Help for le, se, la, lo and when to use them

[kc9qii]

Hi, One thing that has had me confused lately when learning spanish is if 'le' is used just for he and she and not it. I know that you use la and lo in a DOP for instance when saying I bought it(una camisa) you would say "la compré" however if I defined that it was a shirt in an IOP would I say "Le compré una camisa"? or would i still have to say "la compré una camisa"? Also Im not understanding le vs se if anyone could give me some examples of when to use each that would be appreciated, thanks.

[wafflestomp]

Nope you wouldn't say la compré una camisa. It would just be la compré. Le is for he and she with an indirect object, so for example, I bought the shirt for her.

Le compré la camisa - I bought her/him the shirt, you could add the ella in if you'd like.

Or I gave (this is the most common by far, or variants of to give things)

Le dí la camisa a ella (or just le dí)

With le/se, that's when you have a "le la" situation, or le lo.

I mailed it (masculine) to Jackie

Se lo mandé a Jackie.

Hope that helps

[wrholt]

Welcome to the forums.

Third-person object pronouns are somewhat confusing, partly because there is some regional variation in how they are used.

In general, 'lo' and 'la' are always correct as direct object pronouns for he, she, it and you ('usted'), and 'los' and 'las' are always correct as direct object pronouns for they (either people or things) and you ('usted'). However, some people in some regions use 'le' as the direct object pronoun for a male human, especially when addressing him directly (as 'usted').

For indirect objects, 'le' is the only choice to refer to he, she, it and you ('usted'), and 'les' is the only choice to refer to they (either people or things) or you ('usteded').

Whenever you need to say both a third-person direct object pronoun ('lo', 'la', 'los', 'las', or 'le' in those regions that use it) AND a third-person indirect object pronoun ('le' or 'les'), one ALWAYS says 'se' as the indirect object pronoun.

'Se' is also used as 'impersonal se', as in 'Aquí se habla español', and in a version of the passive voice called 'passive se', as in 'Se vendó el libro'.

Does any of this help? Or do you have a more specific question?

[chileno]

Originally Posted by wrholt

In general, 'lo' and 'la' are always correct as direct object pronouns for he, she, it and you ('usted'), and 'los' and 'las' are always correct as direct object pronouns for they (either people or things) and you ('usted'). However, some people in some regions use 'le' as the direct object pronoun for a male human, especially when addressing him directly (as 'usted').

For indirect objects, 'le' is the only choice to refer to he, she, it and you ('usted'), and 'les' is the only choice to refer to they (either people or things) or you ('ustedes').

Will you provide examples of both instances, please?

[kc9qii]

This clarified alot but Im still not quite understanding what I would say if I wanted to say "I bought the shirt" not particulary for anyone but still saying that it was the shirt not just "I bought it" would it be "la compré la camisa" or would that mean "I bought it for her"?

[Rusty]

la compré = I bought it
This phrase has a direct object pronoun, so there's no mistaking that you mean 'it' (something already discussed). There's no need to add the direct object, unless you want to establish the object and emphasize it (or be redundant about the object).

se la compré = I bought it for her/him/you
IOP + DOP
Here the indirect object pronoun 'le' is used, but needs to be changed to 'se' because the third-person direct object pronoun follows.
You can clarify who the indirect object pronoun refers to (a ella, a él, a usted). And, of course, you can restate the direct object.

[wrholt]

Originally Posted by wrholt

...
In general, 'lo' and 'la' are always correct as direct object pronouns for he, she, it and you ('usted'), and 'los' and 'las' are always correct as direct object pronouns for they (either people or things) and you ('usted'). However, some people in some regions use 'le' as the direct object pronoun for a male human, especially when addressing him directly (as 'usted').

For indirect objects, 'le' is the only choice to refer to he, she, it and you ('usted'), and 'les' is the only choice to refer to they (either people or things) or you ('usteded').
...

Originally Posted by chileno

Will you provide examples of both instances, please?

Sure.

Direct object pronouns

1. usted (male)
José: ¿Me ve (usted)? = Do you see me?
Ana: Sí, lo/le veo (a usted). = Yes, I see you.

RAE prefers 'lo', and accept 'le' as a regional variation.

2. él (person)
José: ¿Ve (usted) a Juan? = Do you see Juan?
Ana: Sí, lo/le veo. = Yes, I see him.

RAE prefers 'lo', and accepts 'le' as a regional variation.

3. thing (masculine noun)
José: ¿Ve (usted) el libro? = Do you see the book.
Ana: Sí, lo veo. = Yes, I see it.

4. usted (female)
Ana: ¿Me ve (usted)? = Do you see me?
José: Sí, la veo (a usted). = Yes, I see you.

I have a grammar book that states that some speakers prefer 'le' for 'usted' even when talking to a female, although RAE does not accept it.

5. ella (person)
Ana: ¿Ve (usted) a María? = Do you see Maria?
José: Sí, la veo. = Yes, I see her.

6. thing (feminine noun)
Ana: ¿Ve (usted) la pluma? = Do you see the pen?
José: Sí, la veo. = Yes, I see it.

7. ustedes OR ellos (people, males only)
José: ¿Nos ve (usted) (a Juan y a mí)? = Do you see us (Juan and me)?
OR: ¿Ve (usted) a Juan y a Pedro? = Do you see Juan and Peter?

Ana: Sí, los veo. = Yes, I see you/them.

The same grammar book I mentioned in #4 also states that some speakers prefer to say "les" in this context, but RAE does not accept it.

8. ustedes OR ellos (mixed males and females)
José: ¿Nos ve (usted) (a María y a mí)? = Do you see us (María and me)?
OR: ¿Ve (usted) a Juan y a María? = Do you see Juan and Maria?

Ana: Sí, los veo. = Yes, I see you/them.

Same note as at #7.

9. ustedes OR ellas (females only)
Ana: "¿Nos ve (usted) (a María y a mí)? Do you see us (Maria and me)?
OR: ¿Ve (usted) a María y a Susana? = Do you see Maria and Susana?

José: Sí, las veo. = Yes, I see you/them.

10: Things (masculine nouns only)
Ana: ¿Ve (usted) el libro y el cuaderno? = Do you see the book and the notebook?
José: Sí, los veo. = Yes, I see them.

11. Things (mixed masculine and feminine nouns)
Ana: ¿Ve (usted) el libro y la pluma? = Do you see the book and the pen?
José: Sí, los veo. = Yes, I see them.

12: Things (feminine nouns only)
Ana: ¿Ve (usted) la pluma y la la llave? = Do you see the pen and the key?
José: Sí, las veo. = Yes, I see them.

Indirect object pronouns

1. usted, él, élla (person)
María: ¿Qué me da (usted) = What are you giving me?
OR José: ¿Qué me da (usted)? = What are you giving me?
OR: ¿Qué le da a Juan? = What are you giving to Juan?
OR: ¿Qué le da a María? = What are you giving to Maria?

Ana: Le doy un libro. = I'm giving you/him/her a book.

2. ustedes, ellos, ellas (people)
María: ¿Qué nos da (usted) (a Juan y a mí)? = What are you giving us (Juan and me)?
OR: ¿Qué nos da (usted) (a Susana y a mí)? = What are you giving us (Susana and me)?
OR José: ¿Qué nos da (usted) (a Juan y a mí)? = What are you giving us (Juan and me)?
OR ¿Que les da (usted) a Juan y a Pedro? = What are you giving to Juan and Pedro?
OR ¿Que les da (usted) a Juan y a María? = What are you giving to Juan and Maria?
OR ¿Que les da (usted) a María y a Susana? = What are you giving to Maria and Susana?

Ana: Les doy un libro. = I'm giving you/them a book.

3. Thing/things.
Mañana voy a echarle cera al carro. = Tomorrow I'm going to put wax on my car.
Manaña voy a echarles cera a los carros: = Tomorrow I'm going to put wax on my cars.

Two third-person pronouns
1. one person
José: ¿Me da (usted) el libro? = Will you give me the book?/Are you giving me the book?
OR: ¿Le da (usted) el libro (a Juan)? Will you give the book to Juan?/Are you giving the book to Juan?
OR ¿Le da (usted) el libro (a María)? = Will you give the book to Maria?/Are you giving the book to Maria?

Ana: Sí, se lo doy (a usted/a él/a ella). = Yes, I'll give it to you/him/her./Yes, I'm giving it to you/him/her.

2. Two or more people
José: ¿Nos da (usted) el libro (a Juan y a mí)? Will you give us the book (give the book to us, give the book to Juan and me)?
OR Nos da (usted) el libro (a María y a mí)? = Will you give us the book
(give the book to us, give the book to Maria and me)?
OR ¿Les da (usted) el libro (a Juan y a Pedro)? Will you give them the book (give the book to them, give the book to Juan and Peter)?
OR ¿Les da (usted) el libro (a Juan y a Susana)? Will you give them the book (give the book to them, give the book to Juan and Susana)?
OR ¿Les da (usted) el libro (a María y a Susana)? Will you give them the book (give the book to them, give the book to Maria and Susana)?

Ana: Sí, se lo doy (a ustedes/a ellos/a ellas). = Yes, I'm giving it to you/them (giving them/you it).

[kc9qii]

Ok I understand it now thanks everyone.

[chileno]

Thank you wrholt!