Breakdown of El espía niega el plan y se niega a colaborar.
y
and
el plan
the plan
colaborar
to collaborate
el espía
the spy
Questions & Answers about El espía niega el plan y se niega a colaborar.
What is the difference between "niega" and "se niega" in this sentence?
This is a perfect example of a verb changing its meaning when it becomes pronominal (using a reflexive pronoun). By itself, negar means to deny a fact, which is why we see niega el plan. But when you make it pronominal, negarse, the meaning shifts to refusing to do something.
Why do we need the preposition "a" before "colaborar"?
The pronominal verb negarse (to refuse) must always be followed by the preposition a when you state what someone is refusing to do. The formula is negarse a + infinitive, which is why we say se niega a colaborar.
Why is it "el espía" instead of "el espío" for a male spy?
Since "negar" is an "-ar" verb, why is it spelled "niega" instead of "nega"?
Negar is a stem-changing verb. In the present tense, the e in the stem changes to ie for all subjects except nosotros and vosotros. Since the spy is a third-person singular subject (he), we use niega.