B2 · Unit 14 · 44 words, 3 texts with translation
Pass on what your boss asked
Talk about work, bosses and meetings, and report what someone asked or told you to do in the past.
Texts in this unit
Grammar in this unit
Reported requests in the past: me pidió que viniera
You already know how to ask for something or give advice: te pido que vengas, te aconsejo que esperes (B1, unit 18). The forms viniera and llamara (the imperfect subjunctive, or -ra form) are from the last unit. Now we put the two together.
We pass on requests all the time: "my boss asked me to come in early". If the request was made in the past (pidió, dijo, aconsejó), the verb after que moves into the past too, into the imperfect subjunctive:
| Asking now | Asked back then |
|---|---|
| me pide que venga | me pidió que viniera |
| me aconseja que espere | me aconsejó que esperara |
| nos ruega que no llamemos | nos rogó que no llamáramos |
This works with pedir (to ask), decir (when it means "to tell someone to do something"), aconsejar (to advise), recomendar (to recommend), sugerir (to suggest) and rogar (to beg, to ask politely). The person who was asked is a pronoun before the first verb: me, te, le, nos.
How to report direct speech. A command becomes que + the imperfect subjunctive:
- "Llámame por la tarde." → Me pidió que la llamara por la tarde. — She asked me to call her in the afternoon.
- "No digas nada." → Me dijo que no dijera nada. — He told me not to say anything.
- El médico me aconsejó que descansara una semana. — The doctor advised me to rest for a week.
- Le pedí al dueño que arreglara la ducha. — I asked the landlord to fix the shower.
Compared with English. English says "she asked me to come", with to + verb. After pedir and decir, Spanish can't do that: it needs que and a separate verb form. With aconsejar and recomendar, a short version is possible: me aconsejó esperar (she advised me to wait).
Common mistakes:
- the infinitive, as in English: not ✗ me pidió venir, but me pidió que viniera;
- the present after a past verb: ✗ me pidió que venga — in Spain people say me pidió que viniera;
- the written accent: llamara (no accent) is the imperfect subjunctive, the form after que in a past request (she asked me to call); llamará (accent on the last syllable) is the future: "he will call, she will call".
Decir que: a fact or an order
You already know that dijo que + the normal past tense reports a message: Dijo que estaba cansada — she said she was tired (B1, unit 14). What's new: decir has a second meaning, "to tell someone to do something", and only the verb form after que shows which one is meant.
| After que | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| normal form (indicative) | reports a fact | Me dijo que venía a las diez. — He told me he was coming at ten. |
| subjunctive | gives an order or makes a request | Me dijo que viniera a las diez. — He told me to come at ten. |
Compared with English. English also shows the difference with the verb: "he told me he was coming" and "he told me to come". Spanish has just one word here, que, so the verb form after it does all the work.
- Nuria dijo que la reunión era el viernes. — Nuria said the meeting was on Friday. (a fact)
- Nuria dijo que viniéramos todos a la reunión. — Nuria told us all to come to the meeting. (an order)
- El técnico dijo que la impresora estaba rota y que compráramos otra. — The technician said the printer was broken and that we should buy another one. (a fact and an order in one sentence)
It works the same way in the present:
- Dice que vienes mañana — he says you're coming tomorrow.
- Dice que vengas mañana — he says you should come tomorrow.
Escribir (to write) and repetir (to repeat) work the same way too:
- Me escribió que llegaba tarde — he wrote to me that he was running late.
- Me escribió que no lo esperara — he wrote to me not to wait for him.
Common mistake: the normal form where there was an order. Me dijo que esperaba means "he told me he was waiting", not "he told me to wait". To say that he told you to wait: me dijo que esperara — he told me to wait.
Words in this unit
asistir — to attend, to be present at
Asisto a la reunión de las diez. — I'm attending the ten o'clock meeting.
ocuparse — to take care of, to be in charge of
Me ocupo de las facturas. — I take care of the invoices.
dirigir — to manage, to run, to direct
Mi jefa dirige un equipo de ocho personas. — My boss manages a team of eight people.
sustituir — to replace, to fill in for
Mañana sustituyo a mi jefa en la reunión. — Tomorrow I'm filling in for my boss at the meeting.
delegar — to delegate
Mi jefe delega mucho trabajo en el equipo. — My boss delegates a lot of work to the team.
convocar — to call (a meeting), to convene
La directora convoca una reunión para el lunes. — The director is calling a meeting for Monday.
la agenda — planner, schedule
Mi agenda está llena esta semana. — My schedule is full this week.
pendiente — pending, unfinished
Tengo mucho trabajo pendiente. — I have a lot of unfinished work.
el despacho — office (a private room)
El despacho de mi jefa está al fondo. — My boss's office is at the back.
el secretario — secretary
La secretaria me pasa las llamadas. — The secretary (female) puts calls through to me.
el socio — partner, co-owner, member
Mi socio y yo tenemos una tienda. — My business partner and I have a store.
el proveedor — supplier, provider
Hablo con un proveedor nuevo. — I'm talking to a new supplier.
el borrador — draft
Te mando el borrador del informe. — I'm sending you the draft of the report.
el archivo — file, archive
Te envío el archivo por correo. — I'm sending you the file by email.
el evento — event
Organizamos un evento para los clientes. — We're organizing an event for clients.
la conferencia — conference, lecture, talk
Asisto a una conferencia en Madrid. — I'm attending a conference in Madrid.
la presentación — presentation, introduction
Preparo la presentación para mañana. — I'm preparing the presentation for tomorrow.
la organización — organization
La organización del evento es muy buena. — The organization of the event is very good.
controlar — to control, to keep track of
Mi jefa controla todo. — My boss controls everything.
supervisar — to supervise, to oversee
Supervisa el trabajo de cinco personas. — He supervises the work of five people.
coordinar — to coordinate
Coordino un equipo pequeño. — I coordinate a small team.
comunicar — to inform, to let (someone) know
Os comunico que la reunión es mañana. — I'm letting you know that the meeting is tomorrow (to several people).
transmitir — to pass on, to convey
Te transmito el mensaje de la jefa. — I'm passing on the boss's message to you.
improvisar — to improvise
No tengo plan, improviso. — I don't have a plan; I'm improvising.
desenvolverse — to get by, to manage, to cope
Me desenvuelvo bien en inglés. — I get by well in English.
comercial — commercial, sales
Trabajo en el departamento comercial. — I work in the sales department.
la publicidad — advertising, ads
Trabajo en una agencia de publicidad. — I work at an advertising agency.
la producción — production
La producción empieza el lunes. — Production starts on Monday.
el diseño — design
Me gusta el diseño de este folleto. — I like the design of this brochure.
la clínica — clinic, private hospital
Trabajo en una clínica privada. — I work at a private clinic.
el tratamiento — treatment
El tratamiento dura dos semanas. — The treatment lasts two weeks.
la cirugía — surgery, operation
Mi padre trabaja en cirugía. — My father works in surgery.
operar — to operate on, to do surgery
Mañana operan a mi padre. — Tomorrow they're operating on my father.
el virus — virus
Mi ordenador tiene un virus. — My computer has a virus.
la sección — section, department
Trabajo en la sección de deportes. — I work in the sports section.
el folleto — brochure, leaflet
Reparte folletos en la calle. — He hands out leaflets on the street.
la impresora — printer
La impresora no funciona. — The printer isn't working.
orden del día — agenda (of a meeting)
El orden del día tiene cuatro puntos. — The agenda has four items.
tomar nota — to write down, to take note
Tomo nota de todo lo que dice la jefa. — I write down everything the boss says.
estar de baja — to be on sick leave
Mi jefa está de baja desde el lunes. — My boss has been on sick leave since Monday.
dar el visto bueno — to approve, to give the go-ahead
La jefa da el visto bueno al borrador. — The boss approves the draft.
sacar adelante — to pull off, to keep going, to raise (a family)
Mi madre sacó adelante a tres hijos sola. — My mother raised three children on her own.
estar hasta arriba — to be swamped, to be up to your neck
Esta semana estoy hasta arriba de trabajo. — This week I'm swamped with work.
no dar abasto — to be unable to keep up, to be overwhelmed
En agosto los camareros no dan abasto. — In August the waiters can't keep up.
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