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Spanish Personal Pronouns Indirect Object

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Infographics of Spanish Personal Pronouns Indirect Object

Spanish Personal Pronouns Indirect Object




Using Indirect Object Pronouns

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What is an indirect object pronoun?

An indirect object pronoun in used instead of a noun to show the person or thing an action is intended to benefit or harm, for example, me in He gave me a book. , Can you get me a towel?; He wrote to me.

  • It is important to understand the difference between direct and indirect object pronouns in English, as they can have different forms in Spanish.
  • You can usually test whether an object is a direct object or an indirect one by asking questions about the action using what and who:
  1. an indirect object answers the question who… to ? or who… for?, equally what… to? or what… for?
    He gave me a book. ? Who did he give the book to? ? me (=indirect object pronoun)
    Can you get me a towel? ? Who can you get a towel for? ? me (=indirect object pronoun)
    We got some varnish for it ? what did you get the varnish for ? it (indirect object pronoun)
  2. if something answers the question what or who, then it is direct object and NOT the indirect object.
    He gave me a book ? What did he give me? ? a book (direct object)
    I Saw Mandy ? Who did you see?? Mandy (=direct object)
    We got some varnish for it ? What did you get? ? some vernish (=direct object)
Note that a verb won't necessarily have both a direct and an indirect object.

Here are the Spanish indirect object pronouns..

SingularMeaningPluralMeaning
meme, to you, for menosus, to us, for us
teyou, to you, for you (relating to tu)osyou, to you, for you (relating to vosotros/vosotras)
lehim, to him, for him, her, to her, for her, it, to it, for it, you, to you, for you (relating to usted)lesthem, to them for them, you, to you, for you (relating to ustedes)

 

  • Some Spanish verbs like mirar (meaning to look at), esperar (meaning to wait for) and buscar (meaning to look for) take a direct object, because the Spanish construction is different from the English.

GRAMMER EXTRA!

You should usually use direct pronouns rather than indirect object pronouns when replacing personal a + noun.

Vi a Teresa. ? La vi.I saw Teresa. ? I Saw her.
  • Estoy escribiendo a Teresa I am writing to Teresa.

  • Le estoy escribiendo. I am writing to her.

  • Compra un regalo a losninos. Buy the children a present

  • Comprales un regalo. Buy them a present.

  • Respondeme. Answer me.

  • Dime la respuesta. Tell me the answer.

  • Sofia os ha escrito. Sophie has written to you.

  • Os ha escrito Sofia? Has Sofia written to you?

  • Que te pedian? What were they asking you for?

  • Carlos no nos habla. Carlos doesn't speak to us.









Word order with indirect object pronouns

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  • Note that you will often need to add a written accent to preserve the spoken stress.
In orders and instructions telling someone NOT TO DO something, the pronoun does not join onto the end of the verb.
No me digas ka respuesta.Don't tell me the answer
If the pronoun is the object of an infinitive (the to form of the verb) or a gerund (the-ing form of the verb), you always add the pronoun to the end of the verb to form one word, unless the infinitive or gerund follows another verb. Again, you may have to add a written accent to preserve the stress.
Eso de darle tu direccion no fue muy prudente.It wasn't very wise to give him you address.
Critandole tanto lo vas a asustar.You''ll frighten him by shouting at him like that.
Where an infinitive or gerund follows another verb, you can put the pronoun either at the end of the infinitive or gerund, or before the other verb.
Quiero decirte algo. or Te quiero decir algo.I want to tell you something.
Estoy escribiendole. or Le estoy escribiendo.I am writing to him/her

KEY POINTS

  • The Spanish indirect object pronouns are: me, te, le in the singular, and nos, os, les in the plural.
  • They can replace the preposition a (meaning to) + noun.
  • Like the direct object pronoun, the indirect object pronoun usually comes before the verb.
  • Object pronouns are joined to the end of infinitives, gerunds or verbs instructing someone to do something.
  • If an infinitive or gerund follows another verb, you can choose whether to add the object pronoun to the end of the infinitive or gerund or to put it before the first verb.
  • Estoy escribiendo a Teresa I am writing to Teresa.

  • Le estoy escribiendo. I am writing to her.

  • Compra un regalo a losninos. Buy the children a present

  • Comprales un regalo. Buy them a present.

  • Respondeme. Answer me.

  • Dime la respuesta. Tell me the answer.

  • Sofia os ha escrito. Sophie has written to you.

  • Os ha escrito Sofia? Has Sofia written to you?

  • Que te pedian? What were they asking you for?

  • Carlos no nos habla. Carlos doesn't speak to us.









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