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Example, "El les está enseñando inglés a los niños." Are indirect object pronouns always necessary even if the indirect object is specified like it is here? To me this translates - He is teaching them English to the boys. Thank you.

Chris Johnson
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  • Él les está enseñando a los padres: can be He is showing the parents. Spanish does that and the translation would not have the indirect pronoun in English. Many verbs in Spanish function like this. You just have to get used to it. The les signals an indirect object and the noun clarifies what it is. – Lambie Jun 07 '21 at 17:37
  • So if I understand correctly, you will always see the indirect object pronoun (in this case les) even if the indirect object is given (in this case "a los ninos") as a signal that an indirect object is coming? Thank you! – Chris Johnson Jun 07 '21 at 18:14
  • You always have the indirect object, but not always the indirect AND the noun. The pronoun signals what the thing is: Él les está enseñando [a los padres, a los ninos, a las personas] See now? :) What you won't get in standard Spanish is just the nouns. Only in colloquial or spoken Spanish. At least, that is how I see it. – Lambie Jun 07 '21 at 18:22
  • Yes. Thank you so much! – Chris Johnson Jun 07 '21 at 18:25
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    See here for a more detailed explanation. The redundant indirect object pronoun is optional when the indirect object is a noun and appears after the verb ("Él (les) está enseñando inglés a los niños"), but it is mandatory in all other cases ("Él les está enseñando inglés a ellos" / "A los niños les enseñó inglés ayer"). It is always allowed and very common, so you are never wrong if you always add it. – wimi Jun 08 '21 at 07:14
  • I am so grateful for the responses. So very helpful. Many thanks – Chris Johnson Jun 08 '21 at 17:45

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