Special cases of lo/le
The is a question more about leismo/loismo than about the construction of the phrases (about which there have been many threads already).
Would it be: Maria lo vuelve loco or Maria le vuelve loco?
And would it be: Juan le dota del éxito or Juan lo dota del éxito?
Thanks in advance!
3 Answers
Hi, Shepster. I don't have a comprehensive answer to your broader question, but I usually see volverse not used with either lo or le. I would say, María se vuelve loco. When I Googled the phrase (admittedly unreliable, but a good enough start) I didn't find any instances of le or lo being used with volverse. There was just an outrageous number of hits for a film called Papá se volvió loco. Edit: Oh, I've just thought of another way you could mean this. If she drives him crazy, it would be "María lo vuelve loco." Le would also be acceptable though, as Heidita says, because it is an accepted leísmo.
I don't know if there is an important academic distinction, but to me both are the same.
The difference is that "lo" is masculine, and "le" is gender neutral (so you should include "la" in your musings).
I use "le" almost exclusively only when I'm not sure of the gender.
Maria lo vuelve loco or Maria le vuelve loco?
If you make that feminine it is clearer:
Juan la vuelve loca.
As you are using la here, it is a clear direct object
In your example le is an accepted leísmo, lo is the correct answer.
