El profesor le da un libro.

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Breakdown of El profesor le da un libro.

• el libro: the book
• el profesor: the teacher
• dar: to give
• le: him

Questions & Answers about El profesor le da un libro.

What does the pronoun le represent in this sentence?

le is the indirect object pronoun used to show who receives the action. In this case, it means to him or to her, indicating that the professor is giving a book to someone.

Why is le placed before the verb da instead of after it?

In Spanish, clitic pronouns like le typically come before a conjugated verb. This placement is a rule of Spanish grammar, even though in English the indirect object might come after the verb or be introduced with a preposition.

Why don’t we use the direct object pronoun lo in this sentence?

lo is used as a direct object pronoun, but here the direct object is already expressed as un libro. Instead, le is needed to indicate the indirect object—the recipient. Using lo would change the meaning and be grammatically incorrect in this context.

Can le be replaced with another pronoun if the context changes?

Yes. If the recipient were plural, you would replace le with les. For a single recipient, regardless of gender, le is correct.

What does the verb form da tell us about the subject el profesor?

da is the third person singular form of the verb dar (to give). It agrees with the subject el profesor, showing that the sentence refers to one teacher giving something.

How would the sentence change if the teacher was female?

If the teacher were a woman, you would change the subject from el profesor to la profesora. The sentence would then be: La profesora le da un libro.

What is the role of the article un in un libro?

un is the masculine singular indefinite article, equivalent to the English a. It tells us that the book mentioned is nonspecific—a book among many possible ones.