"Why do you want to say that to my mother?"

[TheKohaku]

Is there anything wrong with 'Kial vi volas diri al mia patrino tion?'

[FlailBot]

I have no idea, but I had the same solution. The word order is somewhat unnatural in English.

Why you want to say to my mother that?
vs.
Why you want to say that to my mother?

Personally, I like the first one because it clearly indicates that you're saying that thing to my mother. "diri al mia patrino" feels like a phrase that should stick together.

I think the takeaway here is that both work and would be comprehensible.

Plus, there's this other question:
"Ne, mi ne volas diri al vi mian nomon."
Which follows precisely the OTHER word order.

[Reziah]

The accusative -n here indicates what is being said (tion) and to who so it doesn't really matter I think? So long as you're using the ki- word at the start, remembering your accusative -n and keeping "al mia patrino" together it shouldn't matter about the rest.

Both answers should (AFAIK) be accepted and if they aren't, use the little "Report -> My answer should be accepted" option to help improve the course.

[Jamthom8]

Why is this "tio" here? It sounds like the speaker knows what they want to say to their mother so why not "tiu"?

[Komponisto]

"Tiu" is a determiner and generally modifies a noun whereas "tio" can used in place of a noun. There are few instances where one would use "tiu" by itself but it has to refer to a specific thing out of a group of known/defined things.

[Jamthom8]

Could one ever use "tio" to modify a noun?

[Komponisto]

No. You would have to use "tiu." I remember them this way, "tio" = that whereas "tiu" = that (one).

[Reziah]

I think you'd only use "Tiu" if you were asking why they'd say a single word to the mother, but "Tio" if you're talking about a whole thing? Like maybe if they said a single swear word or something you'd use tiu?
Shrug

[arono3]

Probably because , as Vanilla Ice would say, "word to your mother".