📖LearnModule 6 · Lesson 22 of 30Independent User · CEFR B1, first halfUnit 5 · The pronoun machine
le and les — to him, to her, to them
Module 6 of the free Spanish course (CEFR B1, first half), lesson 22 of 30: When the verb speaks TO someone. On this page: 9 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.
The words
Spanish
English
Say it
le hablo
I speak to him or her
leh AH-bloh
les escribo
I write to them
lehs ehs-KREE-boh
escribir
to write
ehs-kree-BEER
dar
to give
dar
le doy un regalo
I give him or her a present
leh doy oon rreh-GAH-loh
responder
to respond
rrehs-pohn-DEHR
la pregunta
the question
lah preh-GOON-tah
hacer una pregunta
to ask a question
ah-SEHR OO-nah preh-GOON-tah
te cuento
I will tell you (a story)
teh KWEHN-toh
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
La regla · The rule
When the verb speaks TO someone, Spanish switches pronouns: le hablo (I talk to him or to her), les escribo (I write to them). One word for both genders, and the same slot before the verb.
Y también · And also
The classic pairs: dar a, hablar a, responder a, escribir a, contar a. Le doy un regalo. Les respondo esta noche. Spanish often doubles it with the name for clarity: le doy el libro a María — both le and a María, and neither is wrong.
Ojo · Watch out
le is to him OR to her — one word for both. les is to them and takes no gender. And doubling is normal: le doy el libro a María keeps both the pronoun and the name.
contar, presente — the table
yo cuento · tú cuentas · él/ella/usted cuenta · nosotros contamos · ustedes cuentan · ellos/ellas cuentan
Do it now — on paper
Say all 9 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with le hablo.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out contar, presente in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The Spanish Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.