Breakdown of Él le envía una carta a ella.
él
he / him (after a preposition)
ella
she / her (after a preposition)
un
a, an, some
la carta
the letter
a
to
le
to him / to her / to you (formal) / him (direct object, male person)
enviar
to send
Questions & Answers about Él le envía una carta a ella.
Why does this sentence use both le and a ella?
In Spanish, the indirect object pronoun le is required, but it can mean "to him", "to her", or "to you (formal)". Because it's ambiguous, we often add a ella to clarify exactly who is receiving the letter.
Can I just drop le and say "Él envía una carta a ella"?
No, that sounds unnatural in Spanish. You almost always need the indirect object pronoun (le), even when you explicitly state the receiver with a phrase like a ella. Think of le as the mandatory piece, and a ella as an optional clarifier.
Where does le go if the sentence is negative, like "He doesn't send her a letter"?
Why does envía have an accent mark?
The infinitive is enviar (to send). Normally, the vowels "i" and "a" blend into a single syllable. The accent mark on envía breaks that blend, making you pronounce the "i" and "a" as two separate syllables and putting the verbal stress heavily on the "i".
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