Question 1

How does nomás change the tone of dígame in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

By adding nomás right after the command dígame, the speaker softens the instruction and makes it an encouraging invitation. Instead of a strict medical order like "Tell me," it feels more like "Just go ahead and tell me" or "Don't hesitate to tell me." It is very common in Latin America for making commands sound polite, approachable, and friendly.

Question 2

Can I put nomás before the verb, like nomás dígame?

Accepted Answer

In this specific context of encouraging someone to do something, nomás almost always goes directly after the verb (dígame nomás). While you might hear nomás before a verb in different situations (for example, when it means "as soon as"), for softening a command like this, it acts as a post-verbal particle.

Question 3

Why does the Spanish say la mandíbula (the jaw) instead of su mandíbula (your jaw)?

Accepted Answer

In Spanish, when referring to body parts or personal items like clothing, you generally use the definite article (el, la, los, las) instead of a possessive adjective (mi, tu, su). The person whose jaw is hurting is already made perfectly clear by the indirect object pronoun le in le duele.

Question 4

How do we know this sentence is addressed formally to usted?

Accepted Answer

There are two clues. First, le duele uses the indirect object pronoun le, which corresponds to usted here (it functions like saying "the jaw hurts to you"). If it were informal, it would be te duele. Second, the command dígame uses the formal imperative form diga. If this were addressed to tú, the sentence would end with dime nomás.

Si le duele la mandíbula, dígame nomás.

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