DIRECT AND INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS

To / For whom? What?

Indirect Object pronouns Direct object pronouns

Order:
me me Ella me dio el dinero me Ella me ve
(she gave me the (she sees me). IOP
money). +
you (familiar) te Ella te dio el dinero. te Ella te ve. DOP
+
him, her, it, le (se*) Ella le dio el dinero. lo (m.) Ella lo/la ve. conj. VERB
you (formal) la (f.)
us nos Ella nos dio el dinero. nos Ella nos ve.
you (fam. pl) os Ella os dio el dinero. os Ella os ve.
them, les (se*) Ella les dio el dinero. los (m.) Ella los/las ve.
you (plural formal) las (f.)

Se: To avoid alliteration, when le or les as an IOP precedes the DOP lo, los, la or las, se is used
instead of le or les. Quiero dárselo, I want to give it to him (or her or you). Se lo daré, I will give it to him.

Object pronouns are placed AFTER infinitives, gerunds (-ando or -endo, generally equivalent to the "-
ing" ending in English), and the affirmative imperative. Quiero abrirla, I want to open it. No estoy
abriéndola, I am not opening it. Ábrela, open it.

Object pronouns are placed BEFORE nearly all the conjugated verbs. Quiero que la abras, I want you
to open is. No la abro, I am not opening it. No la abras, don't open it.

Replace words underlined with a suitable pronoun

1. La señora compró un bolso.

2. Mi madre dio un regalo a mi padre.

3. Compré un pastel para mi hermana.

4. Vimos a mi tío en la plaza.

5. Juan ha comprado el disco para sus amigos.

6. He visto a Juan en la calle.

7. María canta la canción a sus padres.

8. Teresa y María han comprado un disco a los padres de Juan.

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate pronoun or verb form.

Unless otherwise noted with (f), "it" and "them" are masculine, and "you" refers to the familiar form (tú).

1. He gives it to me. Él ............ da.

2. They give it to me. Ellos .....................
3. We give them (f) to you. Nosotros .............. damos.
4. I tell it to you. Yo ................. digo
5. They give it to you. Ellas ................. dan.
6. They write it (f) to you. Ellos ...................... escriben
7. He buys them for you. Él ................. compra.
8. He sings it (f) to her. Él .................. canta.
9. We sing it (f) to you. Nosotros .................... cantamos.
10. I tell it to them. Yo ................ digo.
11. She buys them for you. Ella ............. compra.
12. She cooks it (f) for him. Ella ............... cocina.
13. We cook it (f) for him. Nosotros ................... cocinamos.
15. I should bring it to them. Debo traér ...... / .................... debo traer.
16. They should buy them (f) for you. Ellos deben comprár......../ Ellos ................ deben comprar.
17. We have to sell it to her. Tenemos que vender ............. / ............. tenemos que vender.
Indirect and direct object pronouns

Replace words underlined with a suitable pronoun.

1. La señora compró un bolso.

2. Mi madre dio un regalo a mi padre.

3. Compré un pastel para mi hermana.

4. Vimos a mi tío en la plaza.

5. Juan ha comprado el disco para sus amigos.

6. He visto a Juan en la calle.

7. María canta la canción a sus padres.

8. Teresa y María han comprado un disco a los padres de Juan.

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate pronoun or verb form.

Unless otherwise noted with (f), "it" and "them" are masculine, and "you" refers to the familiar form (tú).

1. He gives it to me. Él ............ lo da.

2. They give it to me. Ellos ............. dan.

3. We give them (f) to you. Nosotros .................. damos

4. I tell it to you. Yo ............... digo

5. They give it to you. Ellas ............... dan.

6. They write it (f) to you. Ellos ..................... escriben

7. He buys them for you. Él .................... compra

8. He sings it (f) to her. Él .................. canta.

9. We sing it (f) to you. Nosotros .................... cantamos.

10.We tell it to them. Nosotros ..................... decimos.

11.I tell it to them. Yo ................ digo.

12.She buys them for you. Ella ............. compra.

13.She cooks it (f) for him. Ella ............... cocina.

14.We cook it (f) for him. Nosotros ................... cocinamos.

15.I should bring it to them. Debo traér ...... / .................... debo traer.

16.They should buy them (f) for you. Ellos deben comprar......../ Ellos ................ deben comprar.

17.We have to sell it to her. Tenemos que vender ............. / ............. tenemos que vender.
Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns – Test

Substitute the word underlined for a suitable object pronoun:

1. ¿Has comprado el libro?

2. Tengo que comprar un regalo para mi madre.

3. Vi a Juan en el parque esta mañana.

4. ¿Has comprado las flores a tu madre?

5. Sí, compré las flores a mi madre ayer.

6. No he visto esa película

7. Escribí a John una carta la semana pasada

8. ¿Has visto a María hoy?

9. No comprendo la gramática española (I don’t understand Spanish grammar)

10. Te voy a mandar (to send) una tarjeta postal hoy mismo

11. Me han robado el bolso esta mañana. (I’ve had my bag stolen )

12. He dejado la cartera en el autobús. ( I’ve left the purse on the bus )

13. Quiero probarme el jersey (I want to try the jumper on)

14. ¿Me compraste el pan?        Sí, ................. compré

15. ¿Tus padres te dieron mucho dinero?         No, ellos no ................ dieron

16. ¿Escribiste una carta a tus padres?         Sí, .................. escribí

17. ¿Quién te dio esa revista (Who gave you this magazine)?      Un amigo ....................... dio.

18. ¿Me trajiste (you brought) el periódico?         No, no ................ traje (I brought).

19. ¿Compraste comida para tu amigo?         Sí, ................. compré.

20. ¿Tu profesora les explicó bien estas lecciones?         Sí, ella .................. explicó muy bien a

nosotros.

http://studyspanish.com/lessons/iodopro.pdf
Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns

DO Pronouns IO Pronouns English

     
me me me
te te you (familiar)
lo, la le him, her, it, you (formal)
nos nos us
os os you-all (familiar)
los, las les them, you-all (formal)

They are placed after infinitives, gerunds (-ando or -endo), and the affirmative imperative. Quiero abrirla, I want
to open it. No estoy abriéndola, I am not opening it. Ábrela, open it.

They go before conjugated verbs. Quiero que la abras, I want you to open is. No la abro, I am not opening it. No

When you have both and DO and IO pronoun in the same sentence, the IO pronoun comes first.
Ellos me los dan. They give them to me.
Ella te la vende. She sells it to you.

Whenever both pronouns begin with the letter "l" change the first pronoun to "se."
In negative sentences, the negative word comes directly before the first pronoun.
No se lo compro. I don't buy it for you.
Nunca se los compro. I never buy them for her.

Because the pronoun se can have so many meanings, it is often helpful to clarify it by using a prepositional
phrase.
Él se lo dice. Ambiguous. He tells it to (whom?).
Él se lo dice a Juan. He tells it to him. (to Juan)
Él se lo dice a María. He tells it to her. (to María)
Él se lo dice a ella. He tells it to her.

In sentences with two verbs, you can place them immediately before the conjugated verb or attach them directly
to the infinitive.
She should explain it to me. Ella me lo debe explicar. Ella debe explicármelo.
I want to tell it to you. Te lo quiero decir. Quiero decírtelo.
You need to send it to them. Se la necesitas enviar a ellos. Necesitas enviársela a ellos.

In the negative, no goes directly before the conjugated verb.

Ella debe explicármelo. Ella no debe explicármelo.
Or Ella me lo debe explicar. Ella no me lo debe explicar.
Te lo quiero decir. No te lo quiero decir.

Translate the following sentences into Spanish:

1. Did you buy the book? Yes, I bought it yesterday.

2. For whom is the present? It is for me.

3. Did you find the pens? No, but I think that I saw them in the bag.

4. Did you buy your mother the flowers? Yes, I bought her the flowers last night.

5. Have you seen the film yet? Yes, I saw it on Monday. / No, I haven’t seen it yet.