Answers
Apr 02, 2014 - 10:15 PM
I made a note in lesson 3:22 that decir follows different rules and is the only verb that does. I read that decirme means "to tell me", decirnos "to tell us", ......BUT, decirlo means "to say it", and decirle means "to tell you, him, her". The irregular ones are confusing, indeed.
Apr 02, 2014 - 11:22 PM
That's strange.
Apr 03, 2014 - 11:44 AM
I think could be because LE is used for indirect objects, while LO/LA are used for direct objects. DecirLO means to say "it", with "it" being direct. DecirLE means saying "IT"..... to HIM/HER, where him/her are more indirect. Now, "ME" and "NOS" are used for both direct and indirect objects which is why they can be used as I described above.. That's my uneducated guess from reviewing a document regarding personal pronouns.
Apr 03, 2014 - 01:59 PM
Ok I got it. LlamarLA because I'm going to call her, the object is directly her. But DecirLE because I'm to tell her about something, and the LE is the something. Would it be correct to say "Decirle a ella" ?
Apr 03, 2014 - 04:34 PM
I wouldn't think that decirle a ella would be right, but I'm not an expert. To me, decirle means "to tell ("it" implied) to you/him/her" already. By adding "a ella" then it's "to tell (it) to her to her". It's like "le gusta". You don't know whether "le" is a male or female, and it, too, seems to me to be an indirect object (it is pleasing TO you/him/her). Context can denote gender. But if I were trying to express gender the way you have, I might say decirlo a ella, or "to say IT to her". That's how my brain thinks about it. If someone knows better or can confirm, that would be great.
Apr 03, 2014 - 11:45 PM
This has been bugging me all day. So if I translate decir with "to say" instead of "to tell", this is a bit easier. I can't say "I will say her", but I can say "I will say it to her". Could it be the same thing?
Apr 04, 2014 - 09:21 AM
decir can take both direct and indirect objects, just like in English
lo would be direct object "it"
le is indirect object him/her/it
llamar takes direct object lo/la, at least how they are teaching it in fluenz. It could take an indirect object too but I have not seen it used that way in LA Spanish (almost thru with program)---or at least in English "to call" can take an indirect object though I think it is uncommon to hear a sentence constructed that way "I called her the order" vs "I called the order to her"
lo would be direct object "it"
le is indirect object him/her/it
llamar takes direct object lo/la, at least how they are teaching it in fluenz. It could take an indirect object too but I have not seen it used that way in LA Spanish (almost thru with program)---or at least in English "to call" can take an indirect object though I think it is uncommon to hear a sentence constructed that way "I called her the order" vs "I called the order to her"
Apr 04, 2014 - 01:50 PM
Fabrice, I want to refer to a sentence you came up with that I didn't think would be correct. According to my Spanish Coursebook, it appears that it, too, would be correct structure. You suggested "decirle a ella". I thought it redundant, but my book says that you can add "a" and "ella" like you did for clearness. It referred to this as "double construction". But I think you are beginning to think about this more and understanding why this verb is different. I think you have seen that you can't "say her", and that's how I began thinking about indirect/direct objects. I learned some things here too. Thanks for your question.
Apr 05, 2014 - 08:43 PM
Level 4, lesson 9 is the answer :)
Sonia explains the difference. Decir can mean to say or to tell. You say something, so you would use decirLO (to say it) or decirLA (to say it(f)), for example: la frase es complicada, pero puedo decirla (the sentence is complicated but I can say it). But when you talk to someone, you tell something, so in that case you use decirLE in both masculine and feminine, because LO and LA refer to "it" but LE referes to "him" or "her", someone to whom the action is directed to. She goes on saying that there are a few verbs that work like this. For example pagarlo, pagarla (to pay it), or pagarle (to pay you/her/him). Whew I feel so much better now that I finally get it! Thanks Sonia!
Sonia explains the difference. Decir can mean to say or to tell. You say something, so you would use decirLO (to say it) or decirLA (to say it(f)), for example: la frase es complicada, pero puedo decirla (the sentence is complicated but I can say it). But when you talk to someone, you tell something, so in that case you use decirLE in both masculine and feminine, because LO and LA refer to "it" but LE referes to "him" or "her", someone to whom the action is directed to. She goes on saying that there are a few verbs that work like this. For example pagarlo, pagarla (to pay it), or pagarle (to pay you/her/him). Whew I feel so much better now that I finally get it! Thanks Sonia!
Aug 25, 2014 - 08:42 PM
To tell her is to say to her which requires a prepositional object pronoun ("Le" in this case)