Can "le" (singular indirect object pronoun) refer to "plural indirect objects" ?

Question

I came across this sentence on SpanishDict on the translation page for "Aguja"

"Odio vacunarme porque le tengo miedo a las agujas."
Translated as:

"I hate getting vaccinated because I'm scared of needles."

If "le" is the indirect object pronoun referring to "las agujas" why isn't "les" used instead of "le" since "las agujas" is plural.

I thought maybe it is saying something like: "I'm afraid of it the needles.

So, I was wondering if there are idioms which always use the singular le

or am I looking at this completely wrong?

If anyone can shed any light on this I would be very thankful.

Answer 1

It is technically incorrect, but people do it all the time. There are many "popular" grammatical errors which native speakers of all languages commit every day. Have you listened to some of the "English" that's out there, recently?

Estoy de acuerdo con cada frase tuya - 005faa61, Apr 24, 2017

Lol.....Point taken! Thank you so much, Daniela2041. I very much appreciate your elucidation of this question. I feel much better now. lol. - 004d9596, Apr 24, 2017

"thems" are good comments. :) - ian-hill, Apr 24, 2017

I "could of" answered that." - DonBigoteDeLaLancha, Apr 24, 2017

Yeah, dems is good. I coulnt of thunk it my own self. - 004d9596, Apr 24, 2017

"Irregardless" of whether it's incorrect, people do it all the time. ;-) - Winkfish, Apr 26, 2017

lol ...Winkfish. Irregardless ain't a word. I learned that at the "libary." - 004d9596, Apr 26, 2017

Hehe! - Winkfish, Apr 27, 2017

Wow! The comments are better than my post - Daniela2041, Apr 28, 2017

Answer 2

Daniela2041 is sooo right!

It is incorrect to use "le" (singular) before "arañas" (plural), but it's such a common mistake that even well-educated people make it.

I have even observed than common mistakes, far from being unanimously opposed, do become part of our linguistic identity.

Just 4 simple examples:

1) "Subir para arriba" / "entrar para adentro" [most people in Spain], instead of just "subir" or "entrar" (correct choice).

2) "Hay calor" [most people in Latin America], instead of "hace calor" (correct choice).

3) "Yo sabía que tú hablas español" [Most people in Argentina], instead of "yo sabía que tú hablabas español (correct choice).

4) "Juan es un especulador" (meaning boastful) [most people in Cuba], but "especulador" actually means someone who speculates, in the sense of buying or selling in expectation of profiting from market fluctuations.

I hope this helps.

Raff75, Thanks for the examples! It's good to be able to recognize "accepted incorrect usage" when you see it. Since I tend to focus on details I should learn as many of these as I can! ...lol - 004d9596, Apr 26, 2017