Hola,
In this sentence, Gabriel was going to be helped financially by his parents
Gabriel decidió comprar el piso puesto que sus padres iban a ayudarle económicamente.
Why is Gabriel an indirect object, so ayudarle, as opposed to ayudarlo?
I'm guessing it is because there is a hidden direct object of money?
It's a bit hard for me to get my head around Gabriel being an indirect object because they help him, rather than help him with help (money in this case)!
Gracias,
Hola Stuart,
Actually, this "le" here:
Gabriel decidió comprar el piso puesto que sus padres iban a ayudarle económicamente.
Gabriel decided to buy the flat because his parents were going to help him financially
is in the form of an indirect object pronoun but its function is that of a "direct pronoun". Ayudar is a transitive verb. Generally lo, la, los, las follow transitive verbs like ayudar, but when referring to the masculine singular pronoun, "le" is also admitted by the "Real Academia Española" (R.A.E). This is why it is saying ayudarle, instead of ayudarlo. Both are correct.
Saludos,
Inma
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