Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns When, why and how

Pronoun - - a definition A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. Pronouns can be in one of three cases: Subject, Object, or Possessive

Direct Object Pronouns

Direct Objects Pronouns me Yo te Tú lo, la Él, ella, usted, (it) nos Nosotros os Vosotros los, las Ellos, ellas, ustedes, (them)

What is a direct object? It is the object that receives the action of the verb A direct object can be a person or a thing It answers the question: “What” or “Whom” with regard to what the subject of the sentence is doing.

Ejemplos Tito vendió el carro. “What” did Tito sell? el carro Therefore “el carro” is the direct object. Tania pateó Martín. “Whom” did Tania kick? Martín Therefore “Martín” is the direct object.

Indirect Object Pronouns

Indirect Objects Pronouns me Yo te Tú le/se Él, ella, usted, (it) nos Nosotros os Vosotros les/se Ellos, ellas, ustedes, (them)

What is an indirect object? It is the person that receives the direct object A direct object is a person It answers the question: “To whom” or “For whom” the action of the verb is performed.

Ejemplos Mamá dio la carta a Marco. “To whom” did Mamá give the letter? Marco Therefore “Marco” is the indirect object. Enrique compró flores para Anita. “For whom” did Enrique buy flowers? Anita Therefore “Anita” is the indirect object.

Placement

Direct Objects Affirmative sentences with ONE verb: Pablo come vegetales. ¿Qué come Pablo? Vegetales Therefore, vegetales is the direct object. It is masculine and plural, so its pronoun is “los”. The pronoun is placed before the verb. Pablo los come.

Direct Objects Negative sentences with ONE verb: Pablo no come vegetales. Pablo no los come. Pablo nunca come los vegetales. Pablo nunca los come.

Direct Objects Affirmative sentences with TWO verbs: In an affirmative sentence with two verbs, the first verb is conjugated and the second stays in the infinitive form. There are two possiblitiels: Place the pronoun before the first verb. Puedes beber la leche. La puedes beber. b) Add the pronoun to the second verb, the infinitive. Puedes beberla.

Direct Objects Negative sentences with TWO verbs: In an negative sentence with two verbs, the first verb is conjugated and the second stays in the infitive form. There are two possiblitiels: a) Place the pronoun between the word “no” (or other negative words) and the first verb. No la puedes beber. b) Add the pronoun to the second verb, the infinitive. No puedes beberla.

Direct Objects To emphasize or contrast direct object pronouns that refer to a person, add a phrase using “a” with the personal pronoun. ¿Conoces a David y a Victoria? Lo conozco a él, pero no a ella.

Direct Objects In the progressive tense (ING FORMS) there are two possibilities for placing the pronoun: a) Place the pronoun before the verb “estar”. Estoy leyendo el nuevo libro de Gabriel García Márquez. Lo estoy leyendo. b) Add the pronoun to the gerund. Estoy leyéndolo.

Direct Objects When constructing an affirmative command, attach the pronoun to the end of the verb. Add an accent on the appropriate syllable unless it is a command that is a single syllable. Pon la correspondencia en la mesa por favor. Ponla en la mesa por favor. Compra la leche hoy por la tarde. Cómprala hoy por la tarde.

Direct Objects When constructing a negative command, place the pronoun between the word “no” (or other negative words) and the command. No pongas la correspondencia en la mesa. No la pongas en la mesa, por favor.

Indirect Objects When two pronouns are in the same setnence, both should be placed before the verb. The first pronoun is the indirect object pronoun followed by the direct object. IO + DO + Verb

Indirect Objects Indirect object pronouns “le” and “les” change to “se” when they are placed along side the direct object pronouns: lo, la, los and las. Romeo escribe un poema a Julieta. Romeo se lo escribe.

Indirect Objects If two pronouns are attached to an infinitive, an accent should be added to the appropriate syllable. Pedro quiere dar la noticia a Gabriela. Pedro quiere dársela.

¡Vamos a practicar!

Práctica María envía una carta a Pablo. Objeto directo: Objeto indirecto: una carta Pablo Marta se la envía.

Práctica Ana compró un regalo para Ben. Objeto directo: Objeto indirecto: un regalo Ben Ana se lo compró.

Práctica José dio un beso a Emilia. Objeto directo: Objeto indirecto: José se lo dio.