The Correct Use Of Lo, La And Le
Depending on where we live and the people around us, our way of speaking will be affected in certain ways. Sometimes it will just be trying to call things by a different name, but other times there will be grammatical changes that are wrong. This is the case of the correct use of lo, la and le , which often makes us doubt.
This article is especially interesting for teenagers, as it covers concepts that will be found each year. However, this has two faces. If from the beginning it has been difficult for you to understand these concepts, each year it can be more uphill, although reviewing these concepts annually also gives us the opportunity to re-engage.
Problems of the proper use of it, the and you
The use of lo, la and le is linked to the knowledge and good use of the syntax. Do you remember what the direct object and the indirect object are? This is usually the root of the problem.
The direct object and the use of lo, la and le
In general, it is often said that the direct object appears in a sentence when a thing is mentioned, but this is not always true. When a phrase has a single complement and it is about a person, it also often works as a direct object. Let’s see an example of each case:
I’m reading a book.
I sing a song.
I call Maria.
I write to Juan.
In the first two cases, the direct object is an object, so we use it in masculine and the feminine. However, in the last two cases we have people with the direct object function, since there is no other object.
In these cases, the feminine direct object must be replaced by the and the masculine object by lo or le, which, although it is not correct, is only allowed when the direct object refers to a man. For this reason, care must be taken when differentiating the elements of the sentence .
The indirect object
This is much simpler: the indirect object will always be replaced by him , whether it is feminine or masculine. Now you just have to identify which is the indirect object that, in general, is a person.
So that it is not too confusing, we are going from one of the previous examples. In the sentence “I sing a song to the assistants” , “to the assistants” would be the indirect object. In this case, it would be replaced by les , since it is plural.
How to identify the correct use of lo, la and le ?
If you still get a bit lost amid all the technicality, I recommend that you use images. Visual memory is a great resource for learning. Why not use it to learn syntax?
Some time ago, SinFaltas published some tweets in which he clarified the use of lo, la, le and their plurals with phrases containing emoticons. It may not be the usual method, but it is a very simple way to condense many explanations and exceptions clearly and precisely. In fact, even some online newspapers have picked up on this very useful resource.
The use of it
Loists are those who use it and them in the wrong way. This happens when they are used as an indirect object.
- Example: I asked the waiter for the bill.
- Direct complement: the account.
- Indirect complement: to the waiter.
- Incorrect phrase: I asked for the bill.
- Correct phrase: I asked for the bill.
Using the
Laists are the people who use the and the wrong way. Is, when using the and the like indirect.
- Example: I told Sara a secret.
- Direct complement: a secret .
- Indirect complement: to Sara .
- Incorrect phrase: I told her a secret.
- Correct phrase: I told you a secret.
When and how to use him ?
Leists are the ones who confuse the use of le and les with that of the pronouns that are used to replace the direct object. Ie they are using him and them instead of him and the .
- Example: I picked up the phone to call the doctor.
- Direct complement: the telephone .
- Indirect complement: to the doctor .
- Incorrect phrase: I caught him to call the doctor.
- Correct phrase: I took it to call the doctor.
The phrase is incorrect because it does not correspond to the pronoun used with objects ( lo ). What happens is that the phrase changes, since it implies that you take a person to call the doctor.
