regional.py.leismo

Paraguayan leísmo: le for everyone

Paraguayan Spanish uses le as a general direct-object pronoun for people regardless of gender/number (le vi a María), influenced by Guaraní's single object marker.

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Explanation

Paraguayan Spanish uses le as a general direct-object pronoun for people regardless of gender and number, influenced by Guaraní's single object marker: le vi (I saw him/her), les llevé (I took them). This 'leísmo generalizado' is broader than Spain's animate-masculine leísmo.

You'll hear le where other dialects use lo or la: le quiero mucho (a ella), ya le saludé. It's a stable regional norm rather than an error, though formal writing may revert to lo/la.

Beyond generalized le, Paraguayan Spanish often drops the object pronoun entirely — another Guaraní calque — so the answer to ¿trajiste el pan? is simply sí, traje, with no lo. You'll also hear number mismatches (les dije a él). Both patterns are stable vernacular norms, though careful writing restores lo/la and the pronoun.

Examples

Ayer le vi a María.
I saw María yesterday.

Region: PY

A los chicos ya les llevé al colegio.
I already took the kids to school.

Region: PY

—¿Trajiste la plata? —Sí, traje.
—Did you bring the money? —Yes, I brought (it).

Region: PY

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