The meaning of LE in this sentence. -Yo le dije a la secretaria que yo hablaria con el abogado ayer

Question

What does 'le' mean in this sentence? Why is it used?

Yo le dije a la secretaria que yo hablaría con el abogado ayer

I think I understand it. Literally it would translate to "I told to the secretary" and it maybe emphasizes the telling to

excelente:) - 00494d19, Dec 19, 2011

Answer 1

I hope that you do not get it, because the answer is incorrect. It is not recommended that you accept the 1st answer to any question until it has been voted up to confirm that it is correct.

Unless used in the leísmo (using le for the direct object pronoun lo usage prevalent in Spain) le is the indirect object pronoun.

Yo le dije a la secretaria que yo hablaría con el abogado ayer

I= subject

told=verb

that I would speak with an attorney yesterday=the direct object [answers What?]

to the secretary=the indirect object [answers To whom?]

The "le" indirect object pronoun refers to the secretary (the i.o.) Actually, the le and a la secretaria are both parts of the i.o.

The le is often referred to as the "redundant" le (from an English speakers point of view.) It is necessary to the sentence. The a la secretaria is optional.

In English it would be something akin to:

I told her, the secretary, that I would speak to an attorney yesterday. The her is seemingly redundant since the secretary is explicitly mentioned. Spanish sees it the other way around. It sees the a la secretaria as a clarifying (and optional) phrase telling you to whom the le refers.

If you read the Library article on indirect objects you will see this pronoun explained. indirect object pronouns

Answer 2

The le is often referred to as the "redundant" le (from an English speakers point of view.) It is necessary to the sentence. The a la secretaria is optional.

While the "le" is usually included, it is not required in this case, unless the "a la secretaria" is omitted or replaced by a pronoun like "a ella".

My bad. - 0074b507, Dec 19, 2011

Answer 3

Le is the Direct Pronoun. In spanish we always have to used the direct pronoun unlike in english.

Incorrect - 0074b507, Dec 19, 2011

And Spanish has many intransitive sentences that have no direct object at all. - 0074b507, Dec 19, 2011

Answer 4

Ah, that is actually the way I understood it. (I mean, the meaning of the sentence. Not the grammatical terms)

Thank you so much qfreed!

Answer 5

Actually, I think I get it. I just need to get used to it!