Seemingly unnecesary use of "le"

Question

"Le voy a hacer unas preguntas."

Something is missing in my understanding because for me the sentence would have been complete just like this: "Voy a hacer unas preguntas." So what does the "Le" mean?

Answer 1

Le voy a hacer unas preguntas

I would interpret is as of him (or her, or you-formal)

Voy a hacer unas pregunatas – does not denote who you are going to ask

When you add le- you indicate a person, with le presumably referring to someone identifiable by the context of the sentence.

If it is the person you are speaking to (usted, formal), it is the difference between:

I am going to ask some questions.

and

I am going to ask you some questions.

Bosque: T O him/her/you - chileno, Oct 5, 2015

In English, normally I would ask something of someone, but in terms of questions I guess it would be simply I ask someone something. I would never say I ask something to them. I could pose a question to them, but I could never ask a question to them. :) - bosquederoble, Oct 5, 2015

But yes in Spanish, it is probably more a sense of to. :) - bosquederoble, Oct 5, 2015

I know, but you understood immediatelly what I wanted to say. Right? ;) - chileno, Oct 6, 2015

Answer 2

Perfect answer! It makes sense.

The context is formal and therefore "le". Many thanks!

De nada. :) - bosquederoble, Oct 5, 2015

It seems to be rather rare that the person who asks the question thanks those who go out of their way to answer the question. I'm sure you just raised the spirits of bosque, who is a very valuable participant on SD. Thanks! - Sassette, Oct 6, 2015