Why is "le" used in this sentence?

Question

Hi all,

"Un niño le pregunta a su madre..."

Why is "le" there if "su madre" is the direct object? Where is the indirect object? I've seen the pronoun used in this way before many times.

Thanks.

Answer 1

"su madre" is actually the indirect object. In Spanish, we can have IOs without having a stated DO. In this case, there is an implied DO (una pregunta). There are other verbs in Spanish that behave this way (ej: contar, decir).

And it all makes sense now :) - TheSilentHero, May 31, 2010

Answer 2

Calvo said it better.