"Le" question

[wafflestomp]

Hey guys,
Haven't logged on in about a month... Was on a cruise.. really fun... also got a new job so haven't had as much time with the computer... anyway down to business.

I was doing a recall lesson from my Level 2 rosetta stone... I am way past level 2 now but i always log into them to do the recall refresher lessons and i got a little stumped at this one slide here which is posted below..

So why exactly is "le" used in these and not "los" or "lo" or "la"? And when do you use los/las/lo/la in these situations and when is le required? I thought I had a grasp on this but I want to get this ironed out and settled once and for all.

[Rusty]

All uses of le or les in these pictures demonstrate how to use the Indirect Object Pronoun. The other pronouns you asked about are the Direct Object Pronouns.

All the verbs used in the lesson take both a direct object and an indirect object. The direct object answers the question "what?" The indirect object answers the question "to whom?"


Le vende un sombrero.
vende = he sells (we get the subject pronoun from the picture - the man is doing the selling)
What does he sell?
un sombrero = a hat (this is the direct object)
To whom does he sell it?
le = to her (this pronoun represents the indirect object a ella)

Does this answer your question?

[CrOtALiTo]

Here other examples.

Le doy la cartera.

Le doy un saludo.

Le doy de comer.

Le propongo un negocio.

Le doy una mano.

Le pego a la pelota.

I hope those examples can help you.

And well just you upgrade your Spanish.

[wafflestomp]

Originally Posted by Rusty

All uses of le or les in these pictures demonstrate how to use the Indirect Object Pronoun. The other pronouns you asked about are the Direct Object Pronouns.

All the verbs used in the lesson take both a direct object and an indirect object. The direct object answers the question "what?" The indirect object answers the question "to whom?"


Le vende un sombrero.
vende = he sells (we get the subject pronoun from the picture - the man is doing the selling)
What does he sell?
un sombrero = a hat (this is the direct object)
To whom does he sell it?
le = to her (this pronoun represents the indirect object a ella)

Does this answer your question?

Thanks for the other examples Crotalito... before I take a look let me get this ironed out first, haha And rusty, yes I believe it pretty much does... so if I were wanting to say "He sells the car to her" it would be "(Él) le vende un coche a ella" or do you not even need the a ella there? Would one just put it there so he can clarify the gender or is it wrong or required or what?

Les compró fruta -- She bought them fruit, right? And if I wanted to say "he/she bought you(plural) fruit it would also be the same thing, as in "Les compró fruta" because I've heard a phrase "Os compré café" meaning "I bought you (plural) coffee". So is it something that changes on the context or am I confused on this even more than I thought?

And that's right, I remember the objects now. So something like "I saw her" would be "La vi" or "vi a ella" and it conveys the same meaning.. right?

[irmamar]

Take a look here.

IO accepts duplicity, but pronoun is compulsory. You can say:

Os compré fruta (a vosotros),
Le compré un coche (a ella).

The words in brackets can be omitted, but the pronoun can't be.

[CrOtALiTo]

You're welcome man.

Don't forget to ask me again.

[wafflestomp]

Alright, so I thought I had understood this, but today I was practicing a sentence from a Spanish story "Una carta a dios" I read.. here it is below:

Lencho asks God to send him 100 pesos.

so I changed it to this:

Lencho pide que dios lo mande cien pesos.

But I was wrong and it should be something with Le in it. I was thinking like Lencho le pide a dios...... but then what happens from there on? I really have so much trouble with Le and I don't know why. I don't get the sentences where you have to use "le" with decir, or responder, etc... like decirle and like "Preguntale a Juanita" etc. Can anyone try to explain this to me? I am so lost on "le"

[Rusty]

'Le' is an indirect object pronoun, and should be used when there is an indirect object, written or not.

In your sentence, "Lencho asks God to send him 100 pesos," there are two clauses, each with an indirect object.

Let's simplify.
"Lencho asks a favor."
This is a simple, subject-verb-complement sentence. The direct object 'favor' answers the question, "What did Lencho ask?"

Now, let's throw in an indirect object.
"Lencho asks God a favor."
The indirect object 'God' answers the question, "To whom did Lencho ask a favor?"

Sometimes the direct object can be a noun clause. This is the case in your sentence. 'To send' is an infinitive. An infinitive is not a verb. It is a noun, and the rest of the clause acts together as the complement (direct object) of the verb 'asks'.

In Spanish, the grammar is slightly different.

If we simplify again, we have:
Lencho pide un favor.

Then we can add 'to whom' Lencho asked the favor.
Lencho le pide a Dios un favor.

The indirect object 'a Dios' could be placed elsewhere, but it is important to note that both the indirect object AND the indirect object pronoun appear in the sentence. If we know who the indirect object is, it can be omitted, but the IOP cannot.

Now, to use a noun clause, Spanish requires the conjunction 'que'.

Lencho le pide a Dios que ...

The noun clause in Spanish has a subject, a verb, an indirect object and a direct object. The subject is God, so it would be redundant to say the subject. The verb is 'mandar'. You correctly used the subjunctive mood when you conjugated it in the third person. "What is God sending?" Cien pesos. "To whom is God sending the money?" To Lencho. The indirect object is also known, so there's no reason to repeat it. However, we have to use the IOP.

So, since there are two indirect objects, there will be two occurrences of the IOP le.

Lencho le pide a Dios que le mande 100 pesos.


I hope this helps answer your question. Decir and preguntar take both a direct object and an indirect object, just like pedir.

[wafflestomp]

Alright, so I think I am understanding. If the sentence were "Lencho asks God to dance", would it be like this "Lencho le pide que Dios baile" or would it involve another le?

[Rusty]

Lencho le pide a Dios que baile.

The indirect object belongs in the main clause, where the main verb that takes the indirect object is located.

[irmamar]

That "lo" in "lo mande" is wrong": "le mande".

[wafflestomp]

Ok, I think I am starting to pick up on this.

So what if I were to say "Lencho asks god to send us 100 pesos"

That would require 2 indirect object pronouns, since there are two indirect objects (god and the pesos, right?) so here:

Lenco le pide que dios nos mande cien pesos

The le for god and the nos for us, is that right?

[chileno]

Originally Posted by wafflestomp

Ok, I think I am starting to pick up on this.

So what if I were to say "Lencho asks god to send us 100 pesos"

That would require 2 indirect object pronouns, since there are two indirect objects (god and the pesos, right?) so here:

Lenco le pide que dios nos mande cien pesos

The le for god and the nos for us, is that right?

You are getting there.

Lenco le pide a dios que nos mande cien pesos.

[Rusty]

Not quite. God is an indirect object. Us is the other one (not the pesos). Keep the indirect objects in their respective clauses. The clauses are split with the conjunction 'que'. The indirect object in the first clause (the main clause) is 'a Dios' (God). So, 'a Dios' must appear in the main clause. The indirect object pronoun 'le' must ALSO appear in the main clause. We don't have any idea who 'le' refers to in your main clause unless you explicitely say 'a Dios'. Lencho is asking for something. Tell us 'of whom' in that same clause.
The second clause, the words following the conjunction 'que', tell us 'what' Lencho is asking. The noun clause is functioning as the direct object of the verb 'asks' in the main clause. The noun clause happens to also contain an indirect object. In this case, it is a pronoun (nos). Only an indirect object pronoun is needed in this case, since 'nos' is not ambiguous like 'le' is. It can only mean 'to us'.

Lencho le pide a Dios (Lencho asks God)
que (conjunction that connects the direct object clause to the main clause)
nos mande cien pesos (to send us 100 pesos)

It doesn't translate word-for-word because English grammar and Spanish grammar differ.

[wafflestomp]

Ok, let me try some examples:

They are writing a letter to us.

Nos están escribiendo una carta.

I advise that you call John and tell him about what happened.

Aconsejo que llames a Juan, y le dices de qué pasó.

We ask him to send 100 pesos to God.

Le pedimos que le mande 100 pesos a dios.

I ask god to give me a good life.

Le pido a dios que me dé una vida buena.

I beg John to send the email to our boss.

Yo le Ruego a Juan que le mande el correo electronico a nuestra jefe.

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by wafflestomp

They are writing a letter to us.
Nos están escribiendo una carta. Correct, or 'Nos escriben una carta.'

I advise that you call John and tell him about what happened.
Aconsejo que llames a Juan, y le digas de qué pasó.

We ask him to send 100 pesos to God.
Le pedimos que le mande 100 pesos a Dios.

I ask god to give me a good life.
Le pido a Dios que me dé una vida buena.

I beg John to send the email to our boss.
Yo le ruego a Juán que le mande el correo electrónico a nuestra jefe.

Pretty good!

[wafflestomp]

Wow shocked I got those right apart from those accent issues.. haha.

Can you give me some example sentences to do Rusty?

[irmamar]

Sorry, Juan is not accented.

[Rusty]

Oops!

[ChilenoAlemanCanada]

Originally Posted by irmamar

Os compré fruta (a vosotros),

How would you say that formally, using ustedes? Would you use los or les?