Breakdown of Les explico la lección a los estudiantes.
el estudiante
the student
a
to
les
to them / to you (formal, plural)
la lección
the lesson
Questions & Answers about Les explico la lección a los estudiantes.
Why is les in the sentence if we already say a los estudiantes?
In Spanish, it is very common and usually required to use an indirect object pronoun like les (to them) even when you explicitly name the recipients later in the sentence. It acts like a double-tag. The word les points directly to a los estudiantes. This redundancy feels strange to English speakers, but it is a normal and necessary rule in Spanish grammar!
Why does les come before the verb instead of after it?
How do we know it means 'I explain' if the word yo (I) is missing?
Is the a in a los estudiantes the 'personal a'?
It looks just like it, but this is actually the regular preposition a meaning 'to'. It introduces the indirect object, showing who the lesson is being explained to. The 'personal a' is only used for people who are direct objects (for example, if you were seeing or visiting the students, rather than explaining something to them).