Is 'le' necessary in the following sentences? If so why?

Joel I.B1Kwiziq community member

Is 'le' necessary in the following sentences? If so why?

The following two sentences use the indirect pronoun 'le' before the verb. Why is 'le' necessary in these cases? Is it considered incorrect if it's removed? Examples with and without 'le' are below. 

1. Tú les das vino a mis abuelos.

2. Ella le muestra un sombrero nuevo al hombre. 

I've heard native speakers omitting 'le' in similar sentence constructions, but I'm unsure if it's correct to do so or not. 

1. Tú das vino a mis abuelos.

2. Ella muestra un sombrero nuevo al hombre. 

Asked 3 years ago
InmaNative Spanish expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hola Joel

In these two cases the use of le and les is optional but it sounds a lot more natural to use them (duplicating the indirect object). Here is a lesson that talks about the repetition of these pronouns. Have a look here.

Saludos

Inma

Joel I.B1Kwiziq community member

After reading the using Les and Le notes, I believe both of these sentences are correct. The only difference is that the sentences with Les and Le are used for emphasis. Am I right?

Joel I. asked:

Is 'le' necessary in the following sentences? If so why?

The following two sentences use the indirect pronoun 'le' before the verb. Why is 'le' necessary in these cases? Is it considered incorrect if it's removed? Examples with and without 'le' are below. 

1. Tú les das vino a mis abuelos.

2. Ella le muestra un sombrero nuevo al hombre. 

I've heard native speakers omitting 'le' in similar sentence constructions, but I'm unsure if it's correct to do so or not. 

1. Tú das vino a mis abuelos.

2. Ella muestra un sombrero nuevo al hombre. 

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your Spanish level for FREE

Test your Spanish to the CEFR standard

Find your Spanish level
Let me take a look at that...