Help with DO and IO sentence.

Question

Why is the indirect object 'le' used here?

ellos le conceden su deseo

And the direct object 'lo' used here?

betty lo perdona sus duedos.

I'm struggling with telling the difference. I understand that the IO is supposed to represent the receiver of the action, but to me both sentences could use either the DO or the IO. I'm confused.

Answer 1

Why is the indirect object 'le' used here?

ellos le conceden su deseo

The granted thing is "su deseo" (DO), and the person to whom it has been granted is "le" (IO)

And the direct object 'lo' used here?

betty lo perdona sus duedos.

That "lo" is wrong -it should be "le".

Answer 2

IO represents the receiver of the DO. The DO is the receiver of the action.

Ellos le conceden su deseo.

Le is the indirect object and receives the granted wish. The wish (deseo) is the direct object...it is the thing being granted.

Le could mean you/him/her/it. Su could mean your/his/her/its.

Betty lo perdona sus duedos.

I'm not sure I understand this sentence at all. I will leave it to others to explain. It could be an example of loísmo, but I'm not sure.

Ah, I see I take to long to type out my answers. :-) - webdunce, Jan 2, 2011

Answer 3

Ah, thank you very much!