Le/la esperaba

[Caramelita]

Hello!

Could anyone please tell me if it's: le esperaba OR la esperaba?

it's so confusing

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by Caramelita

Hello!

Could anyone please tell me if it's: le esperaba OR la esperaba?

it's so confusing

We need a context, because both are possible. What are you saying in English?

[Caramelita]

Originally Posted by Perikles

We need a context, because both are possible. What are you saying in English?

I was waiting for her until she came home.

Le esperaba hasta que llegó a casa? o La esperaba hasta que llegó a casa?

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by Caramelita

I was waiting for her until she came home.

Le esperaba hasta que llegó a casa? o La esperaba hasta que llegó a casa?

She is a direct object of esperar, so you use le/lo for a masculine object, and la for feminine. The indirect object would be le for both m. and f.

(Very short answer which really needs a much more detailed response)

[Caramelita]

Originally Posted by Perikles

She is a direct object of esperar, so you use le/lo for a masculine object, and la for feminine. The indirect object would be le for both m. and f.

(Very short answer which really needs a much more detailed response)

Thanks. then: Yo la esperé en casa, yo lo esperé en casa. What kind of a sentence can I write with the indirect object?

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by Caramelita

Thanks. then: Yo la esperé en casa, yo lo esperé en casa. What kind of a sentence can I write with the indirect object?

Again a very short answer:

I gave the money to my friend.

I: subject
money: direct object
my friend: indirect object.

¿Qué le dijiste? What did you tell him?

le (literally to him) is the indirect object. Qué is the direct object.

[Caramelita]

Originally Posted by Perikles

Again a very short answer:

I gave the money to my friend.

I: subject
money: direct object
my friend: indirect object.

¿Qué le dijiste? What did you tell him?

le (literally to him) is the indirect object. Qué is the direct object.

Thx would it be correct to say : Nadie sabía qué le estaba preocupando. is it also a indirect object in this case?

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by Caramelita

Thx would it be correct to say : Nadie sabía qué le estaba preocupando. is it also a indirect object in this case?

Yes, I think so. My dictionary gives the example le preocupa el futuro de sus hijos she's worried about her children's future. The only way to see the Spanish is to understand it as

the future of her children: subject
is worrying: verb
to her: indirect object.

Others may look at it differently, but that is how I try to understand these constructions.

Note also that with preocupar, you also have preocuparse, which I think is more common. No te preocupes don't worry. Here, the te is a reflective pronoun.