Phrase · ✋ Concession and insistence
No va a decir nada así lo maten.
He won't say a word even if they kill him.
C2insistingcolloquialAudio · coming soon
Why every word is where it is
No3adverbnotva4verbis goingir · present · 3rd sing.a4prepositiontodecirverbsayinfinitivenada3pronounanythingasí1conjunctioneven ifloobject pronounhimél · 3rd sing. · direct objectmaten2verbthey killmatar · subjunctive · present · 3rd pl..
- así → maten: así + subjunctive: even if
- No → nada: no … nada: double negation
- va → decir: ir a + infinitive
Why it's built this way
The notes match the numbers above.
- 1Concessive así + subjunctive = even if (colloquial, very common in Latin America). It does not mean "like this" here. Mood alternation II: -quiera relatives, concessive así / porque, speaker commitment →
- 2Present subjunctive: the extreme case is only imagined. Aunque lo maten means the same. Mood alternation II: -quiera relatives, concessive así / porque, speaker commitment →
- 3Double negation is standard: no … nada = not anything.
- 4ir a + infinitive: the near or certain future.
Variations
- No va a decir nada aunque lo maten.
- No dirá nada ni aunque lo maten.
- Así lo maten, no va a decir nada.