Are both of these sentences correct? I'm getting confused.

Question

1. Él le compró un regalo.
2. Él compró un regalo para él.

Are they both correct? I'm getting confused about whether or not I can say "para él" instead of an indirect object pronoun (le).

I guess I was going for

1. He bought him a gift.
2. He bought a gift for him.

A friend said I should say "Él le compró un regalo para él." though (if I'm going to use "para él")

Answer 1

Both of your phrases are correct as you wrote them

Answer 2

This is a quote from Rae.

5.1. Si el complemento tónico es también un pronombre personal, la coaparición del pronombre átono es obligatoria, tanto si el complemento es directo como indirecto: Me castigaron a mí; A ti te dieron el premio (no *Castigaron a mí; *A ti dieron el premio)

That is, if the bit after the 'a' is a personal pronoun then the indirect object pronoun is obligatory.

Le compré la bolsa a ella. I bought the bag for her.

(As 'ella' is a personal pronoun the 'le' is obligatory)

If however you use 'para' instead of 'a + a pronoun' I don't believe you would use the 'le'.

Compré la bolsa para ella. - this is equivalent to 'Le compré la bolsa para ella.

If you did use the 'le' with the para version I think the meaning would change.

Le compré la bolsa para ella.

I bought the bag from him/her/the seller for her.

Answer 3

What's the English version of those examples?

Who are you asking Chileno? - Kiwi-Girl, Sep 10, 2013

Answer 4

What is the sentence in English?

Your first sentence says: He bought a gift for him/her. It is unclear if it is for another him or for himself or for a her.

You second sentence clarifies the gender of the recipient and specifies a him other than himself.

Both are, I believe, grammatically correct.