Direct and indirect object pronouns are used to replace the direct object or indirect object of a sentence. While in English direct and indirect pronouns are used after the verb (I ate it), in Spanish they are usually placed before the conjugated verb (Lo comí). However, this is not always the case, especially when these pronouns are with other forms of verbs. In these cases, the object pronoun is placed after the verbal form (comerlo). Let’s see what direct and indirect objects are, which pronouns can be used for these functions, and finally how they are placed!
Table of Contents
For a review of grammar terms used in the post, make sure to check out the Unpacking the grammar section at the end!
What is a direct/indirect object?
A direct object is the noun or noun phrase that is directly acted upon by the verb, and the indirect object is the recipient or goal of that action. Let’s take a look at these examples:
- Ana describe un cuadro. Ana describes a picture.
- Ana describe a sus hijos. Ana describes her children.
In the examples above, un cuadro and (a) sus hijos are the answers to the questions “what?” and “who(m),” respectively. (What does Ana describe? / Who(m) does Ana describe?). They are called “direct objects.”
Let’s take a look at this example now:
- Ana describe un cuadro a sus hijos. Ana describes a picture to her children.
In this example, we see a new element, a sus hijos (to her children). This element answers the question, “to who(m)?” and is called an “indirect object.” In fact, indirect objects answer the questions, “to who(m)” or “for who(m).”
Which are the direct and indirect object pronouns?
Together, the direct and indirect object pronouns are me, te, nos, os, lo, la, los, las, le, and les. These pronouns are used to replace direct and indirect objects. For example:
- Ana describe el cuadro. → Ana lo describe.
- Ana describes the picture. → Ana describes it.
For the direct and indirect object pronouns that correspond to yo (I), tú and vos (you – informal), nosotros and nosotras (we), vosotros and vosotras (you all) — which by the way is only used in Spain — you don’t need to get a headache remembering these grammar terms, because you just use the same pronoun for the direct and the indirect object:
| yo (I) | tú, vos (you) | nosotros, nosotras (we) | vosotros, vosotras (you all) | Spanish Object pronouns | Direct object | me | te | nos | os |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indirect object | me | te | nos | os | |
| English object pronouns | me | you | us | you all | |
- Nos invitó a su fiesta de cumpleaños.
He invited us to his birthday party.
- Me regaló un libro.
He gave a book to me.
On the other hand, for the pronouns that correspond to él (he), ella (she), ellos (they – masculine), ellas (they – feminine) (either person or object), or to usted, ustedes (you – singular, formal / you all – formal) you use different words:
| él (he) | ella (she) | usted (you) | ellos (they) | ellas (they) | ustedes (you all) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct object | lo | la | lo/la | los | las | los/las |
| Indirect object | le | les | ||||
| English object pronouns | him / her / it | you | them | you | ||
Be careful! Direct object pronouns must agree in gender and number with the nouns they are replacing. In the following example, el pastel is the direct object of the sentence and it is a masculine singular noun, that is why the pronoun we need to use is lo.
- ¿Cocinaste el pastel? → Si, lo cociné.
Did you cook the cake? → Yes, I cooked it.
- ¿Enviaste las cartas? → Sí, las envié.
Did you send the letters? → Yes, I sent them.
Indirect object pronouns, on the other hand, only agree in number with the nouns they refer to since there are only two forms and no distinction between masculine and feminine. In the examples below, we use the indirect object pronoun to replace “your mother” and “your father” and as you can see, we use the pronoun le in both cases.
- ¿Compraste el regalo a tu madre? → Sí, le compré el regalo.
Did you buy the present for your mother? → Yes, I bought the present for her.
- ¿Diste el regalo a tu padre? → Sí, le di el regalo.
Did you give the present to your father? → Yes, I gave the present to him.
Now, let’s see how to place these pronouns in sentences.
Where do you place direct and indirect object pronouns in a sentence?
Direct and indirect object pronouns are always placed before the conjugated verb in simple tenses – except the positive imperative – and perfect tenses (those with haber + past participle):
Direct object:
- ¿Has cocinado el pastel? → No lo he cocinado todavía.
Did you bake the cake? → I haven’t baked it yet.
Indirect Object:
- Juan me escribió una carta.
Juan wrote a letter to me.
What happens when both the direct object pronoun and the indirect object pronoun are used in the same sentence? The indirect object pronoun always goes before the direct object pronoun. Take a look at the examples below:
Indirect Object pronoun + Direct Object Pronoun + Verb
te la envié
I sent it to you
me los dieron
they gave them to me
What is ‘se’?
Se is another form of an indirect pronoun. When the indirect pronouns le and les are combined with the direct object pronouns lo, la, los or las, the indirect object pronouns change to se:
¿Compraste el libro a María? Did you buy the book for María?
Indirect Object pronoun + Direct Object Pronoun + Verb
se le lo compré
I bought it for her
¿Compraste el libro a los estudiantes? Did you buy the book for the students?
Indirect Object pronoun + Direct Object Pronoun + Verb
se les lo compré
I bought it for them
Pronouns with imperatives, infinitives, and gerunds
With positive imperatives, infinitives, and gerunds, the direct and indirect object pronouns are placed after the verb. They attach to the verb, forming one single word:
| Positive imperative | Infinitive | Gerund | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verb form | come | comer | comiendo |
| Direct object | cómelo | comerlo | comiéndolo |
| Verb form | escribe | escribir | escribiendo |
| Indirect object | escríbeme | escribirme | escribiéndome |
| Positive imperative | Infinitive | Gerund | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verb form | compra | comprar | comprando |
| Direct object | cómpralo | comprarlo | comprándolo |
| Indirect object | cómprale | comprarle | comprándole |
Indirect object | cómpraselo cómpramelo | compráselo comprámelo | comprándoselo comprándomelo |
Pronouns with verb combinations
At times, object pronouns will be used alongside verb combinations. Verb combinations combine a conjugated verb and a non-conjugated verb. Some examples of verb combinations in Spanish are:
- Ir a + infinitive (going to): voy a comer
- I am going to eat.
- Tener que + infinitive (have to): tengo que trabajar
- I have to work.
- Estar + gerund (to be + -ing verb): estoy cantando
- I am singing.
When these forms are used with a direct/indirect object pronoun, we have two options:
(1) We can put the pronoun(s) before the conjugated verb:
- Te lo voy a cocinar.
- I am going to bake it for you.
- Se lo tengo que enviar.
- I have to send this to her/him/you.
- Se lo estoy llevando.
- I am taking it to you.
(2) Or, we can attach it to the non-conjugated verbs:
- Voy a cocinártelo.
- I am going to bake it for you.
- Tengo que enviárselo.
- I have to send this to her/him/you.
- Estoy llevándoselo.
- I am taking it to you.
Summary
To sum up what we’ve seen, in Spanish we always place the indirect object pronoun before the direct object pronoun. In addition, both are always placed before the conjugated verb. Although with positive imperatives, infinitives, and gerunds, pronouns are attached to the word, creating one single word. We also saw that with some verb combinations, we can either place the pronouns before the conjugated verb or attach them to the non-conjugated verb of the verb combination. Also, remember that when le or les and a 3rd person direct object pronoun appear together, le(s) changes to se. See the examples below for a brief summary of all the cases we mentioned in this post!
- Placement with simple and perfect tenses:
- ¿Compraste el libro? Did you buy the book?
- Sí, lo compré. Yes, I bought it.
-
- ¿Has escrito la carta a Juan? Have you written the letter to Juan?
- No le he escrito la carta todavía. I haven’t written him the letter yet.
- Order Indirect Object + Direct Object:
- ¿Me enviaste la carta? Did you send me the letter?
- Sí, te la envié. Yes, I sent it to you.
- Se instead of le or les:
- ¿Compraste el libro a María? Did you buy the book for María?
- Sí, se
lelo compré. Yes, I bought it for her.
- Placement with positive commands, infinitives, and gerunds:
-
- cómpraselo
- comprarselo
- comprándoselo
- Placement with verb combinations:
- Te lo voy a cocinar. I am going to bake it for you.
- Voy a cocinárte
lo . I am going to bake it for you.
el chico (m.) the boy
la chica (f.) the girl
el chico (s.), los chicos (pl.) the boy, the boys
la chica (s.), las chicas (pl.) the girl, the girls
