La toma o lo toma?

Question

Padre: hijo mío.¿Estás bien?

Hijo, Estoy muy mal. Tengo fiebre.

Padre, Te llevo ahora mismo al hospital en coche.

En el hospital, el médico ausculta al enfermo, le toma el pulso y le hace algunas preguntas.

My question is, can I change those two "le" into "lo"?

Lo toma el pulso y lo hace algunas preguntas.

Because I think lo is direct object.

Answer 1

You cannot use "lo" here since there is already a direct object in the sentence, which is el pulso. Le indicates whose pulse is being taken, which in this case is the sick son's (el enfermo).

Answer 2

"Le" here refers to the boy, who is the indirect object. You should not use "lo."

Aprecio las explicaciones sencillas - bien explicado! - Jeremias, Jun 12, 2011

And "le hace preguntas" is he asks the question TO the boy who is the i.o. so it has to be "le". - margaretcorwin, Jun 12, 2011

The second Le I I know the reason why can't be changed into LO, but now still having problem with the first LE. - zhmelissa, Jun 12, 2011

@zhmelissa: You cannot change the first one to "lo" because "lo" replaces a direct object. There is already a direct object, "el pulso". - gintar77, Jun 12, 2011

Answer 3

Can I just delete Le in the sentence??

No. You need an indirect object or else you don't know whose pulse the doctor is taking or whom he is asking the questions.

At the hospital, the doctor listens to the sick boy's chest, takes his pulse, and asks him some questions.

If you take out the "le", the translation in English would look like this:

At the hospital, the doctor listens to the sick boy's chest, takes the pulse, and asks some questions.

Answer 4

Can I understand it is also can put like this form:

toma el pulso a él y hace algunas preguntas a él.

You would think so, but no. "él" does not function as an indirect object pronoun in Spanish. You have to use "le". You could still add "a él" to the sentence, but it only functions as emphasis, if there is confusion as to who the indirect object is.

le toma el pulso a él y le hace algunas preguntas a él

In this case, adding "a él" for emphasis is not needed and sounds a bit odd.

Answer 5

En el hospital, el médico le ausculta al enfermo, le toma el pulso y le hace algunas preguntas.

Le is an indirect object pronoun and is unnecessary in this sentence, since "el enfermo" here is the direct, not the indirect object.

In the second sentence, el enfermo is the indirect object and therefore le is necessary.

Well, not really. El enfermo is actually the i.o allways. But, yes, in the first sentence is duplicated: le toma el pulso al enfermo. (le and el enfermo are both the i.o., so therefore it is duplicated). - LuisCache, Jun 14, 2011

I was referring only to the 1st part, not the rest, of course. - Deanski, Jun 14, 2011

Answer 6

Let´s analyse the three sentences:

First sentence:

el médico (subject)

ausculta (verb)

al enfermo, (indirect object)

Second sentence:

(el médico) (implicit subject, same subject as in the first sentence)

le (indirect object, i.e., el enfermo)

toma (verb)

el pulso (direct object)

Third sentence:

y (conjunction)

le (i.o., again "el enfermo")

hace (verb)

algunas preguntas. (direct object).

If you knew who was the indirect object, you could say:

El médico lo ausculta, le toma el pulso y le hace algunas preguntas.

Muchas gracias. - zhmelissa, Jun 14, 2011

I think you meant that the "enfermo" is the direct object in the first sentence. - gintar77, Jun 14, 2011

Answer 7

El médico lo ausculta, le toma el pulso y le hace algunas preguntas.

You just contradicted yourself when you used "lo" in the 1st sentence and referred to el enfermo as the indirect object, since lo is a direct object pronoun. It is the indirect object in the 2nd and 3rd sentences, but it's the direct object in the 1st sentence.

Auscultar is a transitive verb, meaning to listen to someone's chest using a stethoscope, thus, it receives a direct object.

Answer 8

Can I just delete Le in the sentence??

En el hospital, el médico ausculta al enfermo, toma el pulso y hace algunas preguntas.

Is this correct too?

You can. However, it would mean something else. So if you want to say that the doctor took the patient's pulse and asked him questions, the "le" is necessary. - Deanski, Jun 12, 2011

De poder, puedes, peero le cambias el sentido a la oración: Deanski is right. - LuisCache, Jun 14, 2011

Answer 9

But how can you tell " le toma el pulso " is indirect object? I think it is direct object.

The direct object is the one that is acted upon *directly* by the verb. The direct object of toma in that sentence is el pulso. You are taking the pulse (of someone). - Deanski, Jun 13, 2011

Muchas gracias. - zhmelissa, Jun 13, 2011

Answer 10

En el hospital, el médico ausculta al enfermo, le toma el pulso y le hace algunas preguntas.

Can I change into this? Is this also correct or not?

En el hospital, el médico le ausculta al enfermo, le toma el pulso y le hace algunas preguntas.

Answer 11

En el hospital, el médico ausculta al enfermo, le toma el pulso y le hace algunas preguntas.

Can I change into this? Is this also correct or not?

En el hospital, el médico le ausculta al enfermo, le toma el pulso y le hace algunas preguntas.

Answer 12

For more information see Indirect Object Pronouns.

Answer 13

I just have problem whenever I make some sentences by myself, I always have problem with LE. I don´t know when to add LE when not to.

Answer 14

Yes, but I think in a context, without HIS , and also people can understand, because now people are talking about HIM. I think in the context, it can be deleted, I think maybe I am wrong?

En el hospital, el médico ausculta al enfermo, le toma el pulso y le hace algunas preguntas.

" le toma el pulso y le hace algunas preguntas."

Can I understand it is also can put like this form:

toma el pulso a él y hace algunas preguntas a él.

Is this correct?