Questions & Answers about ¿Le importa si traigo el transportín?
Why is le used here?
Because the verb pattern is importar + a alguien: something matters to / bothers someone.
So in:
¿Le importa si traigo el transportín?
- le = to you / to him / to her
- importa = matters / bothers
- literally: Does it matter to you if I bring the carrier?
In this sentence, le is an indirect object pronoun. If you were speaking informally to one person, you would usually say te instead:
¿Te importa si traigo el transportín?
If you want to make the person explicit, you can add it:
¿Le importa a usted si traigo el transportín?
Is this sentence formal or informal?
Yes, it is normally formal, because le is the pronoun commonly used for usted.
So:
- ¿Le importa si traigo el transportín? = formal
- ¿Te importa si traigo el transportín? = informal, to one person
- ¿Os importa si traigo el transportín? = informal plural in Spain
- ¿Les importa si traigo el transportín? = formal plural, or to them
In Spain, if you are talking politely to a stranger, staff member, landlord, etc., le is a very natural choice.
Why is it and not ?