"le" used as the indirect object
Judging by the number of posts on this topic, this "le" as the indirect object has flummoxed a lot of learners, me included. But now that I know it is the rule to have the “le” as a “signal” that the indirect object is coming up, I’ll just have to practise it. I'm sure it will become second nature. How long it takes remains to be seen.
My question is that in the following sentence, can one put “a Miguel” at the start of the sentence? At present, this word order feels more natural to me...
Yo le tiro la pelota a Miguel. (I throw the ball to Miguel.) -> A Miguel, le tiro la pelota.
2 Answers
Yes, you can put the a Miguel before or after the verb, but it has possible consequences in emphasis on the direct object and grammar implications.
If the a Miguel appears before the verb the i.o.p. le is mandatory. If the a Miguel follows the verb the le is optional (according to the R A E, not according to the recommendations in the lessons or the Library articles on this site (which say that if there is an i.o, there must be an i.o.p.). And even the R A E notes that the i.o.p. is normally used in daily speech).
As far as the possible shift in emphasis you should wait for a native to explain it.
BTW Spanish does not use a comma after it, like we probably would in English.
A mí me gusta.... (no comma after mí)
What grammar implications would that be?
