Breakdown of Si mi amigo quiere este estante, se lo doy con todo lo que no uso.
el amigo
the male friend
no
no, not
mi
my
usar
to use / to wear
con
with
querer
to want
dar
to give
que
that / than
este
this
el estante
shelf
todo
all / everything
se
to him / to her / to them / to you (formal)
si
if
lo
the ... thing (neuter article)
Questions & Answers about Si mi amigo quiere este estante, se lo doy con todo lo que no uso.
Why does this sentence use uso after todo lo que instead of the subjunctive?
The phrase todo lo que takes the indicative (like uso) when referring to facts or things you know exist. The speaker knows exactly what things they don't use. If they were talking about a hypothetical future, like everything they might not use, they would use the subjunctive (use).
Why is it se lo doy and not le lo doy?
In Spanish, when the indirect object pronoun le (to him) and the direct object pronoun lo (it) are right next to each other, le changes to se. This is a spelling and pronunciation rule to avoid the clunky le lo sound.
Why do we need lo que here? Couldn't we just say todo que?
Why is the regular present tense quiere used after si rather than the subjunctive?
You only use the subjunctive after si (if) for unlikely, hypothetical, or impossible situations, like 'If I were a millionaire'. Since it is a very real possibility that the friend wants the shelf, the normal present indicative tense quiere is used.
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