# Tu madre me dijo que Irías / Vayas a casa.



## Perrito

This is a question on my homework: 

Tu madre me dijo que __________ a casa. 

A) Irás B) Irías C) Vayas.  

I think it is: B) Irías, but some native speakers have told me: vayas, but they can't explain why.  

I can't even think of how it might be in English, Your mother told me _____(to go) home.  

Help,
Greg


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## *a*n*a*

It's "vayas" because it is subjunctive.
The mother is giving an order.

(i think lol if she is tellng the person to go home like you said in the last bit, but then you have used the tu form above . . . . ?)


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## JamieAg

*a*n*a* said:


> It's "vayas" because it is subjunctive.
> The mother is giving an order.



When you're giving an order you use the imperative I think, not subjunctive.

Is there anymore context, that may be helpful.


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## Perrito

Hello, thanks for the quick responses.  There is no more context, except for: inmediatamente.  I took out inmediatamente because I thought it wasn't that important.  It is a homework handout for a review of old grammar topics which is turning out to be very difficult, ha ha!  It is just number 1 on the sheet!


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## Perrito

Okay, I can see the following: Tu madre me dijo que vaya a casa inmediatamente.  Your mother told me to go home immediatly!  

But, tu madre me dijo que vayas a casa inmediatamente.  Your mother told me to have you go home immediatly?  Like the mother says: You tell John to go home now.  Could that be what it possibly means?  It sounds a bit odd, but I can see it as being a possibility.


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## JamieAg

Well it's not A, I don't think it can be C as I see no reason why it would be subjunctive so my guess would be B, not 100% sure though


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## *a*n*a*

it is an imperative, but a tú command is in the subjunctive form


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## Perrito

Humm...It's very odd!  I just asked a native speaker and he told me C, then I asked another to double check and he told me B, ha ha!  I have answers all over.  

Could anyone tell me how it might be in English?  I tried above with my translations, but it sounds awkward to me in English.  Can anyone translate it, please.


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## Chris K

"Your mother told me that you should go home" would be the English equivalent. I don't agree that it's "an order."


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## Kibramoa

Tu madre me dijo que __________ a casa inmediatamente. 

A) Irás B) Irías *C) Vayas. *

A's mom calls B's house.  B answers and hears the mother say: tell A to come home now!. B goes to A and says: your mom says for you to go home right now!. [a bit forced example]

It is not a direct order to A, B is reporting on what A's mom said/on what she ordered. [see post #2]


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## Perrito

So in this case, let's say I am the character in the example, am I supposed to tell YOU to go home?  Or did she tell me that you should go home, just plain and simple you should go home, or has she ordered me to tell you this when I see you next time?  (for example at the party)


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## *a*n*a*

kibramoa said:


> tu madre me dijo que __________ a casa inmediatamente.
> 
> A) irás b) irías *c) vayas. *
> 
> a's mom calls b's house. B answers and hears the mother say: Tell a to come home now!. B goes to a and says: Your mom says for you to go home right now!. [a bit forced example]
> 
> it is not a direct order to a, b is reporting on what a's mom said/on what she ordered. [see post #2]


 
thankyou! Lol


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## Chris K

Perrito said:


> So in this case, let's say I am the character in the example, am I supposed to tell YOU to go home?  Or did she tell me that you should go home, just plain and simple you should go home, or has she ordered me to tell you this when I see you next time?  (for example at the party)



It is _implied_ that you should tell the other person, but literally it only says that you were told that that person "should go home."


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## Perrito

Ok thanks ufa, a lot of work for one sentence, ha ha!  Okay, so are we settling on C)  vayas?


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## roanheads

"Tu madre me dijo "--- If this has the meaning of " your mother was informig me that I would be going home " then the indicative " irías is used. 
If your mother is telling me ( ordering me ) that I should go home , then the subjunctive is used , but I would use " fuera " instead of " vaya " to agree with the past tense " dijo ".


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## aztlaniano

Tu madre me dijo que irías a casa. = Your mother told me you would go home/would be going home.
For "vayas" to work, you must assume "Your mother told me_ to tell you_ that you should go home". = Tu madre me dijo (_que yo te dijera_) que vayas a casa.


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## Chris K

roanheads said:


> "Tu madre me dijo "--- If this has the meaning of " your mother was informig me that I would be going home " then the indicative " irías is used.
> If your mother is telling me ( ordering me ) that I should go home , then the subjunctive is used , but I would use " fuera " instead of " vaya " to agree with the past tense " dijo ".



But the original options are all in the second person. Your mother told me that _you_ (the person _I_ am speaking _to_) should go home. No?


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## roanheads

You are correct,--- then the verb is " fueras " . ( my opinion)
Saludos.


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## Kibramoa

roanheads said:


> You are correct,--- then the verb is " fueras " . ( my opinion)
> Saludos.



However, fueras is not an option for this particular example. The options are:
A) Irás B) Irías C) Vayas. 
So from these three one needs to choose the best, not come up with new ones. I still say  *C) vayas* is the one.


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## Perrito

I'm going to go with vayas, and fueras is not an option.  

Thanks


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## ManPaisa

It's definitely B, _*irías*_.  The other possible option, _*fueras*_, is not one of the choices.

There's no room for the present subjunctive (_*vayas*_) or the imperative (_*ve*_) in that sentence.


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## aztlaniano

ManPaisa said:


> It's definitely B, _*irías*_. The other possible option, _*fueras*_, is not one of the choices.
> 
> There's no room for the present subjunctive (_*vayas*_) or the imperative (_*ve*_) in that sentence.


 
Agree. With" irías", the sentence works fine. 
With "vayas" or "irás" it would have to be changed, it the case of "irás" to make it "tu madre me dice" (present) in the case of "vayas" as I explained in post #16.


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## Perrito

Yes, irías is the correct answer.


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## Chris K

Perrito said:


> Yes, irías is the correct answer.



Then there is no suggestion in the sentence that "you" ought to go home or that "your" mother wants "you" to go home, only that she has told the speaker that "you" _would be_ coming home. Correct?


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## Vikingo

Perrito said:


> Yes, irías is the correct answer.


 
Hi Perrito, you should listen to *a*n*a* and Kibramoa in this case.

C) _*vayas*_ is the oniy option that even makes sense. 

Imagine yourself, as would have been the case with B), having received a call from Gatito's mother, and then you turn towards Gatito and utter: "Your mother told me that you would be coming home immediately". Gatito would have looked dazedly at you, and started to add up how much you actually had been smoking.

_*Fueras*_ would have been an equally valid option, but many people use the present subjunctive to emphasize that the order still stands. So *vayas* is totally fine, but a trade-off between expressiveness and what some might call "elegance".

Suerte


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## SydLexia

I suggest an approach based on context and a little meta-analysis:

This is a grammar exercise and such exercises are designed to test/teach a grammar point.

The 'inmediatamente' is there to to disqualify A and B as otherwise you could argue for a future plan, particularly with 'irías'.

There are people involved and people are telling/asking people to do things. In a typical grammar exercise this suggests that the subjunctive may be involved.

C is a subjunctive and we have what appears to be a case of 'change of person requires a subjunctive' which is a classic way of explaining some Spanish subjunctives to English speakers. 

Therefore the answer is C. 

The discussion we are having is the result of an inherent problem in the way that language teachers create example and test items. If you start with the grammar point and then invent the example it is very difficult to make the resulting phrase natural and unambiguous. If you look at newspapers and attempt to find a relevant example.... you don't have time for lunch.

As regards the phrase itself I agree with Vikingo. 

(By the way, the context I am imagining is that A has just talked to B's mother on the phone)

syd


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## bedroomeyes

I have to side with the people who said *irías.* Don't read it as a command. It's merely an observation: *Tu madre me dijo que irías a casa = Your mother told me you would go home*


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## roanheads

bedroomeyes said:


> I have to side with the people who said *irías.* Don't read it as a command. It's merely an observation: *Tu madre me dijo que irías a casa = Your mother told me you would go home*


 
Hi ,
I have to side with you, for the following reasons. "As fueras" is not an allowable option, I cannot see " vayas " being a correct subjunctive. If the sentence is seen as a suggestion, proposal, or a full blown imperative, as apart from an observation, as you say, then I repeat my opinion that the correct subjunctive grammatically is " fueras " the imperfect subjunctive which concords with the preterite " dijo " in the principal clause, which translates " Your mother told me that you should go home immediately "

Two examples from the DPD to confirm the use of the correct imperfect subjunctive.

Me dijeron que preguntara. ( They told me I should ask )
Yo dije que te mandáramos ( I said that we should send you )

Therefore, I see the placing of " vayas " (as a trick option), as a method of testing the students knowledge of the correct use of subjunctive tenses. 

Thus leaving the two "genuine" option indicatives " irás " and " irías ". of which I opt for " irías ".
Saludos.


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## aztlaniano

SydLexia said:


> The 'inmediatamente' is there to to disqualify A and B as otherwise you could argue for a future plan, particularly with 'irías'.


 
The only answer that fits grammatically is B, "irías".
It does not _have _to make practical sense for the purposes of a grammar exercise, but if one would feel better about it that way..
Imagine A arrives at B's house and says: "I won't be able to stay over tonight as we had planned. B says: I know. Your mother phoned. She told me you would be going home immediately. Me dijo que_ irías_ inmediatamente a casa.
But I must say I find your dedication laudable, Syd.


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## SydLexia

If it is a 'teaching test' designed to provoke discussion, it's certainly doing its job!!

My party trick, in the days of paper tests, was doing multiple choice TOEFL Reading Comprehension without reading the texts. 

Edit: Actually Perrito, the original poster, said that he had not included the 'inmediatamente' because he thought it didn't make any difference  And 'laudable'... I sometimes wonder.

syd


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## roanheads

Anyway, it has passed the time nicely !


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## gregohp

Hola!

"irías" sounds awful for me. I would say "fueras" , but as it's not posible, I would go for "vayas". For me, the correct sentences are:

"Tu madre me ha dicho que vayas a casa"
"Tu madre me dijo que fueras a casa" ---> But as in some places they use the past instead of perfect past, the only right option is "vayas"

regards,

Grego.

P.D. He leído el post de aztlaniano, y "irías" tiene sentido si se toma así, es decir, "ya me avisó tu madre de que irías a casa", es decir, que no es una orden.


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## MarieSuzanne

La frase puede tener dos significados:

_Tu madre me encargó que te dijera que vayas a casa.
Tu madre me informó que irás / irías a tu casa.

_Dada la presencia del "inmediatamente", lo más lógico es que aquí tenga el primer significado.


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## aztlaniano

MarieSuzanne said:


> La frase puede tener dos significados:
> 
> _Tu madre me encargó que te dijera que vayas a casa._
> _Tu madre me informó que irás / irías a tu casa._
> 
> Dada la presencia del "inmediatamente", lo más lógico es que aquí tenga el primer significado.


This is the question (below). The "inmediatamente" makes no difference. 
What is important is that there is a past tense: "dijo".
Because of the "dijo", in past tense, neither "irás" nor "vayas" fits into the sentence (below, with "inmediatamente" added by me):


Perrito said:


> This is a question on my homework:
> 
> Tu madre me dijo que __________ inmediatamente a casa.
> 
> A) Irás B) Irías C) Vayas.


"Irías" does fit, without any need to change anything.


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## Helena Maiz

Depende del sentido de la frase.
irás-vas a ir
irías-pensabas ir,ibas a ir
vayas-tu madre quiere que vayas
Yo diría irías porque irás y vayas me suena mejor con tu madre ha dicho


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## MarieSuzanne

aztlaniano said:


> Because of the "dijo", in past tense, neither "irás" nor "vayas" fits into the sentence (below), with "inmediatamente" added:



  Te equivocas. El "vayas" es el más apropiado, precisamente porque dice "inmediatamente". El sentido es: _Tu madre me dijo (que te dijera): Ve ahora mismo a tu casa.

_Si simplemente le hubiera informado que iba a ir a la casa_, _pr_o_bablemente no habría añadido "inmediatamente".


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## aztlaniano

MarieSuzanne said:


> Te equivocas. El "vayas" es el más apropiado, precisamente porque dice "inmediatamente". El sentido es: _Tu madre me dijo (que te dijera): Ve ahora mismo a tu casa._
> 
> Si simplemente le hubiera informado que iba a ir a la casa_, _pr_o_bablemente no habría añadido "inmediatamente".


 La frase es la frase que es. En un examen, o ejercicio, no se puede rehacer la pregunta para que salga la respuesta que prefieres.


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## ManPaisa

MarieSuzanne said:


> Te equivocas. El "vayas" es el más apropiado, precisamente porque dice "inmediatamente". El sentido es: _Tu madre me dijo (que te dijera): Ve ahora mismo a tu casa._
> 
> Si simplemente le hubiera informado que iba a ir a la casa_, _pr_o_bablemente no habría añadido "inmediatamente".


 
Entiendo. 

Por estos lados ni un niño de 5 años diría 'que vayas'. Haría la concordancia tradicional: 'que fueras'. 

Esto es lo que diríamos:
*Dice que vayas inmediatamente.*
*Dijo que fueras inmediatamente.*

Reconozco que no es así en todas partes.


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## MarieSuzanne

aztlaniano said:


> La frase es la frase que es. En un examen, o ejercicio, no se puede rehacer la pregunta para que salga la respuesta que prefieres.


 
No cambio la frase. Explico el significado. La frase del ejercicio

Tu madre me dijo que __________ a casa. 

A) Irás B) Irías C) Vayas.  

puede contestarse perfectamente con la respuesta C), con el sentido que he explicado.


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## ManPaisa

MarieSuzanne said:


> No cambio la frase. Explico el significado. La frase del ejercicio
> 
> Tu madre me dijo que __________ a casa.
> 
> A) Irás B) Irías C) Vayas.
> 
> puede contestarse perfectamente con la respuesta C), con el sentido que he explicado.


 
He creado un hilo en _Sólo Español_ para ver más opiniones de hispanohablantes.

Saludos.


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## MarieSuzanne

ManPaisa said:


> Entiendo.
> 
> Por estos lados ni un niño de 5 años diría 'que vayas'. Haría la concordancia tradicional: 'que fueras'.
> 
> Esto es lo que diríamos:
> *Dice que vayas inmediatamente.*
> *Dijo que fueras inmediatamente.*
> 
> Reconozco que no es así en todas partes.


 
Es necesario decir _Dijo que fueras _si ambas acciones se refieren al pasado. Pero si la acción de ir aún no ha ocurrido, puede decirse perfectamente _vayas_.


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## ManPaisa

MarieSuzanne said:


> Es necesario decir _Dijo que fueras _si ambas acciones se refieren al pasado. Pero si la acción de ir aún no ha ocurrido, puede decirse perfectamente _vayas_.


 
Sí, ya lo sé. Pero no en todas partes se dice así. 

Para mí, *fueras* apunta al futuro si el chico que habla se ubica en el momento en que la madre lo dijo (eso sería lo normal aquí). 

*Vayas* apunta al futuro desde el punto de vista del chico en el momento en que él lo dice.


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## MarieSuzanne

Para mí el problema aquí es el "inmediatamente", porque es como si dijera "ahora mismo". Y no me parece lógico decir _Dijo que te fueras ahora mismo. _


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## ManPaisa

MarieSuzanne said:


> Para mí el problema aquí es el "inmediatamente", porque es como si dijera "ahora mismo". Y no me parece lógico decir _Dijo que te fueras ahora mismo. _


 
Es que no son lo mismo.

Juan compró un auto e *inmediatamente* se lo regaló a su madre.
Juan compró un auto y *ahora mismo* se lo regaló a su madre. 

Esas locuciones son equivalentes solamente cuando se habla de algo en el presente.


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## MarieSuzanne

ManPaisa said:


> Es que no son lo mismo.
> 
> Juan compró un auto e *inmediatamente* se lo regaló a su madre.
> Juan compró un auto y *ahora mismo* se lo regaló a su madre.
> 
> Esas locuciones son equivalentes solamente cuando se habla de algo en el presente.



  Sí, por supuesto. Lo que quiero decir es que, en este caso, yo interpreto el "inmediatamente" con el sentido de "ahora mismo", lo cual me fuerza a decir "vayas".


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## Lexinauta

aztlaniano said:


> Tu madre me dijo que irías a casa. = Your mother told me you would go home/would be going home.
> *For "vayas" to work, you must assume "Your mother told me to tell you that you should go home". = Tu madre me dijo (que yo te dijera) que vayas a casa.*


 
*Estoy de acuerdo con Aztlaniano.*

A) Irás.   (...pasarás por mi casa.)
B) Irías.   (...pasarías por mi casa.)
C) Vayas.


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## Alma Shofner

Perrito said:


> This is a question on my homework:
> 
> Tu madre me dijo que __________ a casa.
> 
> A) Irás B) Irías C) Vayas.
> 
> I think it is: B) Irías, but some native speakers have told me: vayas, but they can't explain why.
> 
> I can't even think of how it might be in English, Your mother told me _____(to go) home.
> 
> Help,
> Greg


 
Why don't you try with the answer D) all of the above. ?

There is no grammar problem with any of them. The sentence will have different meanings with different verb conjugation and/or mode (subjunctive VS. indicative).

Regards


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## aztlaniano

ManPaisa said:


> He creado un hilo en _Sólo Español_ para ver más opiniones de hispanohablantes.


¡Bien hecho, ManPaisa!
...Puesto que una consulta sobre una pregunta para principiantes se ha convertido en un debate maratoniano filosófico-semántico-morfológico-teológico. (Alma Shofner acaba de poner el toque panteísta.)


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