How to Say "for them" in Spanish
The Spanish word for “for them” is “les” — A1 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.
Examples
Les doy el dinero.
I give the money to them.
Ella quiere comprarles un regalo.
She wants to buy a gift for them.
Señores, ¿les traigo algo de beber?
Gentlemen, can I bring you all something to drink?
Who is it for?
'Les' is a tiny word that does a big job. It answers the question "to whom?" or "for whom?" when you're talking about a group of people ('them' or 'you all').
Where does it go?
Usually, 'les' comes right before the action word (the verb). For example, 'Les compro' (I buy for them). It can also hook onto the end of a verb that's in its original '-ar', '-er', or '-ir' form, like 'comprarles'.
The 'les' to 'se' magic trick
Mistake: “Quiero darles lo. (I want to give it to them.)”
Correction: Quiero dárselo. To avoid the clunky 'les lo' sound, Spanish changes 'les' to 'se' whenever it's followed by 'lo', 'la', 'los', or 'las'. It's a sound rule, but 'se' here still means 'to them'!
Mixing up 'les' and 'los'
Mistake: “Yo los doy un libro. (I give them a book.)”
Correction: Yo les doy un libro. Use 'les' for the person *receiving* the book. Use 'los' for the people or things *being seen, known, or wanted* directly (e.g., 'Yo los veo' - I see them).
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