A regional quirk: "leísmo"
Normally, when "him" is the direct object of a sentence, you use the pronoun lo. However, in central and northern Spain many speakers use the indirect object pronoun le instead, and you will hear it every day.
This is called leísmo. For one male person, le in place of lo as a direct object is accepted by the RAE. Both are correct: the rest of this course writes lo, and this lesson uses le so you recognise it. For a woman or a thing, write la / lo.
| He is my mentor and I always listen to him. | Es mi mentor y siempre le escucho. |
Talking about role models
Let's look at a few more examples using vocabulary related to mentors and role models (el referente). Notice how verbs that take a direct object, like elogiar (to praise) or motivar (to motivate), use le here, where you could also say lo, because the object is a male person.
| My grandfather is a role model; we always praise him. | Mi abuelo es un referente; siempre le elogiamos. |
| The teacher inspires the boy; he motivates him every day. | El profesor inspira al chico; le motiva todos los días. |
| The old doctor trains the young doctor; he advises him well. | El médico viejo forma al médico joven; le asesora bien. |
Attaching "le" to infinitives
Even though the pronoun has changed to le, the rules for where to put it stay exactly the same. You can place le before a conjugated verb, or attach it to the very end of an infinitive.
| Let's see if I see him tomorrow! I want to motivate him. | ¡A ver si le veo mañana! Quiero motivarle. |
| I want to train the new boy; I am going to advise him. | Quiero formar al chico nuevo; le voy a asesorar. |
