More Pronoun Help, please

Question

Él les sacó una foto a sus amigos en octubre.

Ïs the ¨les¨ an IOP agreeing with ¨sus amigos"?

Referring to a book ¨Lo escribió Juana Serrano¨is the ¨Lo¨ a DOP referring to ¨Juana Serrano¨?

"Este libro se escribió en 1998" & "Este foto se sacó en 1961", I sort of feel the need for the "se", but I can't explain it to myself?

Thanks

Answer 1

Él les sacó una foto a sus amigos en octubre. s the ¨les¨is an IOP agreeing with ¨sus amigos"?

Yes.

Referring to a book ¨Lo escribió Juana Serrano¨is the ¨Lo¨ a DOP referring to ¨Juana Serrano¨?

No. This "lo" refers to the book.

"Este libro se escribió en 1998" & "Este foto se sacó en 1961", I sort of feel the need for the "se", but I can't explain it to myself?

"Se" is used to create passive voice; it´s correct. You could also say "....... fue escrito..." and "... fue sacada...." But it must be "esta foto." (la fotografía)

Thanks Julian. This helps a lot. - PeterRS, Jan 13, 2013

Answer 2

"Direct object pronouns replace the direct object noun in a sentence which can be a person or a thing".
The direct object noun is the part of the sentence that receives the action from the verb.

In your sentence: "Él les sacó ...", les indeed refers to sus amigos, as they are the ones whose photo is taken.
In your sentence "Lo escribío ...", lo refers to el libro as that is what is written.

There's more information on direct object pronoun in video lesson 2.3 and in the grammar section. and much, much more in the archives of this forum as this question has been asked many times before.

The same goes for the passive se. It is dealth with in video lesson 3.12, in the grammar section and in the archives of the forum.
I cannot explain why you feel the need to use 'se' in your sentences.