Le encendí

[Tyrn]

Hi,

From Duolingo:

Le encendí sin querer el aire acondicionado y no sé apagarlo. ¡Auxilio!

Who is le here?

[wrholt]

Without additional context, it could be understood as a "redundant" object pronoun referring to the direct object "el aire acondicionado". However, using "le" with "encender" and "lo" with "apagar" seems odd. I would expect that native speakers would consistently use the same pronoun in both places, following the accepted norm for their regional variety.

[Tyrn]

I passed this sentence with OK instead of the full translation (modern Duo sometimes leaves you in the dark). There were similar sentences enough, though; the expected translation is always something like this:

I turned on his air conditioner by accident; I don't know how to turn it off. Help me!

Yes, I'm interested whether le can or cannot point to the air conditioner :thinking:

[poli]

I accidentally turned on his/her air conditioner and I can't turn it off. Help!

[wrholt]

Yes, "I turned on his air conditioner..." is also a reasonable translation.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I agree with Wrholt's first explanation. It's a redundant pronoun, which is used only in colloquial speech. Mexicans and most probably several other Latin Americans often use it when we operate a device or a machine. It's really common with "prender", but also with some other verbs:
- Ábrele a la llave. :approx: Abre la llave. (Turn on the faucet.)
- Ya le prendí a la estufa. :approx: Ya prendí la estufa. (I already turned on the stove.)
- ¿No le has marcado al teléfono? :approx: ¿No has marcado el teléfono? (Have you dialed the number on the phone?)
- Córtale a la cinta. :approx: Corta la cinta. (Cut the tape.)


And a bonus example I love: when we talk about someone knowing how to operate a device that we find too complicated. :D
- No le sé a la computadora. -> No sé usar la computadora. (I don't know how to use the computer.)
- Mi nieto le sabe mejor al teléfono que yo. -> Mi nieto entiende mejor cómo usar el teléfono que yo. (My grandson is more capable of using the phone than I.)

[Tyrn]

So colloquially one can make an animate object out of an inanimate. A familiar concept :p

Now for the last detail: shouldn't it be

Le encendí sin querer al aire acondicionado y no sé apagarlo.

?

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I'm not sure about animate/inanimate, but it makes sense. In general, we tend to use "se"/"le" for things that we do involuntarily, inadvertently or rather innocently. :D

And yes, you're right, it should be "le encendí al aire". I didn't notice in your first post. :)
Otherwise, Poli's and Wrholt's second explanation would be valid, but then you should clearly know by context who is the third person for whom you turned the AC on.