To ask someone to do something in Spanish, we normally use the verb pedir (to ask in this context). This is how it works if we express it in El Presente, El Presente Progresivo, El Pretérito Perfecto, El Futuro Próximo or El Futuro Simple:
Te pido que consideres mi oferta detenidamente.I am asking you to consider my offer carefully.
Le estoy pidiendo que se case conmigo.I am asking him to marry me.
Mi novio siempre me pide que sea paciente con él.My boyfriend is always asking me to be patient with him.
¿Por qué no pides a tu madre que te preste dinero para el viaje?Why don't you ask your mother to lend you some money for the trip?
Gabriel ha pedido a Luisa que se vaya a vivir con él.Gabriel asked Luisa to go live with him.
Voy a pedir a Clara que me invite a un café.I am going to ask Clara to buy me a coffee.
En el aeropuerto te pedirán que muestres el pasaporte.At the airport they will ask you to show your passport.
Notice how in English what is asked is expressed with an infinitive:
- My boyfriend is always asking me to be patient with him.
while in Spanish we use El Presente de Subjuntivo, after "que":
- Mi novio siempre me pide que sea paciente con él.
You cannot omit "que"
In this type of sentence, you will generally find either:
- an indirect object pronoun (me, te, le, nos, os, les) as one normally asks "someone" to do something; e.g., "me está pidiendo que...", "les pide que..."
- an indirect object which always uses the preposition "a"; e.g., "pide a tu hermano que...", "yo nunca pido a Antonio que...". In English there is no need to use a preposition: "He is asking Laura to ..." but in Spanish you must use the preposition "a": "Le está pidiendo a Laura que ...".
Be careful not to use the verb "preguntar" (to ask) in this context. You cannot say: "Mi novio siempre me pregunta que sea paciente con él."
Here are other examples:
Elena siempre pide a sus padres que la ayuden económicamente.Elena is always asking her parents to help her financially.
No estoy pidiéndote que te quedes toda la noche, solo un par de horas.I am not asking you to stay all night, just a couple of hours.
Nos han pedido que cantemos otra canción.They asked us to sing another song.
¿Tú vas a pedir a tu padre que pague el viaje?Are you asking your father to pay for the trip?
El jefe nos pedirá que firmemos los contratos lo antes posible.The boss will ask us to sign the contracts as soon as possible.
Remember:
Pedir + [a alguien] + que + verb in El Presente de Subjuntivo
To see how this works with "pedir" in most past tenses see Pedir followed by the Spanish imperfect subjunctive to ask someone to do something
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