Learn more about the irregular preterit verb "Dar".
Consider the sentence with the irregular verb "DAR" :....'Le di un plátano al mono." Why do you use the indirect pronoun "le"? Do you always have to use an indirect pronouns with the irregular Preterit Verb "DAR"?
2 Answers
In the SpanishDict videos they teach you that you must always use an indirect object pronoun when there is an indirect object in a sentence. Some bilingual Spanish speakers in America tell me this is false, however. In any case "le" refers to "el mono."
I grew up speaking this way by using le in every ocassion with an indirect object pronoun and while it is not incorrect, it is not mandatory in cases such as Le di un plátano al mono. The le is only mandatory when the indirect object preceeds the verb, ie: Al mono le di un plátano. Cogumela was kind enough to point this out a while back.
Of course, the indirect object pronoun is always mandatory when the direct object is not named, ie: "Le di un plátano."
Many times we become superstitious with our understanding of the rules in Spanish. The rule here, for le, does not have anything to do with Dar in the preterit form.
Instead it is for indirect objects. In the SpanishDict videos they teach you that you must always use an indirect object pronoun when there is an indirect object in a sentence. Some bilingual Spanish speakers in America tell me this is false, however. In any case "le" refers to "el mono." If there were no indirect object with dar in the preterit form you would not use le.
