yes, "pide" is "pedir"(ask), conjugated. yo pido tu pides el/ella pide nosotros pedimos ellos/ustedes piden "le" is used because the verb works with indirect object. usually you say (in this case): le pide "something" a "somebody". le pide "su opinión" a "su hijo". the same happens (In general) with escribir (write) or gustar (like) le escribe "something" a "somebody" = le escribe una carta a María le gusta "something" a "somebody" = le gusta comer chocolate a mi hermano. Hope this helps a bit.

To begin, "pide" is the third-person conjugated form of the verb "pedir"--to ask or request. The verb requires a indirect object pronoun, which is the function "le" serves in the sentence.

Hi Matt. In Spanish "le(s)", "la(s)", and "lo(s)" are known as "pronombres átonos" (I don't know how to translate "átono"). Those pronouns function as direct or indirect objects. "Le" always acts as indirect complement (or object). You can follow this link for further information (it is written in Spanish): http://www.rae.es/consultas/uso-de-los-pronombres-los-las-les-leismo-laismo-loismo "Pedí" is the simple past of "pedir". I hope it is useful :)