Is your grammar answer correct in the exercises?

Question

Indirect Object Pronouns Grammar Reference Section.

For the following exercise you list "le" as the correct answer but shouldn't it be "les" since the indirect object is the family which would be 3rd person plural. Please help to explain if I am wrong. Thank you,

Mi abuelo ___ mostró una película extraña a la familia.

Your answer : le My answer: les

Answer 1

LaBurra is correct; however, if sentence #1 identifies a family and sentence #2 is, "Mi abuelo les mostró una película extraña," then you are correct because it is understood that "les" are members of the family mentioned in the first sentence.

Answer 2

"The family" is not third person plural but singular, just like "the team", "the group" and other nouns for collections of people or things. In American English, we don't say "the family ARE viewing a film", we say "the family IS viewing a film" even though a family has more than one members. Same in Español!

I would have thought LA familia would be a giveaway. - 0074b507, Dec 5, 2009

But in England, family is plural, at least in the English films I've seen. Right, Eddy? - 0057ed01, Dec 5, 2009

Answer 3

English speakers often have problems with collective nouns (which are syntactically singular but have semantic overtones that suggest plural). On the whole, Spanish speakers adopt a simpler approach. i.e. if the form of the noun is singular (its syntax) then adjectives that modify it or verbs governed by it are also singular. This is not the only possible approach to language but it does have the advantage of keeping the "rules" simple.