Unexpected pronoun

David S.B2Kwiziq community member

Unexpected pronoun

In the sentence:

La bruja le maldice todos los años. (The witch curses him every year)

I expected it to read "lo maldice" to say "to curse him" where "him" would be the direct object. Why is it le?

Asked 2 years ago
InmaNative Spanish expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hola David

This "le" referring to "him" as a direct object is a use of le as lo that is not that unusual in some parts of Spain. The use of le as "him" (not her) is accepted by the Spanish Academy; it's called "leísmo". You can read a bit about this here. 

I've changed it though to "lo" to reflect the more general norm for direct object pronouns.

Gracias y saludos

Inma

Unexpected pronoun

In the sentence:

La bruja le maldice todos los años. (The witch curses him every year)

I expected it to read "lo maldice" to say "to curse him" where "him" would be the direct object. Why is it le?

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