Personal pronouns in Spanish

Indirect Direct Reflexive Object of Reflex. Obj. of

Subject
Object Object Object Preposition Preposition
yo me me me mí mí
tú te te te ti ti
usted [Ud.] lo, la usted
él le lo se él sí
ella la ella
nosotros, -as nos nos nos nosotros, -as nosotros, -as
vosotros, -as os os os vosotros, -as vosotros, -as
ustedes [Uds.] los, las ustedes
ellos les los se ellos sí
ellas las ellas
=I, you, he, she, = to me, = me, = myself, = =
we, you, they to you, to you, yourself, himself, [e.g., from] me, [e.g. from] myself,
him, to him, herself, you, him, her, yourself, himself,
her, to us, her, us, ourselves, us, you, them herself, etc.
to you, to you, yourselves,
them them themselves
You in Spanish: Double object Position of the Special case: Special case:
pronouns: with-verb object
Tú = familiar pronouns: When used When used
singular form If a verb has two with con: with con:
of you (i.e, when object pronouns, Direct, indirect,
on a first name the indirect goes and reflexive conmigo conmigo
basis). before the direct object pronouns contigo contigo
Usted = formal object pronoun. are attached to consigo
singular form the end of ___
of you(i.e., when If both the direct infinitives, -
on a last name and indirect object ndoforms Some prepositions: a, con,
de, en, entre, para, por,
basis). pronouns begin (gerunds), and sobre, sobre, antes de,
después de, frente a,etc.
Vosotros = with l, the indirect affirmative
familiar plural pronoun is commands. They
form in Spain. changed to se. go immediately
Ustedes = formal before all other
plural of you in verb forms.
Spain, and both
the familar &
formal plural
form elsewhere.
Example 1: Subject, indirect object, direct object, prepositional object pronouns.
Subject of the Direct
verb dan object
| |
Ellos me lo dan (a mí). = “They give it to me.”

| |
Indirect object (before the direct Object of the preposition a. [Optional prepositional phrase for
object) emphasis.]

Example 2: Subject and reflexive pronouns.

Subject of the verb levanto
|
Yo me levanto a las seis.=[Literally,
“I get up at six o'clock.”
“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.
Affirmative command. The object pronouns are atached to the end; here, an accent mark is “Give it to
¡Dámela! required on the verb. me!”

Voy a dártela. Infinitive. The object pronouns are attaced to the end of the verb. Again note the accent mark. “I'm going to
[Or: Te lavoy a [Here, the pronouns may also be placed before doy, since the verb phrase voy a dar is composed give it to
of both a conjugated form and an infinitive.] you.”
dar.]
Estoy
¿La dándotela.
Gerund or -ndo form. [The pronouns may also be placed before estoy since the verb phrase estoy “I'm giving it
carta? [Or: Te dando is made up of both a conjugated form and an -ndo form. to you.”
la estoy
dando.]
“I'll give it to
Te la doy. you.”
Conjugated verb (which is not an affirmative command). The pronouns can only go immediately “I won't give
No te la doy. before the verb. it to you.”
¡No me lades! “Don't give it
to me!”

Example 4: The indirect object pronous 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:
 Se lo dije. = “I said it to him/her/them/you.” (That is, se could mean six different things: a él, a
ella, a ellos, a ellas, a usted, or a ustedes.)
[Practice] [S210 Main Page] See also: Pronouns (longer explanation)

Contact: Fred F. Jehle Home: http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/

Indiana University - Purdue University Ft. Wayne
Fort Wayne, IN 46805-1499 USA URL: http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/courses/pronouns.htm