Le and les are pronouns: they replace a noun (person, animal or thing) used as the indirect object in the sentence (object introduced by the preposition a).
Have a look at these examples:
¿Ella envía un regalo a Miguel? Sí, ella le envía un regalo.Is she sending a present to Miguel? Yes, she is sending him a present.
You also use le or les to replace the formal forms usted and ustedes:
| Masculine / Feminine | |
| Singular | le to it / him / her / you |
| Plural | les to them / you |
The indirect object pronoun is placed in front of the conjugated verb.
ATTENTION:
In Spanish, it's common to use both the indirect object pronoun and the indirect object noun it's replacing in the same sentence, for emphasis:
Here are some other examples where "le/les" refer to things:
See also Using lo, la, los, las = him, her, it, them (direct object pronouns)
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Examples and resources
¿Quién prepara la fiesta a Sofía? Nosotros le preparamos la fiesta.Who is preparing the party for Sofía? We are preparing the party for her.
¿Ella envía un regalo a Miguel? Sí, ella le envía un regalo.Is she sending a present to Miguel? Yes, she is sending him a present.
¿Luna escribe a sus amigas? Sí, les escribe.Does Luna write to her friends? Yes, she writes to them.