Word
Mi abuelo es un referente; siempre le elogiamos.
Meaning
My grandfather is a role model; we always praise him.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Mi abuelo es un referente; siempre le elogiamos.
Why does the sentence use le elogiamos instead of lo elogiamos?
The verb elogiar (to praise) takes a direct object, so standard grammar rules dictate we should use lo to mean 'him'. However, in Spain, it is extremely common and fully accepted to use le as a direct object when referring to a single male person. This is called 'leísmo'. Since mi abuelo is a male person, le elogiamos sounds perfectly natural here.
If we were praising my grandmother instead, could we still use le?
No, you would need to say siempre la elogiamos. The accepted form of 'leísmo' in Spain only applies to male persons. For female persons, using le as a direct object is not considered standard Spanish. You must use the regular direct object pronoun la.
What if we were praising my grandparents (male and female)? Could we use the plural les?
Officially, no. While you might hear some native speakers in Spain say les elogiamos for a group of men or a mixed group, the official language academy (RAE) only accepts 'leísmo' for a singular male person. The formally correct direct object pronoun for a plural group is los, so you should say siempre los elogiamos.
How does referente translate to 'role model' here?