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'Thank', 'forgive', 'envy': in Spanish the person gets 'le', not 'lo'

In English you thank someone for something, forgive someone for something and ask someone for something. The person is the direct object, and the thing is tucked away after for. Spanish often turns this around. With verbs like agradecer, perdonar, envidiar and pedir, the thing is the direct object and the person becomes the indirect object, marked with le, te, les or a.

That is why English speakers say things like lo agradezco por su ayuda when a native speaker says le agradezco su ayuda. The fix is simple once you see the pattern: no por, the thing goes straight after the verb, and the person gets an indirect pronoun.

Word list
pagarA2 to pay le pago la cuenta al camarero agradecerB1 to thank le agradezco su ayuda dar las graciasB1 to thank le di las gracias por... disculparB1 to forgive le disculpo la falta de experiencia echar la culpaB1 to blame le echan la culpa a alguien pedirB1 to ask for pedirle un favor a alguien pedir disculpasB1 to apologize le pedí disculpas por el retraso pedir perdónB1 to apologize le pido perdón a alguien perdonarB1 to forgive le perdoné el error agradecerB2 to appreciate te agradezco el consejo envidiarB2 to envy le envidio su paciencia solicitarB2 to ask for le solicité un permiso al director
How it works

Think of the Spanish sentence as giving something to someone. You give your thanks, your forgiveness or your envy for a thing to a person. The thing is what you thank, forgive or envy, so it is the direct object. The person receives it, so they are the indirect object.

  • English: thank him for his help
  • Spanish: le (to him) + agradezco + su ayuda (direct object)

Rule of thumb: if the sentence names both a person and a thing, put the thing right after the verb with no preposition and use le or les for the person. When you name the person as well, Spanish usually keeps the pronoun too: le agradecí la ayuda a Marta.

Le agradecí la ayuda a Marta.
(I thanked Marta for her help.)
The words
Thanking

Agradecer means both to thank and to appreciate, and it follows the pattern in both senses. The thing you are grateful for is the direct object.

Le agradezco su paciencia, señora.
(Thank you for your patience, madam.)
Te agradezco mucho el consejo.
(I really appreciate the advice.)

Dar las gracias also treats the person as indirect, because las gracias is what you give. Here the reason does take por.

Les di las gracias a mis vecinos por las flores.
(I thanked my neighbors for the flowers.)
Forgiving and apologizing

With perdonar and disculpar, when you mention both, the fault is the direct object and the person is indirect. Pedir perdón works the same way: you ask for forgiveness from someone.

Al final le perdoné el error.
(In the end I forgave him for the mistake.)
Es nuevo, así que le disculpo la falta de experiencia.
(He's new, so I'll forgive his lack of experience.)
Mañana le pido perdón a mi hermana.
(Tomorrow I'll apologize to my sister.)
Envying and blaming

With envidiar, the quality you envy is the direct object. English can say envy him his calm, but Spanish prefers le for the person. Echar la culpa literally means to throw the blame at someone. The classic verb reprochar (to reproach) behaves the same way.

Le envidio su tranquilidad.
(I envy him his calmness.)
Siempre me echan la culpa a mí.
(They always blame me.)
Asking and paying

English says ask someone for something and pay someone. In Spanish, you ask for the thing from someone with pedir and pay the amount or the bill to someone with pagar.

¿Le puedo pedir un favor?
(Can I ask you for a favor?)
Todavía no le he pagado el alquiler al casero.
(I still haven't paid the landlord the rent.)
Watch out
Don't add por

With agradecer, perdonar and disculpar, the thing needs no preposition. Le agradezco su ayuda is the model to copy. Dar las gracias is the exception, since its direct object is already las gracias, so the reason follows with por.

Person alone, person direct

When no thing is mentioned, perdonar, disculpar and envidiar can take the person as a direct object: te envidio, disculpe. The swap only happens when both a thing and a person appear.

Me mintió, pero la perdoné.
(She lied to me, but I forgave her.)
Two pronouns

If you replace both the thing and the person with pronouns, le becomes se: se lo agradezco (I thank you for it), se lo perdoné (I forgave him for it).

Summary

When you thank, forgive, envy, blame, ask or pay someone for something, make the thing the direct object with no preposition and give the person an indirect pronoun: le agradezco su ayuda, le perdoné el error, le pedí un favor. Only when the person stands alone can some of these verbs take them directly, as in la perdoné.