Imperativo, subjunctivo, passive voice - I'm confused - Again

[BobRitter]

Online-Spanish-Course.com has:

No se lo digas a nadie. ¡Es nuestro secreto!
Don't tell anybody. This is our secret!

No digas - Do not say/tell
No digas a nadie - Do not tell anyone
No lo digas a nadie - Do not tell it to anyone
Are these 3 imperativo? Commands, "Don't tell".

What is the "se". Their comments say it is used to form the passive voice. Does this make it subjunctivo, "You shouldn't tell"?

I should just accept and keep on truckin but I really want to know the grammar.

Thanks you all for your support. I know I can be a pest.

[Rusty]

All are examples of the imperative.

The 'se' in the first command is an indirect object pronoun. It stands for 'a nadie'. The Spanish language doesn't permit 'le lo', so the 'le' is changed to 'se'.

By the way,
No se lo digas a nadie
and
No lo digas a nadie
are equivalent commands (they mean the exact same thing). The indirect object pronoun doesn't need to be said because the indirect object is provided. However, it's OK to be redundant, so you'll hear both of these commands.

The imperative and the subjunctive moods have some common forms (some of the conjugations look the same), but they never mean the same thing.

[Thomson]

All are examples of the imperative.

The 'se' in the first command is an indirect object pronoun. It stands for 'a nadie'. The Spanish language doesn't permit 'le lo', so the 'le' is changed to 'se'.

By the way,
No se lo digas a nadie
and
No lo digas a nadie
are equivalent commands (they mean the exact same thing). The indirect object pronoun doesn't need to be said because the indirect object is provided. However, it's OK to be redundant, so you'll hear both of these commands.

The imperative and the subjunctive moods have some common forms (some of the conjugations look the same), but they never mean the same thing.


Rusty, you are quite the scholar in Spanish and English and am just learning Spanish so I feel funny doubting you. But I have learned that an indirect object pronoun is required whether the indirect object is provided or not.

[Rusty]

Sorry, but that is a misconception.

The indirect object pronoun must be present if no indirect object is provided.
If the indirect object is provided, however, the pronoun is not required.
Both may be used a la vez.

Perform a search on the two examples I gave above. You'll see that both are valid.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Rusty is right. Although IO pronouns appear very often together with the complement they're referring to, it's not compulsory for all cases.

- En Día de Muertos (les) damos dulces a los niños.
- (Le) He contado muchas mentiras a todo el mundo.
- Ya (le) dije a la policía todo lo que sé.

[Rusty]

Adding to what AngelicaDeAlquezar mentions, there are some verbs that often require both the IO and the IOP.
This is true with verbs like 'gustar' and 'encantar', but not in every case.
When 'no one' or 'everyone' also appear in the sentence, it isn't necessary to use the IOP.
Su decisión no (le) gustó a todo el mundo.
Sus palabras no (les) molestaron a nadie.

As she pointed out, "(Les) damos dulces a los niños," is valid whether the IOP is present or not. However, if you place the indirect object before the verb, the IOP is required.
A los niños les damos dulces.

Here are the rules (http://lema.rae.es/dpd/srv/search?id=elLl31yYnD65MTS9uF) (see entry 5). You'll soon discover where some of my examples came from.

[Thomson]

Angelica and Rusty, you guys are awesome.

[BobRitter]

Rusty,
I checked out your "rules" OMG!!! It would take a PHD. Thanks for your input.