Breakdown of Ella me dijo que pusiera la combinación en la cerradura.
ella
she / her (after a preposition)
en
in / on / by (means of transport) / about (after pensar)
que
that (relative pronoun, conjunction)
poner
to put / to set (the table) / to make (an excuse) / to give, to impose (a fine, a penalty)
me
to me / myself (reflexive) / me (direct object)
decir
to say / to tell
la combinación
the combination
la cerradura
the lock
Questions & Answers about Ella me dijo que pusiera la combinación en la cerradura.
Why is pusiera in the subjunctive when the English translation uses the infinitive "to put"?
In English, we say "told someone to do something," but Spanish doesn't use the infinitive here. Because dijo acts as a verb of influence (she is commanding or requesting you to do an action), it triggers the subjunctive for the second verb. Since the main verb (dijo) is in the past tense, the subjunctive must also be in the past (pusiera).
How do we get the irregular stem for pusiera?
To form the imperfect subjunctive, you always take the stem from the ellos/ellas form of the simple past tense (pretérito indefinido). For the verb poner, that form is pusieron. By dropping the -ron at the end, you get the stem pusie-. Then you add the imperfect subjunctive ending for the yo form (-ra), resulting in pusiera.
Wait, doesn't decir que usually take the indicative, like "Ella me dijo que lo hizo"?
It depends on the meaning! If someone is just reporting a fact, you use the indicative. For example, Ella me dijo que puso la combinación means "She told me that she put the combination." But in our sentence, she is giving a command ("She told me to put..."), which forces the second verb into the subjunctive.
How do we know pusiera means "I put" and not "he/she put"?
The indirect object pronoun me tells us that she gave the instruction to me, making yo (I) the logical subject of the second action. In the imperfect subjunctive, the yo form and the él/ella/usted form are identical (pusiera). Context makes it clear that you are the one putting the combination in the lock.
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