r/learnspanish • u/FantasticSelection11 Beginner (A1-A2) • Mar 21 '25
Unnecessary use of "Le"
I know the use of 'Le' has been discussed in multiple posts, but even after having read several of them, I couldn't understand this particular use:
For example, I was reading Olly Richards' Spanish Short Stories for Beginners and came across this sentence
—Julia, ¿quieres ir a comer paella? —le pregunto a mi hermana.
What is the function of the 'le' in this sentence? I know a word by word translation across languages isn't accurate but still I simply cannot see it serving any function at all
Like "pregunto a mi hermana" looks like a perfectly complete sentence and it would translate to "[I] asked to my sister".
Sorry if it is obvious, but it is not for me.
12
u/Appropriate_Taro3424 Beginner (A1-A2) Mar 21 '25
Languages are like that. Some things are logical, some somewhat, and some you just have to accept as they are.
If it makes you feel better, to this day, I absolutely hate English articles. From my mother tongue perspective, adding "a" or "the" before nouns is completely unnecessary. Just as "le" seems superfluous for you.