Object Pronouns / Los pronombres de complemento
Direct object (English object pronouns) Indirect object
me
te me me
lo/le (persona masc ) you te
la (femenino) him, her, it, you (Ud. form) le (masc y fem)
nos us nos
os you (plural) [in Spain] os
los/les them, you (Uds. form) les
las
Direct objects: what? or whom? Indirect objects: to/for whom?
I did...(what?) I did my homework. I did I did (for whom?) I did her homework for her.
it. Le hice la tarea (a ella).
Hice la tarea. La hice.
I I saw the doctor. I saw I said (to I told that to Juan. I told
saw...(whom?) him. whom?) him.
Vi al doctor. Lo vi. Le dije eso a Juan. Le dije.
Following in chart form are the object pronouns in Spanish. The direct objects are shown in the
second and third columns, the indirect objects in the fourth and fifth columns.
Directo Indirecto
me me Ella me ve (she me Ella me dio el dinero (she gave
sees me). me the money).
you (familiar) te Ella te ve. te Ella te dio el dinero.
him, her, it, you Lo (objeto) Ella lo/la ve. Le Ella le dio el dinero.
(formal) Lo/le(persona (se)
masc)
la (feminine)
us nos Ella nos ve. nos Ella nos dio el dinero.
you (familiar os Ella os ve. os Ella os dio el dinero.
plural)
them, you (plural Los (masculine) Ella los/las ve. Les Ella les dio el dinero.
formal) las (feminine) (se)
• Spanish places object pronouns immediately before a conjugated verb:
¿Conoces al abogado? Sí, lo conozco.
Here are the indirect-object pronouns along with their English equivalents and examples of their
uses:
me — me — Juan me da una camisa. John is giving me a shirt.
te — you (singular familiar) — Juan te da una camisa. John is giving you a shirt.
le — you (singular formal), him, her — Juan le da una camisa a usted. John is giving you
a shirt. Juan le da una camisa a él. John is giving him a shirt. Juan le da una camisa a
ella. John is giving her a shirt.
nos — us — María nos da unas camisas. Mary is giving us some shirts.
os — you (plural familiar) — María os da unas camisas. Mary is giving you some shirts.
les — you (plural formal), them — María les da unas camisas ( a ustedes= vosotros
formal). Mary is giving you some shirts, or Mary is giving them some shirts.
Note that the direct-object and indirect-object pronouns are identical in the first and second
persons. Where they differ is in the third person, where the only indirect objects are le and les.
As some of the above examples indicate, an indirect-object pronoun is used whenever a sentence
includes an indirect object. A further clause can be added for clarity or emphasis, but, unlike in
English, an indirect pronoun is still the norm. For example, le escribí could mean "I wrote to him,"
"I wrote to her" depending on the context. To clarify, we can add a prepositional phrase, as in le
escribí a ella for "I wrote to her." Note that le is still typically used, even though a ella makes it
redundant.
• As there frequently is ambiguity with the third person, clarify with a ellas, a María.
Ella le escribe a él; yo le escribo a ella. She is writing to him; I am writing to her.
No le quiero pedir un favor a Juan. I don't want to ask Juan a favour.
Se la mandé a él primero. I sent it to him first.
• When used together, indirect object pronouns precede direct object pronouns (the exact
opposite of the usual English order):
Te las escribo. (I am writing them to you.)
Nos los entregó a tiempo (los mensajes). She delivered them to us on time.
Te lo quiero mandar (el mensaje). I want to send it to you.
• When the first pronoun of the two would be le or les, it changes to se (sing. or plural):
Se lo quiero explicar= I want to explain it to him/ to her
Doy un beso (I give a kiss) = lo doy ( I give it)
Le doy un beso a Juan ( correcto)
Le lo doy a Juan (Incorrecto) (lo= un beso)
Le lo doy a Juan >>> se lo doy a Juan
Se lo doy a Juan= I give it to Juan
It is also important to note that many Spanish sentences use indirect-object pronouns where a
different construction is used in English. For example, me pintó la casa would typically be
translated as "he painted the house for me." In fact, one sign of an indirect object in English is
that it usually can be understood, to use "me" as an example, as "for me" or "to me." For instance,
"he bought her the ring" is the same as "he bought the ring for her." In that first sentence, "her" is
an indirect object. (The Spanish equivalent would be él le compró el anillo.)
