Topic 9

Direct & indirect object pronouns

The rule, in plain English

A direct object answers what? or whom? and is replaced by me, te, lo/la, nos, os, or los/las. An indirect object usually identifies to whom or for whom and is replaced by me, te, le, nos, os, or les. When both appear, the indirect pronoun comes first: te lo doy. Before lo, la, los, or las, le and les change to se: se lo doy, never le lo doy. Put pronouns before a conjugated verb, or attach them to an infinitive, gerund, or affirmative command.

Why it's hard for English speakers

English usually leaves object words after the verb—I give it to her—but Spanish often moves short pronouns before it and puts the recipient before the thing. Gender belongs to the direct object, not to its owner or recipient: la carta becomes la, while el libro becomes lo. The le-to-se change has no direct English equivalent.

Direct-object pronouns: what or whom?

Person or thing replaced	Pronoun	Example
Yo	me	Ana me ve.
Tú	te	Ana te ve.
Él/Ella / masculine or feminine thing	lo / la	Ana lo/la ve.
Usted	lo / la	Ana lo/la ve.
Nosotros/as	nos	Ana nos ve.
Vosotros/as	os	Ana os ve.
Ellos/Ellas / masculine, mixed, or feminine plural	los / las	Ana los/las ve.
Ustedes	los / las	Ana los/las ve.

Indirect-object pronouns: to or for whom?

Recipient	Pronoun	Example
Yo	me	Ana me escribe.
Tú	te	Ana te escribe.
Él/Ella	le	Ana le escribe.
Usted	le	Ana le escribe.
Nosotros/as	nos	Ana nos escribe.
Vosotros/as	os	Ana os escribe.
Ellos/Ellas	les	Ana les escribe.
Ustedes	les	Ana les escribe.

Two pronouns together

Meaning	Combination	Result
to me + it	me + lo/la	me lo / me la
to you + it	te + lo/la	te lo / te la
to him/her/you + it	le + lo/la	se lo / se la
to us + it	nos + lo/la	nos lo / nos la
to you all + it	os + lo/la	os lo / os la
to them/you all + it	les + lo/la	se lo / se la

Where object pronouns go

Structure	Position	Example
One conjugated verb	Before the verb	Lo compro.
Conjugated verb + infinitive	Before the first verb or attached to the infinitive	Lo voy a comprar / Voy a comprarlo.
Conjugated verb + gerund	Before the first verb or attached to the gerund	Lo estoy buscando / Estoy buscándolo.
Affirmative command	Attached to the command	¡Cómpralo!
Negative command	Before the command	¡No lo compres!

Example sentence bank

Shuffling examples…

Common mistakes

Le lo doy.Se lo doy.Le or les changes to se immediately before lo, la, los, or las.
Tengo lo.Lo tengo.With one conjugated verb, place the object pronoun before it.
La doy un regalo a Marta.Le doy un regalo a Marta.Marta is the recipient, so standard Spanish uses the indirect-object pronoun le.
Voy a lo comprar.Lo voy a comprar / Voy a comprarlo.Place lo before the conjugated verb or attach it to the infinitive, not between a and the infinitive.

Practice

¿La carta? ___ escribo.
I have it (el libro) = ___ tengo.
Le + lo = ___ lo
I give it to her = ___ lo doy.
¿Los billetes? ___ compro en línea.
I write to my parents = ___ escribo a mis padres.
Ana gives me the key = Ana ___ da la llave.
We buy them (las entradas) = ___ compramos.