Breakdown of El pollo está en el horno. Ahora se lo saco.
en
in / on / by (means of transport) / about (after pensar)
estar
to be (location/state)
ahora
now
lo
it / him (m)
sacar
to take out
el pollo
the chicken
se
to/for him, her, them (before another object pronoun)
el horno
the oven
Questions & Answers about El pollo está en el horno. Ahora se lo saco.
Why does it say se lo saco if the translation says 'I take it out for them'? Shouldn't 'for them' be les?
You are exactly right that 'for them' is normally les. However, Spanish has a rule: when the indirect object pronoun (le or les) comes right before the direct object pronoun (lo, la, los, or las), it changes to se. Saying 'les lo' is hard to pronounce smoothly, so les lo saco becomes se lo saco.
What exactly does the lo refer to here?
Could se lo saco also mean 'I take it out for him'?
Yes, it absolutely could! Because both le (for him/her/you formal) and les (for them/you all) mutate into se before lo, se lo saco is completely ambiguous on its own. It could mean 'for him', 'for her', 'for you', or 'for them'. In real life, the context of the conversation makes it clear who you are cooking for.
Why use the present tense saco instead of a future tense like 'I will take'?
In Spanish, the present tense is frequently used for actions that are happening right at this very moment or in the immediate future. Combined with ahora (now), saco naturally translates to 'I'll take it out now' or 'I am taking it out now'.
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