Why would you use “les” for “you” or “usted”?

Question

Hello, my question is regarding the use of “les” for “you” rather than “you all”. It makes sense to me to use “le” for the formal usted and then “les” for the formal “you all” but I was never taught to use “les” for a singular person. The example I am referring to is:

Señor López, le entrego el paquete.

Mr. Lopez, I am delivering the package to you.Hoy les pago la renta a ustedes.Today I'm paying you the rent.
If you do use “le” or “les” for usted, then how do you know whether to use “le” or “les”?
Thank you,
Alicia

Accepted Answer

Hola Alicia
We are using "le" for usted and "les" for the plural "ustedes" (you plural). If you re-read the sentences:

Señor López, le entrego el paquete.
Mr. Lopez, I am delivering the package to you.
Hoy les pago la renta a ustedes.
Today I'm paying you the rent.

You can see that in the second sentence, it is referring to "ustedes" a you plural formal, not to usted singular. This is why we are using the plural "les" here.
I hope it clarified it.
Saludos
Inma