Breakdown of El enfermero va a mover la camilla como usted pida.
usted
you (formal)
ir
to go
a
to
pedir
to ask for / to order
como
as / like (such as, similar to)
mover
to move (an object, a body part)
el enfermero
the nurse
la camilla
the stretcher
Questions & Answers about El enfermero va a mover la camilla como usted pida.
Why is pida in the subjunctive here instead of the indicative pide?
Because the action is in the future, so the exact way you will ask is still unknown. When como (meaning 'how' or 'in the way that') refers to a future or uncompleted action, it takes the subjunctive. If it said como usted pide (indicative), it would state a habitual fact: 'the way you usually ask'.
Why does the sentence use pida (from pedir) instead of a form of preguntar for 'ask'?
Is the word camilla (stretcher) related to cama (bed)?
Yes! The suffix -illa makes it a diminutive, so camilla literally translates to 'little bed'. In Spanish, this is the standard word for a hospital stretcher, gurney, or massage table.
Would it sound unnatural to put usted after the verb, as in como pida usted?
Not at all. In Spanish, it is very common and natural to place the subject pronoun after the verb in dependent clauses like this. Como usted pida and como pida usted are completely interchangeable in this context.
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