Le & Les explained
Hi Guys,
Could someone explain why the use of le and les is required in these sentences, they seem redundant to me?
Help appreciated.
Stephen
les doy un regalo a ellos (I'm giving a gift to them)
el le compra un regalo a ella (He is buying her a gift)
el les compra un regalo ustedes (He is buying you people a gift)
el les compra regalo a ellos (He is buying them a gift)
yo le compra un regalo a pablo (I am buying a gift for paul)
le doy un regalo usted (I am giving a gift to you)
les doy un regalo ustedes (I am giving a gift to you guys)
les doy un regalo a ellos (I am giving a gift to them)
ella le compro un regalo a el (She bought him a gift)
le vendiste una camisa a ella (You sold her a shirt)
se lo doy a pablo (I am giving it to Paul)
10 Answers
Are these correct.
les voy por una bebida con ellos I am going for a drink with them
le fui por una bebida con ella I went for a drink with her
No, I'm afraid not, le/les can work for to her/ for her, to them, for them etc but not 'with her' 'with them' etc - for that you need 'con'
Tomar una copa is one way to express having a drink, so how about:
Voy a tomar una copa con ellos. I'm going out for a drink with them.
Fui a tomar una copa con ella. I went out for a drink with her.
In essence these are the indirect object pronouns and they tell us where the direct object is going. As katydew said the "a ????" is optional but is sometimes mentioned to avoid ambiguity. So in your first example, les doy un regalo a ellos (I'm giving a gift to them),
Un regalo is the direct object and les is the indirect object.
An interesting point to note is the last example you give which you would think would be "le lo doy", however, when both direct and indirect object pronouns are of the third person, and occur together, the indirect forms "le and les" are replaced by "se" which should not be confused with the reflexive "se".
The a ustedes, a ellos, a Pablo, etc. is optional in the sentence, but in Spanish, the le and les in these are not optional. But, they explain exactly who you mean since le and les can mean several different things.
To him/her/you = le
To them/you all = les
Thanks, I get it now.
Hey Stephen, it looks like you're starting to get a handle on this subject, with the helpful answers you've already received, if you'd like to read a little more about it here's a wee lesson that you might find useful.
How about this....
le voy a trabajar a ella, I am going to work for her
le voy a ir a ella, I am going to go to her
voy a trabajar con ella, I am going to work with her
les van a trabajar a ellos, they are going to work for them
Many thanks Kiwi-girl
How about this....
le voy a trabajar a ella, I am going to work for her
le voy a ir a ella, I am going to go to her
voy a trabajar con ella, I am going to work with her
les van a trabajar a ellos, they are going to work for them
No, sorry, lol - I should have reminded you that the indirect object serves the purpose of telling you where the indirect object is going.
Les doy un regalo.
The direct object 'the present' is going 'to them' (les)
but if you don't have an direct object you don't need the indirect object pronoun.
Voy a trabajar para ella. I'm going to work for her.
Thanks everyone for your help.
Are these correct.
les voy por una bebida con ellos I am going for a drink with them
le fui por una bebida con ella I went for a drink with her
Gracias.
Thanks for you help guys, helps a lot.
Can I ask if this is correct in that case. Voy le hablar con el (el being optional) I am going to speak with him.
I know, right, that's what I was thinking when first learning...why use "les" when you also are using "a ellos". Why not just use the "a ellos" and not have the "les". This is just how it's done in Spanish....
