Indirect Object Pronouns, always use?

Question

Hello,

I am having trouble understanding when you HAVE to use an indirect object pronoun (IOP). For example...are both of these sentences correct, or no?

"Jorge compra flores para mí" and "Jorge me compra flores"

"Vendemos la casa a ella" and "Le vendemos la casa. (or even "Le vendemos la casa a ella).

Are they all saying the same thing? Are any grammatically incorrect? Could you get by mostly not using IOP's (by using para and a)?

Thank you!

Answer 1

Hi nt,

Your sentences are all grammatically correct. But there are preferred ways of saying things (for purely style-related reasons)

Jorge compra flores para mí" and "Jorge me compra flores" -->the second one is better.

"Vendemos la casa a ella" and "Le vendemos la casa. (or even "Le vendemos la casa a ella). -->The third one does not leave room for interpretation. The second one does not say to whom you are selling the house. In my opinion, the first one needs the indirect object pronoun "le."

I hope this helps.

Answer 2

You know, what I do is look it up on the spanish dictionary up top, next to your name & profile

? I am sorry, I don't understand your comment. I tried to search about this in the Q/A section, maybe I am missing something? - nt06bps, Mar 27, 2012

oh, I mean the Spanish dictionary up top, scroll up and you will see a search button at the top, next to your name. :-) - nadiamasiero, Mar 28, 2012

There are also learning videos when you look into it :-) - nadiamasiero, Mar 28, 2012