Le encendí

Le encendí
 

Hi,

From Duolingo:

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

Who is le here?

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.

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:

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

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

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.)

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.

?

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.