Le/lo

[Premium]

Hi there, it´s me again.

Eso me convertiría en una mentirosa en lugar de en una viuda confiada que cayó dormida en el cálido abrazo de un hombre que prometió prepararle el desayuno.

That would make me a liar instead of a trusting widow who fell asleep in the warm embrace of a man who promised to make breakfast.

To my question, why is it "prepararle" and not "preparar"?

Thank you in advance.

[Rusty]

The indirect object pronoun is referring to the widow.
The translation is '... who promised to make her breakfast.'

[JPablo]

That's right,
The "le" = "a ella" or "para ella"
"preparar [a ella] el desayuno"
"preparar el desayuno para ella"

[Premium]

Awesome, thank you guys.

[Thomson]

You no doubt received the right answer and I may have no business extending this but I have a follow-up question

The sentence with the implied pronoun in red:
That would make me a liar instead of a trusting widow who fell asleep in the warm embrace of a man who promised to make me breakfast.
(it is the widow speaking)

the Spanish pronoun 'le' would mean (in this context) 'her', the sentence would not be
That would make me a liar instead of a trusting widow who fell asleep in the warm embrace of a man who promised to make her breakfast.

So why is 'le' used instead of 'me' in "preparar"?

Is it because 'me' makes it reflexive and the widow isn't making her own breakfast?

** beginning Spanish student; corrections welcomed **

[wrholt]

Originally Posted by Thomson

You no doubt received the right answer and I may have no business extending this but I have a follow-up question

The sentence with the implied pronoun in red:
That would make me a liar instead of a trusting widow who fell asleep in the warm embrace of a man who promised to make me breakfast.
(it is the widow speaking)

the Spanish pronoun 'le' would mean (in this context) 'her', the sentence would not be
That would make me a liar instead of a trusting widow who fell asleep in the warm embrace of a man who promised to make her breakfast.

So why is 'le' used instead of 'me' in "preparar"?

Is it because 'me' makes it reflexive and the widow isn't making her own breakfast?

** beginning Spanish student; corrections welcomed **

"Me" does not make the sentence reflexive: the subject of the infinitive "to make" is "a man". The indirect object pronoun (me/her) refers directly to "a trusting widow".

I strongly prefer the version with "her" over the version with "me" because it refers directly to the pronoun "who" of "a trusting widow who". The relative pronoun "who" assumes the number (and possibly gender) of its reference; however, "who" normally forces third-person agreement with anything that refers to it. How can I say this?

I go to the store every day.
I am a person who (go/goes) to the store every day.

You go to the store every day.
You are a person who (go/goes) to the store every day.
You are people who (go/goes) to the store every day.

The same type of phenomenon happens in the Spanish.

[Thomson]

Originally Posted by wrholt

"Me" does not make the sentence reflexive: the subject of the infinitive "to make" is "a man". The indirect object pronoun (me/her) refers directly to "a trusting widow".

I strongly prefer the version with "her" over the version with "me" because it refers directly to the pronoun "who" of "a trusting widow who". The relative pronoun "who" assumes the number (and possibly gender) of its reference; however, "who" normally forces third-person agreement with anything that refers to it. How can I say this?

I go to the store every day.
I am a person who (go/goes) to the store every day.

You go to the store every day.
You are a person who (go/goes) to the store every day.
You are people who (go/goes) to the store every day.

The same type of phenomenon happens in the Spanish.

Thank you very much wr, that was very helpful!