Займенники непрямого додатка

English marks the person who receives something with "to" or "for", or just by word order: "I give her the book", "I give the book to her". Spanish uses a small pronoun in front of the verb, and that pronoun turns up far more often than its English counterpart, often alongside a phrase that already names the person.

Only the third person differs from the direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las): me, te, nos, os do both jobs. So the question "direct or indirect?" really only matters when you are choosing between le and lo / la.

Le does not show gender

Le can mean "to him", "to her" or "to you" (formal), and les "to them" or "to you all". When the context does not settle it, Spanish adds a phrase with a: Le doy el libro a él / a ella / a usted.

The doubled pronoun

This is what surprises English speakers most. When the person is named after the verb, Spanish normally keeps the pronoun as well:

• Le doy el libro a María. - I give the book to María. (literally "to her I give the book to María")
• Les compro churros a los niños. - I buy the children churros.
• ¿Le has preguntado al camarero? - Have you asked the waiter?

Without the le (Doy el libro a María) the sentence is understood, but it sounds stiff, like a textbook translation. Natural Spanish doubles it.

Where it goes

Same places as the direct object pronouns: right before a conjugated verb (Te escribo mañana), or attached to the end of an infinitive (Voy a escribirte mañana = Te voy a escribir mañana). No comes before the pronoun: No le digo nada.

Where English speakers slip

• le versus lo / la: ask "what is being given, said or sent?". That thing is the direct object, and the person receiving it is the indirect one. "I tell her" is Le digo (the message is what you tell), "I write him a postcard" is Le escribo una postal. When the person is the only object and is acted on directly, use lo / la: La veo - I see her; Lo llamo - I'll call him.
• Verbs that take an indirect object in Spanish but not in English: Le pregunto la hora (I ask him the time), Le pido un favor, Les gusta el fútbol.
• In Madrid and much of central Spain you will hear le for a man as a direct object too (Le vi ayer, "I saw him yesterday"). This is called leísmo; it is accepted for male persons, but as a learner stick to Lo vi ayer, which is correct everywhere.