Jaleel10 wrote:Subjunctive slash what sounds natural question
So I have been pondering this a lot since I heard it on a podcast (one of those times when you listen to or watch something but an odd grammar usage sidetracks you
)
Me gustaría que lo
dijeras/digas (I'd like you to say it) (heard this on the podcast)
Podrías pedirle que lo hiciera/
haga (Could you ask him to do it?)
I asked some natives and they told me underlined is what sounds most natural. Both main clauses are in the conditional but why is there a difference in the tense of the subjunctive in the second clause? Is there a rule when to use which?
First of all, I'd say
me gustaría que lo dijeras rather means 'I'd like it if you said it'. To express 'I'd like you to say it' (which means about the same thing as 'I want you to say it') I'd prefer
quisiera que lo dijeras.
Me gustaría que and "I'd like it if" are more emotional (in a positive way) than
Quisiera que [hicieras algo]/"I'd like you/her/them to [do sth]"/"I want you to [do sth]", which are more neutral in terms of emotion. But this distinction has to do more with your English translations than the Spanish sentences.
I'd also like to take the opportunity to point out that using questions of ability ("Could you...") in requests is largely a thing of English politeness, and most Spanish speakers don't ask such questions. 'Could you ask him to do it?' would normally be
por favor pídele que lo haga.
¿Podrías pedirle que lo haga? would usually mean '(If so) Would you be able to ask him to do it?' (Not something you normally ask.)
The phenomenon you point out is very interesting. I'd say this difference has to do with the kind of verb and the way they treat complement clauses.
A complement clause after a verb of emotion in the conditional such as
te gustaría, te encantaría, te molestaría, te extrañaría, me extrañaría, te alegrarías de, estarías contento de (I'm quoting them in second person so you can see how they're used) can easily be replaced with an if-condition. In other words, the complement clause contains the situation
when you'd feel the emotion in question. I think this is obvious when you look at the English translations.
Me gustaría que lo dijeras. ~ Me gustaría si lo dijeras.
'I'd like it if you said it.'
Me encantaría que vinieras seguido. ~ Me encantaría si vinieras seguido.
'I'd love it if you came often.'
Les extrañaría que hiciéramos eso. ~ Les extrañaría si hiciéramos eso.
'They'd find it weird if we did that.'
Yo me alegraría de que os tratárais mejor. ~ Yo me alegraría si os tratárais mejor.
'I'd be happy if you treated each other better.' (or: 'I'd be happy to see you treating each other better.')
Estaríamos contentos de que lo celebraras. ~ Estaríamos contentos si lo celebraras.
'We'd be happy if you celebrated it.' (or: 'We'd be happy to see you celebrating it.')
On the other hand, it is impossible to do this with verbs of wishing, because the complement clause does not represent a condition at all, as it represents a requested future action instead. Try it in English, which is similar. You can't turn
you could ask him to do it into something with an if-condition.
De ser tú les pediría a tus niños que se estén tranquilos.
'If I were you, I'd ask your children to stay quiet.' (estarse tranquilo is an idiom)
Normalmente insistiríamos en que baile en el evento, de no ser por la hora.
'We'd normally insist that he dance in the event, if it weren't for the current time (it's too late).'
¿Preferirían que se lo diga ella?
'Would you prefer that she tell him?'
By the way, how would you say the last two examples in British/Australian English? I went full North American there using English present subjunctives ("that he dance", "that she tell him"), and I'd like to know how to express such things in other dialects.