Let's dive right in without a big intro since everything you need to know about indirect objects is in my previous post (check it out here).
Le and les are two of the indirect object pronouns, but there are more. Here's the full list:
Indirect Object Pronouns (IOP)
me (to me, for me)
te (to you, for you)
le (to/for you [formal], to/for him, to/for her)
nos (to/for us)
les (to/for you all, to/for them)
Just like with any pronoun, we use these to replace nouns, in this case, the nouns that take the place of the indirect object.
How do we use them?
First off, like I mentioned before, make sure you spot the direct object first before picking which pronoun to use. If you don't, you'll mess things up. To find the direct object, just ask the verb "what thing?" and if there is no answer for that question, then ask "who?" or "whom?"
Example 1:
María lee un libro a sus hijos. (María reads a book to her kids)
- ¿Qué lee? Un libro (Direct Object)
So, by default, her kids are the indirect object. If I want to switch them out, I'll go with les like this:
Ella les lee un libro. (She reads a book to them.)
Example 2:
María compra un regalo a su amiga. (María buys a present for her friend.)
- ¿Qué compra ella? Un regalo (Direct Object)
So, by default, her friend is the indirect object. Here's the sentence using the pronoun:
Ella le compra un regalo. (She buys a present for her.)
The tricky part about using "a"
In the last class, I told you that when we're dealing with indirect objects, we lean towards using a instead of para. But here's the catch you should keep in mind.
Let's break it down using the same examples above:
Example 1: María lee un libro a sus hijos.
That's correct, but not super conversational. In Spanish, especially in Latin American Spanish, we tend to tag on the indirect object pronoun along with the actual indirect object. So, in a real conversation, we would say:
María les lee un libro a sus hijos.
Example 2: María compra un regalo a su amiga.
We would say:
María le compra un regalo a su amiga.
I get that this might seem a bit odd and hard to get, but it's just how we roll. Of course, you can skip the pronoun if you want; your sentence will still be right. But it might sound weird to the ears on the receiving end. So, if you're aiming for the natural flow and you know an indirect object is in the sentence, don't hold back, use those pronouns.
On the other side, it's best to get used to clarify what you mean with le or les in your sentences since each of these pronouns covers three different people:
Le stands for a ella, a él, a usted.
Les stands for a ustedes, a ellos, a ellas.
Let's see with an example how including the clarification helps:
Ana tiene dos hijos, Claudia y Antonio. Cuando van al parque, Ana le regala un globo y le compra un helado.
Even though I'm using the pronouns, I still don't know who Ana is giving the balloon to or the ice cream. So, this is how we fix it:
Ana tiene dos hijos, Claudia y Antonio. Cuando van al parque, Ana le regala un globo a ella y le compra un helado a él.
Now I know the balloon is for Claudia and the ice cream is for Antonio.
If I say para, should I use the pronoun?
No, you shouldn't. For instance:
María compra un regalo para su amiga.
That sentence doesn't need le.
The only problem with para is not possible with all verbs. Like leer (to read). You can't say I read a book for the kids, and neither can we in Spanish.
That's why I usually suggest sticking to a with indirect objects, even if it means throwing in pronouns too.
That's all for today. Let's take it easy and go step by step. Now you can go to the exercises section or watch more examples in my video.
In the next class, we'll break down when to use lo, la, los, las, or le, les; so stay tuned.
Still have questions? Drop them below on the comments and I will answer them.