Breakdown of Mi madre lee el horóscopo y dice que tu signo tiene buena suerte hoy.
y
and
bueno
good
leer
to read
hoy
today
tener
to have
mi
my
tu
your (singular)
la madre
the mother
que
that (relative pronoun, conjunction)
decir
to say / to tell
la suerte
the luck
el horóscopo
the horoscope
el signo
the sign (symbol)
Questions & Answers about Mi madre lee el horóscopo y dice que tu signo tiene buena suerte hoy.
Why is tiene in the present tense here instead of shifting to a past tense?
Because the reporting verb, dice (says), is in the present tense. When you report what someone says using a present tense verb, the tense of the original statement does not change. The mother's original thought used the present tense, so it stays as tiene in the reported sentence.
Can I leave out the word que after dice, just like we often drop 'that' in English?
How did the possessive adjective change from the mother's original words?
In reported speech, pronouns and possessives shift to match the current speaker's perspective. The mother probably said something like, 'El signo de tu amigo tiene buena suerte' or used your name. The speaker is now talking directly to you, so they logically change it to tu signo (your sign).
Why does the sentence use tiene buena suerte instead of a verb meaning 'to be lucky'?
In Spanish, luck is something you 'have' rather than a state you 'are' in. The phrase tener buena suerte literally translates to 'to have good luck', which is the standard Spanish way to express being lucky.
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