- Leísmo
"Leísmo" ("using "le") is a phenomenon in the
Spanish language that occurs largely in Spain that involves using the indirect objectpronoun "le" in place of the (standard) masculine direct objectpronoun "lo", especially when the direct object refers to a male person.Leísmo with animate objects is both common and considered correct in the dialects spoken in
Spain , but ungrammatical in most others. Leísmo is always considered ungrammatical when the direct object it refers to is not an animate object.Examples::"Veo al chico" ("I see the boy") → "Lo veo" (standard Spanish, with "lo"):"Veo al chico" ("I see the boy") → "Le veo" (leísmo, standard in Spain; other regions prefer "lo veo"):"Veo el árbol" ("I see the tree") → "Le veo" (ungrammatical — the tree is not a person; should be "lo veo" in all varieties of Spanish)
The use of "le" in dialects where leísmo is standard correlates with the use of the preposition "a" for animate direct objects. That is, if a dialect features leísmo, "le" replaces masculine direct objects that would have been preceded by "a" if expressed in full. (For this "personal a", see Spanish prepositions.)
"Le" is properly speaking the
epicene indirect object pronoun, used for both masculine and feminine referents, whether animate or inanimate. In certain idiolects it is replaced by "lo" or "la" — "dila que la quiero" – but this usage can be considered colloquial or even uneducated.:"Le voy a dar un regalo" ("I'm giving him/her a present"):"La voy a dar un regalo" (supposedly "I'm giving her a present"; see
laísmo ):"Le puse más memoria al ordenador" ("I installed more memory in the computer"; correct, even if the PC is inanimate)ee also
*
Loísmo
*Discussion of "le"/"les" in Spanish pronounsExternal links
* [http://buscon.rae.es/dpdI/SrvltGUIBusDPD?lema=le%EDsmo Leísmo] in the "Diccionario panhispánico de dudas" of the
Real Academia Española (in Spanish)
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