Phrase · 📨 Passing on messages
Me pide que te diga que lo siente mucho.
He’s asking me to tell you he’s really sorry.
B1passing on messagesinformalAudio · coming soon
Why every word is where it is
Me1object pronoun(of) me1st sing. · indirect objectpide1verbhe askspedir · present · 3rd sing.que1conjunction(that)teobject pronoun(to) you2nd sing. · indirect objectdiga1verbI telldecir · subjunctive · present · 1st sing.que2conjunctionthatlo3object pronounit3rd sing. · direct objectsiente3verbhe’s sorry (feels)sentir · present · 3rd sing.muchoadverbvery much.
- Me → pide: me → indirect object
- pide → diga: pedir que → subjunctive
- diga → siente: decir que (fact) → indicative
- lo → siente: sentirlo = be sorry
Why it's built this way
The notes match the numbers above.
- 1pedir que + subjunctive: asking someone to do something → que te diga. Subjunctive: wishes and influence →
- 2The message itself is a fact → indicative: que lo siente. Reported speech I and indirect questions →
- 3lo siento = I’m sorry; here it’s reported in the third person: lo siente (e → ie). Present tense: stem-changing verbs (e → ie, o → ue, e → i, u → ue) →
Variations
- Dice que lo siente mucho.
- Me pide que le diga que lo siente mucho.