Breakdown of Quizás él no se atreve a enterarse de la verdad.
él
he
no
no, not
la verdad
the truth
quizás
perhaps / maybe
atreverse a
to dare to
enterarse de
to find out about
Questions & Answers about Quizás él no se atreve a enterarse de la verdad.
Why do we need the prepositions a and de right after the verbs here?
This sentence uses two verbs that require specific prepositions to connect to the next word. Atreverse (to dare) always needs a before an infinitive verb (like enterarse). Similarly, enterarse (to find out) always needs de before the thing you are finding out about. You just have to memorize these verb-preposition combinations!
Why are there two se pronouns in this sentence (se atreve, enterarse)? Is he daring 'himself'?
Not quite! Both atreverse and enterarse are pronominal verbs, meaning they require a reflexive-style pronoun (like me, te, or se) as part of their basic structure to change their meaning. Here, the first se belongs to atreverse and matches él. The second se is attached to the infinitive enterar to make it enterarse, which also matches él.
Doesn't quizás usually trigger the subjunctive? Why is it atreve (indicative) instead of atreva?
Good memory! Quizás (perhaps) often does take the subjunctive when the speaker is expressing doubt. However, if the speaker feels fairly certain that the statement is a fact, they will use the indicative. Using the indicative atreve here means the speaker strongly suspects his lack of courage is a reality.
Could I use saber instead of enterarse de to say 'to find out'?
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