_____ de averiguar si es verdad todo lo que dijo (trate)
Trate in this case is usted imperative? If so, should I make a note on the sentence that it’s usted? I first put trata and got it wrong.
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Yes.
If it helps you yes.
I hate these type of errors, where you know you are right but you still get it wrong hahaha
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English Translation
He told everyone.
Would the se in this case be reflexive or a le turning into a se? The chatgpt description is confusing me, as I can’t figure out why it would be reflexive.
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I take it you’re referring to “Se lo dijo a todos”.
I took a look at the ChatGPT explanation:
- Se: This is a reflexive or indirect object pronoun. In this sentence, it serves as an indirect object pronoun that stands for “to him,” “to her,” “to you” (formal), or “to them.”
In my opinion, it’s not a bad explanation, as “se” generally has two different uses, as explained. The context will tell you which is the proper meaning; I find it difficult to make up a sentence where it could be either, with ambiguous meaning.
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English Translation
He told everyone.
Can’t I just say, ‘El dijo a todos.’? What’s the diff?
Alright, so, short answer, no, you couldn’t say that. It sounds wrong, like something is missing. I’d say “Se lo dijo a todos” or “Les dijo a todos, que…”
Unfortunately, I do not really have the explanation of why. I couldn’t explain why it sound off, and haven’t found any specific information on why it shouldn’t be used like that, as it is clearly indicated in the dictonnary that it can be used both as a regular and as a pronominal verb. So… : /
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As a non-native speaker, I can’t say that it’s wrong, but to me, too, the short version sounds off. What I can say is that it’s very common to use both an indirect-object pronoun [here: se (which replaces les)] and a longer complement (a todos), as in this case.
Formally, I think “Les dijo a todos” is the recommended form. 
Yes, you are absolutely right. I corrected that. I was also thinking to “Le dijo a todo el mundo, que…” while writing, and ended up mixing both sentences 
I am back (with a longer answer, this time). I’ve done some digging around and I think I understood what didn’t quite click in the sentence. So, going back to the definition, it is stated that decir (in the sense of sharing ones thought) is transitive (and thats the key) and can be used as pronominal. I tripped on that earlier, and assumed (for whatever reason) that those were mutually exclusive (which is not the case). So, being transitive, decir (kind of) requires a direct object. Hence the pronoun “lo” or the indirect clause “,que…” that I was suggesting.
As an aside, since this is not really the case here, you can have transitive verbs wihout direct object, as long as it is something implied or generally known (eg,b"Él canta (canciones)", “Ella lee (un texto)”).
And since we are here, to chip in @morbrorper and @Joeyromano12 's discussion (a bit late, I’ll admit), I’m not sure about this “se” acting as an indirect pronoun thing, but, I’d say that, in this case it very much seems to me that it is acting as a reflexive marker. Because of, on one side, decir being often used as a reflexive and, on the other, “a todos” already being the indirect (and, as said, “lo” being the direct object), meaning that it would make “se” redundant. (So, apparently not, see below)
-Disclaimer: I’ve read my comment about three times, and corrected a few things, but, seeing what usually happens, there’s bound to be a typo in there somewhere. Sorry in advance : ( -
The ‘se’ in ‘se lo dijo a todos’ is, to use Joey’s wording, a ‘les’ turning into a ‘se’ (because otherwise you’d have *‘les lo’ which is illegal) and definitely not a reflexive pronoun. ‘Se’ can only be 3rd person reflexive, but in the 1st person you still get ‘se lo dije a todos’ and not *‘me lo dije a todos’.
‘Se lo dijo’ on its own could be reflexive (‘me lo dije’, etc. can make sense). It wouldn’t be my first reading, without more context.
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But, are we then not having the indirect object twice (“se” and “a todos”)? Is that a thing? 
It’s perfectly normal. You have ‘les dijo a todos’ above which is the same thing.
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