A quick note about object pronouns in Spanish. I encountered the distinction between le and lo while doing my homework and set out to clarify.
article: Le vs. Lo in Spanish · changes
diff --git a/src/spanish-le-lo.md b/src/spanish-le-lo.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7f30782 --- /dev/null +++ b/src/spanish-le-lo.md @@ -0,0 +1,29 @@ +# le vs. lo (object pronouns in spanish) + +Pronouns are used to replace objects. +The right one needs to be used depending on whether that object is directly or indirectly acted upon by the subject. + +type | example | pronoun +---|---|--- +direct | Veo el libro → **Lo** veo | `lo` +indirect | Doy el libro a Juan → **Le* doy el libro | `le` + +A fairly comprehensive list of pronouns: + +person (english) | direct object | indirect object +---|---|--- +**me** | `me` | `me` +**you (familiar)** | `te` | `te` +**him** / **her** / **it** / **you** (singular, formal) | `lo` / `la` | `le` +**us** | `nos` | `nos` +**you** (plural, informal, Spain) | `os` | `os` +**them** / **you** (plural) | `los` / `las` | `les` + +***note***: In many dialects (especially Spain) `le` can be used as a *direct object* but only when referring to masculine singular people. This is accepted by la Real Academy Española. +For example: `Le veo` instead of `Lo veo` for a male person. + +***note***: There are some weird exceptions to these rules. +For example `se` is used instead of `le` or `les` when they appear together with a direct object pronoun (`lo` / `la` / `los` / `las`). +SPanish does this to avoid awkward combinations like `le lo doy` or `les la escribo`. +Instead those would be written as `se lo doy` and `se la escribo`. +(Ever heard `C'est la vie`?)