Question 1

Why is there an accent mark on dónde when this isn't a question?

Accepted Answer

Even though there are no question marks, this is an indirect question. Spanish requires interrogative words like dónde, qué, cómo, and cuándo to keep their accent marks when they report a question that was asked.

Question 2

I always mix up verbs for asking. Why use preguntó here instead of pidió?

Accepted Answer

You use preguntar when asking a question to get information, as the engineer is doing here by asking where. You use pedir when asking someone to do a favor or requesting an action, such as if he asked the workers to pave the street.

Question 3

Why is the conditional tense pavimentaríamos used here instead of the future tense?

Accepted Answer

This is due to the sequence of tenses in reported speech. Because the main verb preguntó is in the past, an action that was in the future at that moment shifts to the conditional tense. If the engineer asked today, it would be the future tense (where will we pave). In the past, it shifts to the conditional (where we would pave).

Question 4

If I wanted to include the word nosotros, where would it go?

Accepted Answer

The -íamos ending already makes the subject clear, so nosotros is dropped. If you wanted to include it for emphasis, it usually sounds most natural placed after the verb in an indirect question, like dónde pavimentaríamos nosotros la calle.

El ingeniero preguntó dónde pavimentaríamos la calle.

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