Question 1

Why do we use que afinen (subjunctive) instead of an infinitive like in English?

Accepted Answer

In English, we say "We ask them to tune." But in Spanish, when a verb of influence like pedir (to ask or request) has a different subject than the action being requested (we ask vs. they tune), you typically use que followed by the subjunctive. So, it literally translates closer to "We ask that they tune."

Question 2

This lesson is about swapping que plus the subjunctive for an infinitive. Can I say Les pedimos afinar los instrumentos here?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can! With many verbs of influence (like permitir, prohibir, mandar, and pedir), Spanish allows you to drop the que and use the infinitive, even when the subjects are different. Les pedimos afinar los instrumentos is grammatically correct and means the exact same thing, though the version with que is generally more common in everyday speech.

Question 3

Why is the pronoun les used instead of los?

Accepted Answer

The verb pedir takes an indirect object for the person you are asking. The direct object (the actual thing being asked for) is the entire phrase que afinen los instrumentos. Since we are asking something of them, they are the indirect receivers of the request, so we use the indirect object pronoun les.

Question 4

Could pedimos be in the past tense here?

Accepted Answer

Not in this exact sentence, and we can tell because of the second verb! The word pedimos is spelled the same in both the present tense ("we ask") and the preterite past tense ("we asked"). However, if it were in the past tense, the rules of tense agreement would require the second verb to be in the past subjunctive (afinaran or afinasen). Because we see the present subjunctive afinen, we know pedimos is happening in the present.

Les pedimos que afinen los instrumentos.

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