Why are the IOP's necessary here?

Question

Why is the IOP in pintarle, arreglarle, etc. necessary in this sentence? It seems that it would make sense without them... (?) What are the "le"'s referring to?

"Bueno, pues podría pintarle las paredes, arreglarle problemas con la tubería, poner pisos, o arreglar su calefacción o aire acondicionado."

Translation: "Well, I could paint the walls, fix plumbing problems, install floors, or fix your heat or air conditioner/conditioning."

Thanks!

Answer 1

All I can think of is that these tasks are able to be done for you, as in a job posting advertising someone's maintenance business. "I could paint the walls for you", etc. Otherwise, Indirect Object Pronouns don't seem correct here.

Answer 2

What's an "iop"

• Indirect Object Pronoun - --Mariana-- Dec 10, 2009

Answer 3

In this case, you can say it both ways, with or without "le" after the verb. "Bueno, pues podría pintarle las paredes." = "OK, well I could paint the walls for you." "Bueno, pues podría pintar las paredes" = "OK, well I could paint the walls."

• gracias!! Ahora, yo comprendo más sobre IOPs... Cuando están IOP's necesario? Could I say; "Bueno pues podriá pintar(le?) las paredes para ti."? -- or is that embarrassing gringa-spanish?! - beetasticroo Dec 11, 2009