Los Pronombres

Background To use pronouns correctly, you must first understand some basic grammatical concepts. Most importantly you need to know the difference between a subject and an object.

Subjects DO the action in a sentence. Ella lleva un anorak. Los viajeros tienen sus pasaportes. Mariana busca una mesa libre.

Subjects are connected to the verb. In Spanish, it is not always necessary to STATE the subject. It can be “hidden” in the verb itself. No tengo (“hidden” yo) mi tarea esta noche. Compramos (“hidden nosotros) comida para la fiesta.

El profesor (S) da (V) la tarea (D.O.) a los alumnos (I.O.) Objects Objects are NOT connected to the verb in a sentence. Objects RECEIVE the action in a sentence. They can receive action DIRECTLY (direct objects) or INDIRECTLY (indirect objects) El profesor (S) da (V) la tarea (D.O.) a los alumnos (I.O.)

Pronouns Subject Pronouns Object Pronouns Direct Object Pronouns REPLACE nouns. You already know many kinds of pronouns: Subject Pronouns Object Pronouns Direct Object Indirect Object Reflexive

Subject Pronouns Subject pronouns REPLACE SUBJECTS. Subject pronouns are connected to the verb. They are: Yo, tú, él, ella, ud., nosotros, (vosotros), ellos, ellas, uds. Paco tiene pelo rubio, Paco no tiene pelo moreno. Paco tiene pelo rubio, él no tiene pelo moreno.

Direct Object Pronouns Direct object pronouns replace direct objects. me, te, lo, la, nos, los, las (me, you, him/it, her/it, us, them) Yo te llamo esta noche. Los compramos en el mercado.

Indirect Object Pronouns Indirect object pronouns replace indirect objects. me, te, les, nos, les You have already used indirect object pronouns with gustar and related verbs. Me interesa el fútbol. Nos gusta la playa Te aburren los deportes.

More examples El médico le da una receta al enfermo. The action is da (to give) The prescription (receta) is directly being given. It’s the direct object The sick person is indirectly being affected by the action.

Le / Les Le and Les can be both masculine and feminine. For clarity, sometimes they are used with noun phrases: Le hablo a él. Les hablo a ellos. a ella. a ellas. a usted. a uds.

Placement of Pronouns Subjects/ subject pronouns come before the verb in statements and often follow the verb in questions. Elena es peruana. ¿Es ella peruana?

Object Pronoun Placement Object pronouns (direct and indirect) can always come before a conjugated verb. Yo la vi anoche. (I saw her last night) You also have the option of attaching them to an infinitive or to a gerund. Yo quiero verla. Yo estoy mirándola. Note that when you attach a pronoun to a gerund, you must put an accent over the “a” in –ando or the “e” in -iendo

Reflexive Pronouns Reflexive pronouns are used with reflexive verbs. Reflexive verbs are used when the subject and object in a sentence are the SAME. Reflexive infinitives are written with a (se) at the end: llamar(se), lavar(se) The reflexive pronouns are: me, te, se, nos, se (myself, yourself, him/her/yourself, ourselves, your selves, theirselves.

Reflexive continued… Yo me lavo la cara. Ellos se lavan la cara. Nosotros nos lavamos la cara. BUT: Yo lavo el coche. Ellos lavan los platos. Nosotros lavamos los perros.

More…. Placement for reflexive pronouns is the same as placement for object pronouns Before conjugated verb Attached to infinitive or gerund When you refer to an article of clothing or to parts of the body with reflexive verbs definite articles (and not possessive pronouns) are used Yo me lavo la cara. NOT Yo me lavo mi cara.