Subject Indirect Object Direct Object
Reflexive
Object Object of Preposition
Reflex. Obj. of
Preposition
yo me me me mí
mí
tú te te te ti
ti
usted [Ud.] lo, la usted
él lo él ella le la se ella
sí
nosotros, -as nos nos nos nosotros, -as
nosotros, -as
vosotros, -as os os os vosotros, -as
vosotros, -as
ustedes [Uds.] los, las ustedes
ellos los ellos
ellas les las se ellas
sí
=I, you, he, she, we, you, they = to me, to you, to him, to her, to us, to you, to them
= me, you, him, her, us, you, them
= myself, yourself, himself, herself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves
= [e.g., from] me, you, him, her, us, you, them
= [e.g. from]
myself, yourself,
himself, herself,
etc.
You in Spanish:
Tú = familiar singular form of you (i.e, when on a first name basis).
Usted = formal singular form of you (i.e., when on a last name basis).
Vosotros = familiar plural form in Spain.
Ustedes = formal plural of you in Spain, and both the familar & formal plural form elsewhere.
Double object pronouns: If a verb has two object pronouns, the indirect goes before the direct object pronoun.
If both the direct and indirect object pronouns begin with l, the indirect pronoun is changed to se.
Position of the with-verb object pronouns: Direct, indirect, and reflexive object pronouns are attached to the end of infinitives, -ndo forms (gerunds), and affirmative commands. They go
immediately before all other verb forms.
Special case: When used with con: conmigo
contigo
Some prepositions: a, con, de, en, entre, para, por, sobre, sobre, antes de, después de, frente a, etc.
Special case:
When used with
con:
conmigo
contigo
consigo
Example 1: Subject, indirect object, direct object, prepositional object pronouns.
Subject of the verb dan Direct object
| |
Ellos me lo dan (a mí).
| |
= “They give it to me.”
Indirect object (before the direct object) Object of the preposition a. [Optional prepositional phrase for emphasis.] Example 2: Subject and reflexive pronouns.
Subject of the verb levanto |
Yo me levanto a las seis. |
= “I get up at six o'clock.” [Literally, “I get myself up at six o'clock.”]
Reflexive pronoun (same person as the subject: I , myself)
Example 3: Placement of object pronouns. They are attached to the end of affirmative commands, infinitives, and -ndo forms; in all other cases they go immediately before the verb.
¡Dámela! Affirmative command. The object pronouns are atached to the end; here, an accent mark is required on the verb. “Give it to me!” Voy a dártela.
[Or: Te la voy a dar.]
Infinitive. The object pronouns are attaced to the end of the verb. Again note the accent mark. [Here, the pronouns may also be placed before doy, since the verb phrase voy a dar is composed of both a conjugated form and an infinitive.] “I'm going to give it to you.” Estoy dándotela. [Or: Te la estoy dando.]
Gerund or -ndo form. [The pronouns may also be placed before estoy since the verb phrase estoy dando is made up of both a conjugated form and an -ndo form.
“I'm giving it to you.” ¿La carta? Te la doy. No te la doy. ¡No me la des!
Conjugated verb (which is not an affirmative command). The pronouns can only go immediately before the verb.
“I'll give it to you.”
“I won't give it to you.” “Don't give it to me!”
Example 4: The indirect object pronouns change from le/les to se before a direct object pronoun beginning with the letter l (lo, la, los, las). El libro? Yo se lo mando a él. le lo > se lo “The book? I'm sending it to him.”
La verdad? Ella siempre se la dice a ustedes. les la > se la “The truth? She always tells it to you.” Los papeles? Nosotros se los ofrecemos a usted. le los > se los “The papers? We'll send them to you.” Note that this can lead to confusion unless a clarifying prepositional phrase is added:
The object that directly receives the action of the verb is called the direct object. Bill hit the ball.
"Ball" receives the action of the verb "hit." Sherry reads the book.
"Book" receives the action of the verb "reads." The direct object can also be a person.
Sherry hit Bill. (DO=Bill)
Look at how Spanish and English are different.
"Lo tengo" and "La tengo" BOTH mean "I have it." Differences:
1. "It" has two forms in Spanish: lo, la
2. "Tengo" one word in Spanish = two words in English (I have)
To identify the indirect object use our two guidelines: 1. The IO tells us where the DO is going.
2. The IO answers the question "to whom?" or "for whom" the action of the verb is performed.
He gives María the book. To whom does he give the book? To María.
IO=María
He buys me flowers.
For whom does he buy the flowers? For me.
IO=me
Sometimes the direct object is not stated; rather it is implied, or understood.
My mother writes me every week. DO=letter (understood)
IO=me
(My mother writes me a letter every week.)
Indirect Object Pronouns
1. Mi padre nos llama todos los fines de semana. Who calls whom?
2. Nos visitan a menudo nuestros familiares. Who visits whom?
3. No les gusta mi prima a mis amigos. Who doesn't like whom?
4. A mamá la llevan al cine los hermanos. Who takes whom to the movies?
5. Tu abuelo te escribe tarjetas postales en verano. Who writes post cards to whom?
6. ¿Te ayuda tu hermano con las tareas? Who helps whom with the homework? 7. A mis tíos siempre les convencen mis padres. Who convinces whom?
8. ¿Te gustan mis padres? Who likes whom?
9. A los abuelos siempre los respeta la familia. Who respects whom?
10. A los hijos los invitan los padres. Who invites whom?
