Esperar / Ayudar: Transitive or intransitive?

Hi Karin,

I have a question about whether to use the direct object or indirect object pronoun with the word “esperar” as in the following example: “Así que, no pierdan este gran evento programdo para el próximo sábado. Los (Les) esperamos en la tienda La Chulita.” Which is the correct object pronoun to use there? If I look in my dictionary for the meaning of “esperar” it tells me that one of the meanings is “to wait for”. Since the preposition “for” is already built into the verb then wouldn’t we use the direct object pronoun?

On the other hand, the verb “ayudar” does not have a preposition in its definition, which is “to help”. I would assume that we have to use the indirect object pronoun with this word as in: ¿Cómo puedo ayudarle? But I an not sure because I have heard ayudar used with the direct object pronoun like this: ¿Cómo puedo ayudarlo?. In both cases the translated meaning is “How can I help you?”

As you can see, my question is about object pronouns for verbs that are hard for English speakers to identify as requiring the direct or the indirect object.

Thank you,
– Jerome

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Hi Jerome,

Sorry for the delay. My computer crashed and I've been busy trying to restore everything I lost... but I'm back now.

OK, so first let's talk about "esperar". Your analysis is correct. In your example, we need the direct object pronoun, and we should say "¡Los esperamos!". However, you would find a lot of people who would say "Les esperamos" (but this is what we call "leísmo"). And while we're at it, a minor correction... we would say "Así que, no SE pierdan este gran evento...". Now, be careful. There are a few cases where "esperar" is an intransitive verb (taking and indirect object). For example, "Le(s) espera un mal tiempo". In this case "le(s)" is required. (Check the DRAE)

Now, regarding "ayudar", you are right again. It is a transitive verb and it should take the direct object pronoun. (You can verify this in the DRAE) And again, MANY Spanish speakers would say "¿Cómo puedo ayudarle?" when adressing someone using "usted". The correct way, though, is "¿Cómo puedo ayudarlo/a'?" (depending on the gender, of course).

If you hear native speakers using “le(s)” with these verbs, remember: native speech is not perfect... it's just the way people learned to speak (and a lot of people learned the wrong way).

Have a great day,

– Karin