Instar a

[Bobbert]

I’m unsure if I need le/les or lo/los or if both are correct

and

I’m unsure if I need to use an infinitive after “instar a”

or

if it’s OK to use “instar a que” + subjunctive

They urged them to come to Israel through advertisements in their countries
Les/Los instaron a venir a Israel a través de anuncios en sus países
Instaron a que vinieran a Israel a través de anuncios en sus países

Is either attempt correct?

I urged him to comply with the rules/regulations
Le/lo insté a acatar con las normas
Insté a que acatara con las normas

Is either attempt correct?

Thanks for any clarifications you can give me.

[wrholt]

The dictionary entry for instar at rae.es states that instar is transitive: that is, it takes a direct object. You should use lo/la/los/las rather than le/les, unless your target audience is in Spain in regions that use 'le de cortesía".

The two basic patterns for using instar are:
a. instar(lo) a alguien a + infinitive
b. instar(lo) a alguien a que + subjunctive

So, your first sentence "They urged them to come/go/travel to Israel through advertisements in their countries" could be translated as either:
a. Los instaron a venir/ir/viajar a Israel ...
b. Los instaron a que vinieran/fueran/viajaran a Israel ...

and you second sentence "I urged him to comply with the rules/regulations" could be translated as:
a. Lo insté a cumplir/acatar con ...
b. Lo insté a que cumpliera/acatara con ...

[Bobbert]

Thank you for your input, wrholt. The "le/les versus lo/la/los/las makes sense. That clears that part up for me.

I only knew to use "instar a alguien a" because that's what came up in a dictionary when I asked for a Spanish translation of "to urge." When I went from Spanish to English and looked up the verb "instar" in the dictionary, it didn't even say anything about using "a" after the verb, so I was confused.

"To urge somebody to do something" was the closest definition I could find, but it doesn't say what to use after the final "a." A supplied example used an infinitive after the "a" and some translation examples on other sites showed "a que + subjunctive," so again I was confused.

So for me, that begs the question:

How did you know that you can use either "a + infinitive" and "a que + subjunctive"?

What in a dictionary tipped you off or is this a grammar principle?

I want to be able to make these determinations on my own is the reason I'm asking how you knew both constructs are correct.

Again, thanks for your input, but maybe you could explain just a little bit more how you came to those conclusions about "a + infinitive" and "a que + subjunctive."

[poli]

It's a stylistic choice. The subjunctive is less common in English, but let's assume it weren't just to make the explanation clear. Example: I urged her to go. I urged that she go.

[wrholt]

----
So for me, that begs the question:

How did you know that you can use either "a + infinitive" and "a que + subjunctive"?

What in a dictionary tipped you off or is this a grammar principle?

I want to be able to make these determinations on my own is the reason I'm asking how you knew both constructs are correct.

Again, thanks for your input, but maybe you could explain just a little bit more how you came to those conclusions about "a + infinitive" and "a que + subjunctive."----

Regarding lo/la/los/las rather than le/les: all of the dictionary entries for "instar" that I found state that 'instar' is transitive, which means that they take a direct object. As a rule, 'personal a' is used with any direct object that refers to identifiable people or personified things (pets, gods, etc), and the standard 3rd-person pronouns for direct objects are lo/la/los/las (except in regional varieties that are leísta).

Regarding 'a + infiniive' or 'a que + subjunctive' to describe the action being urged: in addition to a direct object, 'instar' requires an additional complement that identifies what someone is being urged to do, and 'instar' requires using the preposition 'a' to introduce that complement. How do you know whether a particular verb does or does not require a preposition to introduce a complement other than a direct or indirect object, and which preposition is required? Better dictionaries will usually indicate which preposition is required, if any, possibly by giving examples.

Only nouns and noun phrases can follow prepositions. Spanish infinitives (possibly accompanied by objects and other complements) qualify as nouns that can follow prepositions, and relative clauses introduced by 'que' (or sometimes by a different relative pronoun such as 'quien', or 'el/la/los/las/lo que/cual/cuales') also qualify as nouns that can follow prepositions.

As for why 'a que + subjunctive', the verb 'instar' is a verb of command, volition or wishing, which requires using the subjunctive for the main verb of a complement introduced by 'a que'.

Finally, I also did a web search for examples of 'instar a' and 'instar a que', and I found many examples, all of which used direct object pronouns (almost always lo/la/los/las) and expressed their complements either as 'a + infinitive' or as 'a + subjunctive'.

[Bobbert]

Thanks for the detailed explanations; they really help. Everyone's input clarifies this up for me.