Spanish pronouns?

Question

In spanish, if you want to say, I gave a DVD to Laura as a present, you say, Yo le he regalado un DVD a Laura. But why do you put the le if you are going to mention the DVD later on in the sentence? Because sometimes, if you want to say I gave it to Dan, you say, yo lo he regalado Dan. Don' t you? Or do you say, yo he regalado lo a Dan? Can someone please explain the whole pronoun rule to me, including where you put the pronouns? Thank you!

Answer 1

"Le" can replace "a Laura" (indirect pronoun) not "un DVD" (direct pronoun), this way:
"Yo le he regalado un DVD" = I gave her/him a DVD as a present.

"Le" can replace the indirect pronoun ("a Laura") or it's used to enphatize it (if they both go in the sentence).
You can say: "Yo le he regalado un DVD a Laura".
Or: "Yo he regalado un DVD a Laura".
Both are right, but it's more common with "le".

To replace the direct pronoun ("un DVD") you use "lo", this way:
"Yo lo he regalado a Dan" = I gave it to Dan as a present.
In this case, repeating this way: "Yo lo he regalado un DVD a Dan" would be WRONG.

"Yo he regalado lo a Dan" is wrong too. "Le" and "lo/la" never go alone after the verb.
They only go after the verb and attached to it when it's infinitive, this way:
Quiero regalarle un DVD = I want to give him/her a DVD.
Quiero llamarlo = I want to call him (in this case "lo" it's used because it's replacing a direct pronoun (him), not indirect like in the previous one, since there is no other thing that receives more directly the action, like the DVD in the previous one).

Or imperative:
Regálale un DVD = Give him/her a DVD.
Llámalo = Call him.

Hope it's clear enough.
It's tricky because even some Spanish-speaking people (specially in Spain) use them wrong sometimes... so watch out! :-)

Answer 2

The 'le' in your first example refers to 'a Laura', not the DVD. However, your question still holds - why 'le' when you're going to say 'a Laura'? 'Le regalé un DVD a Laura' If you want to say 'I gave it to Laura as a present', you'd say 'Se lo regalé a Laura'. The 'le' changes to 'se' if followed by another pronoun 'lo' referring to the DVD. So, I gave it to Dan should be 'Se lo regalé a Dan' In your second Dan example, the 'lo' comes before the auxiliary vern, i.e. 'Yo se lo he regalado a Dan'

Answer 3

I gave it to Dan is: Lo di a Dan.

I gave a DVD to Laura as a present: Di un DVD a Laura como presente.

Maybe this will help: http://www.spanishlanguageguide.com/spanish/grammar/pronouns.asp

Answer 4

hi! i'm from Argentina. i want that can help you you already know. Tú is used for casual use. With friends or subordinates. notwithstanding, in my usa, we do not use this note. instead, we use vos. Which leads into vosotros. Vosotros is the plural type of tú/vos (for this reason VOSotros). that is used informally for an target market. Tú eres hermosa (you're alluring) you would say that consisting of your female friend (In Argentina, vos sos hermosa). Vosostros sois lindas (you're alluring) you would say on your 3 daughters who're going to a school dance. Usted is the polite thanks to say "you" and ustedes is the plural type. In maximum Latin countries, vosotros isn't used, so ustedes replaces vosotros, and could be utilized between friends. which contain in Mexico. Es usted un maestro aca? (Are you a instructor right here?) is what you may say to a guy you locate on your intense college. Tienen ustedes sueños? (Are you all drained?) would properly be polite or casual. you may ask your mothers and fathers that, or the mothers and fathers can ask their children. For usted you employ the 0.33 man or woman singular stressful. For ustedes you employ the 0.33 man or woman plural stressful. IE Tener (to have) YO tengo Tú tienes (Vos tenés in Argentina) Usted tiene Nosotros tenemos Vosotros tenéis Ustedes tiene

Answer 5

I think bbjaga gave a very good and clear explanation.