Object pronouns

Question

I have been reading through some articles and seen this ....."quiero verle" - I want to see you.

In all other cases with the verb 'ver' I have only seen direct object pronouns used eg - 'quiero verlo' - I want to see him, 'quiero verla' - I want to see her.

Could somebody explain to me please why a indirect object pronoun is used for 'you'?

Answer 1

The use of the indirect object pronoun instead of the direct one is normally called "leísmo", and grammars usually advise against their use. In this case is tolerated, because "verlo" can mean "verlo a él" or "verlo a usted", and some speakers prefer to avoid the potential confusion by saying "verlo" for "verlo a él" and "verle" for "verle a usted". This happens in some countries more than others, so you are going to have to live with it.

thanks! Anomalies hey, you wouldn't get such things in the English language ;-) - billygoat, Apr 7, 2011

Answer 2

The verb "ver" is used with direct object pronouns. I can't find a grammatical explanation for using an indirect object pronoun in that manner. It doesn't seem to be correct. You might want to wait on a native speaker, but your experience has taught you properly. Indirect object pronouns don't work in this context.

Thank you i'm actually wondering whether it was a typo in the document I was reading, but I like to confirm these things just to make sure i'm on the right lines :-) - billygoat, Apr 7, 2011