Prepositional phrases with object pronouns

Question

Hi. I have a pretty simple question regarding prepositional phrases and object pronouns.

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Let's say I have the sentence, "He gave it to him."

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I'm pretty sure that would be translated, "Se lo da a él?" Correct?

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If that is correct..

• Is the "a él" required? - Would the sentence "Se lo da" be incorrect?
• Would the sentence be incorrect if I included the "a él" and not the "se?"

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Thanks for your help!

Welcome to the forum. :) - bosquederoble, Apr 6, 2017

Welcome to SpanishDict. - rac1, Apr 7, 2017

Answer 1

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Let's say I have the sentence, "He gave it to him." I'm pretty sure that would be translated, "Se lo da a él?" Correct?

No, Da= gives, dio= gave.

• Is the "a él" required? - Would the sentence "Se lo da" be incorrect?

No, a él is not required. Se lo dio would be fine if the individuals are obvious from context. Se lo da is also correct for present tense (gives).

• Would the sentence be incorrect if I included the "a él" and not the "se?" It would be incorrect, se (standing for le) is required and the “a él” is only for emphasis or clarification and optional.

You cannot have an “a plus pronoun” without including the pronoun as an object pronoun.

Oops, I meant gives. Anyways, that answers my question. Thanks!! - robahhh, Apr 6, 2017

De nada. :) - bosquederoble, Apr 6, 2017

Keep in mind my answer would be slightly different if it was not "a pronoun"- such as "a Juan". :) - bosquederoble, Apr 6, 2017