Hola ¿Cómo estáis?

Hoy vamos a ver los pronombres de objeto directo e indirecto en español. Today we are going to see the Direct and Indirect Spanish Object Pronouns.

A “Pronoun” is basically a shorter and quicker substitute for a noun. English pronouns include “he” and “she” and “what” and “that”, which take the place of more words or much longer words. Direct Object Pronouns are those pronouns that represent the noun directly acted upon by the verb and Indirect Object Pronouns represent the noun that is the recipient of the verb’s action.

There are some Spanish pronouns which are the same for Direct and Indirect objects:

• Me: me/to me
• Te: you/to you
• Nos: us/to us
• Os: you/to you (group)

With other Spanish pronouns it depends on whether you are substituting a direct or an indirect object:

Direct Objects:

• Lo: him/to him/it/to it/you (formal)/to you (formal)
• La: her/to her/it/to it/you (formal)/to you (formal)
• Los: them/to them/you (formal-group)/to you (formal-group)
• Las: them/to them/you (formal-group)/to you (formal-group)

Indirect Objects:

• Le: him/to him/her/to her/you (formal)/to you (formal)
• Les: them/to them/you (formal-group)/to you (formal-group)

It is really important that you are clear on when to use all of the different Spanish pronouns.

Let´s see some examples of when to use Spanish Direct Object Pronouns:

Ayer vi a Juan: Yesterday I saw Juan
• Ayer lo vi: Yesterday I saw him
Ayer vi a Ana: Yesterday I saw Ana
• Ayer la vi: Yesterday I saw her
Ayer vi tu coche: Yesterday I saw your car
• Ayer lo vi: Yesterday I saw it
Ayer vi tu casa: Yesterday I saw your house
• Ayer la vi: Yesterday I saw it
Voy a ver a Antonio: I am going to see Antonio
• Lo voy a ver / Voy a verlo: I am going to see him
Estoy bebiendo café: I am drinking coffee
• Lo estoy bebiendo / estoy bebiéndolo: I am drinking it
Cómelo: Eat it
• No lo comas: Don´t eat it

Next let´s see some examples of when to use Spanish Indirect Object Pronouns:

Ayer escribí una carta a Juan: Yesterday I wrote a letter to Juan
• Ayer le escribí una carta: Yesterday I wrote a letter to him
Ayer escribí una carta a Ana: Yesterday I wrote a letter to Ana
• Ayer le escribí una carta: Yesterday I wrote a letter to her
Voy a escribir una carta a Antonio: I am going to write a letter to Antonio
• Le voy a escribir una carta / Voy a escribirle una carta: I am going to write a letter to him
Estoy escribiendo una carta a Antonio: I am writing a letter to Antonio
• Le estoy escribiendo una carta / estoy escribiéndole: I am writing a letter to him
Escríbele una carta: Write him a letter
• No le escribas una carta: Don´t write him a letter

Let´s see now how to use Spanish Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns together:

Ayer te escribí una carta: Yesterday I wrote a letter to you
• Ayer te la escribí: Yesterday I wrote it to you

When you have two pronouns together in the same sentence and the Indirect Pronoun is “Le” or “Les” you have to change this pronoun to “Se”.

Let´s see some examples of this:

Ayer escribí una carta a Juan: Yesterday I wrote a letter to Juan
• Ayer se la escribí: Yesterday I wrote it to him
Ayer escribí una carta a Juan y Ana: Yesterday I wrote a letter to Juan and Ana
• Ayer se la escribí: Yesterday I wrote it to them
• Se la voy a escribir / Voy a escribirsela: I am going to write it to him
• Se la estoy escribiendo / estoy escribiéndosela: I am writing it to him
• Escríbesela: Write it to him
• No se la escribas: Don´t write it to him

At first glance Spanish Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns can seem a little tricky, but give yourself time and you will soon see that they are quite straightforward. The key, as ever, is lots of practice.

One of the biggest challenges to the Spanish Student is distinguishing between Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns as they have similar functions and are themselves the same in the first and second person familiar forms.

Enjoy your Spanish studies and see you next time.

¡Hasta la proxima clase!

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