Breakdown of El jefe dio la orden de empezar.
empezar
to start / to begin
dar
to give
el jefe
the boss
la orden
the order (command)
Questions & Answers about El jefe dio la orden de empezar.
This lesson is about using the imperfect subjunctive for past commands. Why does this sentence just use the infinitive empezar?
Because this sentence doesn't state who needs to start. When reporting a general command where the specific person doing the action isn't mentioned, you just use the infinitive. If the boss had given the order for us to start, you would specify the subject and use que plus the imperfect subjunctive: El jefe dio la orden de que empezáramos.
Why do we need the word de here? Why not just say "la orden empezar"?
In Spanish, when a noun (like orden, idea, or tiempo) is followed directly by an action in the infinitive, they are linked with the preposition de. You can think of it as literally saying "the order of starting."
Could I just use the verb for "to order" instead of saying "gave the order"?
I remember that past-tense verbs usually have an accent mark on the final "o" for he/she/it, like habló. Why doesn't dio have one?
Dar (to give) is irregular in the preterite (past tense). Even though it's an -ar verb, it borrows the endings from -er/-ir verbs (di, diste, dio). Also, Spanish spelling rules state that one-syllable words don't get written accent marks unless they need to be told apart from a different word (like tú meaning "you" vs. tu meaning "your"). Since there is no other word spelled dio, no accent is needed!
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