is fake.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Mi hermana se da cuenta de que la carta es falsa.
ser
to be
la hermana
the sister
la carta
the letter
mi
my
Questions & Answers about Mi hermana se da cuenta de que la carta es falsa.
Why is there a de right before que?
The verb phrase here is darse cuenta de, meaning to realize. In Spanish, when a verb naturally requires a specific preposition like de, you must keep that preposition even when the next word is que (that). So, realizes that becomes se da cuenta de que.
Why doesn't the sentence use the Spanish verb realizar for realizes?
realizar is a false friend. It means to carry out, to make, or to achieve something (like a project or a dream). To express realizing a truth or a fact in your mind, you must use the set phrase darse cuenta de.
Why is there a se before da?
The infinitive is darse cuenta de, which means the verb is reflexive. Since the subject is Mi hermana (she), we use the third-person reflexive pronoun se. While it literally looks like she gives herself account of, it is just the standard way to say she realizes.