Direct Object

The direct object (called complemento directo in Spanish) is the word or words that
receive directly the action of the verb. It is easy to identify a direct object by asking
the question what? (¿qué?) or whom? (¿a quién?) immediately after the verb in simple
sentences:

The maid put flowers on the table. La asistenta puso flores en la mesa.
The maid put (What did she put?) flowers. La asistenta puso (¿Qué puso?) flores.

Observe the following sentence, where the expression my sons (a mis hijos) answers the
question Whom? (¿A quién?):

I love my sons. Quiero a mis hijos.

I love (Whom?) my sons. Quiero (¿A quién?) a mis hijos.

The word flores and the expression a mis hijos in the preceding sentences are direct
objects. The personal a is required when the direct object is a person or a pet.

In Spanish, the direct object usually follows the verb, unless emphasis is desired:

Quiero una casa con ventanas. I want a house with windows.

Una casa con ventanas (es lo que) quiero yo. A house with many windows (is what) I
want.
Uses of the Personal a Before a Direct Object

A. The personal a precedes the direct object when the direct object is a specific
person or persons:

Yo veo a Dawn en la cocina. I see Dawn in the kitchen.

Yo veo (¿A quién?) a Dawn. I see (Whom?) Dawn.

If the specific person is a single male being referred to with a noun and the article el,
such as el profesor, el médico, or el cartero, the contraction of a + el must be used:

Yo respeto al médico. I respect the doctor.

There are many verbs in Spanish that require the personal a before a direct object that
refers to persons. Some other such verbs are:
esperar a (to wait for) escuchar a (to listen to) conocer a (to know)
comprender a (to understand) llevar a (to take) querer, amar a (to love)

B. The personal a is not used if the direct object is an unidentified person or persons.
Observe the difference in the following sentences:

Busco un cardiólogo que no cobre mucho. I am looking for a cardiologist who will
not charge much.
Busco a un cardiólogo que me recomendaron. I am looking for a cardiologist that
they have recommended.

C. The personal a is used, however, before indefinite pronouns and adjectives such as
nadie (no one), alguien (someone), ninguno/a, ningún (no one), alguno/a, algún
(someone), cualquiera, cualquier (anyone, anybody), todos/as (everybody), cada
uno/a (each one):

No veo a nadie. I don’t see anyone.

Quiero ver a alguien. I want to see someone.
Necesito a cualquiera. I need anybody.

D. The verb tener (to have) does not use a personal a when the direct object is a
person or a pet and the verb is followed by un, una (a, an), or by numbers:

Tengo un hermano y dos hermanas. I have one brother and two sisters.
When tener, followed by the personal a, precedes a direct object (a person or a pet)
tener becomes equivalent to estar (to be).

Tengo a mi hermano en el teléfono. (Está en la línea) I have my brother on the

phone. (He is on the line).
Tenemos a Juan y a Pedro en casa. (Están en casa) We have John and Peter at
home (They are at home).
Tengo a mi gato en el jardín. (Está en el jardín). I have my cat in the yard. (It is
in the yard).

E. When the direct object is a pet or any personified noun, the personal a is also used:

Llevó a Zen al veterinario. He took Zen to the vet.

Veo al perro en el jardín. I see my dog in the garden.
Agradezcamos a la suerte por darnos la Let’s thank our lucky stars for giving us the
oportunidad. opportunity.
 Direct Object Pronouns

Direct objects may be replaced by their corresponding pronouns:

Personal Direct Object Pronouns

yo me me
tú te you
él lo him
ella la her
ello lo it
nosotros/as nos us
vosotros/as os you
ellos los them
ellas las them

Direct object pronouns that replace nouns take the following forms:

Feminine singular: la pera la

Feminine plural: las peras las
Masculine singular: el árbol lo
Masculine plural: los árboles los

Word Order with Direct Object Pronouns

The direct object pronoun before a single conjugated verb

The direct object pronoun must always be placed directly before the conjugated verb if
there is only one verb. Note the specific rules for the pronoun depending on whether the
direct object is human or not.

 If the direct object is a person

The direct object pronoun must always be used for the persons yo (me), tú (te), él (lo,
la), nosotros/as (nos), vosotros/as (os), and ellos/as (los, las), while the direct object
that it stands for may be omitted:

El me quiere a mí. El me quiere. He loves me.

Yo te veo a ti. Yo te veo. I see you.
Lo visitaré a él. Lo visitaré. I will visit him.
Nos aprecia a nosotros. Nos aprecia. He appreciates us.
No os olvida a vosotros. No os olvida. She does not forget you.
Quiero a Juan. Lo quiero. I love Juan.
Aprecio a mis primas. Las aprecio. I appreciate my cousins.

 If the direct object is not human

If the direct object is not human it needs to be left out when the pronoun is used in the
sentence:

Nosotros compramos las maletas. We bought the suitcases.

Nosotros las compramos. We bought them.
Vieron el tigre. They saw the tiger.
Lo vieron. They saw it.

Placement of the direct object when there are two verbs

If there are two verbs, whether a combination of a conjugated verb before an infinitive
or a conjugated verb before a present participle (-ing: -ando, -iendo), there are two
possibilities, both entirely correct.

 The direct object pronoun may be placed immediately before the conjugated verb:

Nosotros preferimos comprar las revistas. We prefer to buy the magazines.

Nosotros las preferimos comprar. We prefer to buy them.
El está escribiendo una carta. He is writing a letter.
El la está escribiendo. He is writing it.
Yo te quiero ver siempre. I want to see you always.
Yolanda os quiere ver. Yolanda wants to see you.

 The direct object pronoun may be attached to the infinitive or to the present
participle:

Nosotros preferimos comprarlas. We prefer to buy them.

El está escribiéndola. He is writing it.
Yo quiero verte siempre. I want to see you always.
Yolanda quiere veros. Yolanda wants to see you.
 The direct object pronoun before the auxiliary haber

The direct object pronoun is always placed before the auxiliary verb haber in compound
tenses. It cannot be attached to the past participle nor placed between the auxiliary
verb and the past participle:

Te he recordado siempre. I have always remembered you.

Las hemos comprado. We have bought them.

Direct Objects and Objects of Prepositions

 There are some verbs in English which require a following preposition but for which
the corresponding verb in Spanish does not require one. Some of these verbs are to
wait for (esperar), to look for (buscar), and to look at (mirar):

Él espera el tren. He waits for the train.

Yo busco un lápiz. I am looking for a pencil.
Ellos miran el agua. They look at the water.

 While in Spanish el tren, un lápiz, and el agua function as direct objects, the
equivalent expressions in English are objects of prepositions (for, for, and at,
respectively).

 If the direct object is a person or a pet, the verb in Spanish requires the personal
“a”:

El espera a su hermana. He waits for his sister.

Yo busco a Jill. I’m looking for Jill.
Ken mira a Zoe. Ken looks at Zoe.
Mi vecina alimenta a Fifi. My neighbor feeds Fifi .

Imperative Form (Commands) and Direct Object Pronouns

Direct object pronouns are attached to affirmative commands and are placed between
no and the verb in negative commands:

Estúdialas. Study them.

No los escuches. Do not listen to them.
 Indirect Object

The indirect object is the word on which the action of the verb falls indirectly . It
refers to people or things and can be identified by asking the questions To whom? and
For whom? (¿A quién? ¿Para quién?) or To what? and For what? (¿A qué? ¿Para qué?)
after the direct object. The question goes back to the verb, though, as the examples
show:

Juana compró unos pasteles para la niña. Juana bought some pastry for the
girl.
Juana compró unos pasteles (¿Para quién?) Juana bought some pastry (For
whom?)
para la niña. for the girl.
Mi padre consiguió patas nuevas para la mesa. My father got new legs for the table.
Mi padre consiguió patas nuevas (¿Para qué?) My father got new legs (for what?)
para la mesa. for the table.

Indirect Object Pronouns

Indirect objects may be replaced by their corresponding pronouns:

Personal Indirect Object Pronouns

yo me, mí me
tú te, ti you
él le, se, sí him
ella le, se, sí her
ello le, se it
nosotros/as nos us
vosotros/as os you
ellos les, se, sí them
ellas les, se, sí them

Personal a and Indirect Objects

In some cases, an expression preceded by a personal a may be either an indirect object

or a direct object (since direct objects are sometimes preceded by the personal a). In
order to figure out whether it is a direct or an indirect object, try to place the word to
in the English translation of the sentence. If the sentence makes sense with to in it, the
expression is an indirect object.
In the sentence Romeo ama a Julieta (Romeo loves Juliet) , for example, it is not possible
to insert to in the sentence. Observe the following cases:

Romeo ama a Julieta. Romeo loves Juliet.

Romeo loves (To whom?) Juliet. This sentence is incorrect, therefore Juliet is a direct
object.

Romeo le manda una nota a Julieta. Romeo sends a note to Juliet.

Romeo sends a note (To whom?) to Juliet. This sentence is correct, therefore Juliet is
an indirect object.

 A personal a is required in Spanish before indefinite pronouns such as alguien,

alguno/a, nadie, cualquiera, cada cual, cada uno/a, and todos/as:

En la calle no vemos a nadie. We don’t see anybody in the street.

Le dio a cada uno un beso. She gave each one a kiss.

 The pronouns cualquiera, cada cual, cada uno/a, and todos/as may refer to people
or things:

Juan les puso una marca a todas. (las cajas) John put a mark on all of them.
(boxes)
Le echaré fertilizante a cada uno. (rosales) I will put some fertilizer on each one.
(rose bushes)

Word Order in Sentences with an Indirect Object

The indirect object after the direct object or before the subject

 The indirect object, preceded by the preposition a, will be normally placed after the
direct object.

Juana le dio unos pasteles a la niña. Juana gave some pastry to the girl.
¿Juana les dio unos pasteles a ellos? Did Juana give them some pastry?

Placement of the indirect object when the subject is left out

 If the subject (Juana) is left out, the indirect object [a la niña] may be placed
either before the indirect object pronoun [le] or after the direct object [unos
pasteles]:

Before: A la niña le dio unos pasteles. She gave some pastry to the girl.
After: Le dio unos pasteles a la niña. She gave some pastry to the girl.
Before: A ellos les dio unos pasteles. She gave them some pastry.
After: Les dio unos pasteles a ellos. She gave them some pastry.

Use of the indirect object pronoun with specific persons

 The indirect object pronoun must always be present when the indirect object
(included or left out) refers to specific persons:

Indirect object included: Juana le dio unos pasteles Juana gave some pastry
a la niña. to the girl.
Indirect object left out: Juana le dio unos pasteles. Juana gave her some pastry.
Indirect object included: Juana les dio unos pasteles Juana gave them some pastry.
a ellos.
Indirect object left out: Juana les dio unos pasteles. Juana gave you some pastry.

 If the indirect object refers to individuals in a general way or to inanimate objects,

the pronoun may be left out. In the following sentences, the pronoun is not
necessary:

Él siempre (les) escribe cartas a los presos. He always writes letters to people in
jail.
Pedro (le) dedicó un poema a la geografía de Pedro dedicated a poem to the
su país. geography of his native country.

When the indirect object is triggered by para

If the indirect object is triggered by the preposition para, there are two options.

 To use the indirect object pronoun without the indirect object. The subject may be
present or left out:

Juana le compró unos pasteles. Juana bought her some pastry.

Le compró unos pasteles. She bought her some pastry.
 To use the indirect object without the indirect object pronoun. The subject may be
present or left out:

Juana compró unos pasteles para la niña. Juana bought some pastry for the
girl.
Compró unos pasteles para la niña. She bought some pastry for the girl.
 If the indirect object pronoun le is used with the indirect object , the sentence has a
different meaning. In that case, le refers to someone else from whom Juana bought
pastry for the girl:

Juana le compró unos pasteles para la niña. Juana bought (from him) some pastry
for the girl.
Juana le compró (al hombre) unos pasteles Juana bought (from the man) some
para la niña. pastry for the girl.

 In Spanish, always use an indirect object pronoun in cases where, in English, a direct
object would be introduced by a possessive adjective. The possessive adjective in
English is replaced by the definite article in Spanish:

He made up her face. Le maquilló la cara (a ella).

Not: [Él] Maquilló su cara. Sounds like: He put makeup on himself.
She dressed their wounds. Les curó las heridas (a ellos).
Not: [Ella] Curó sus heridas. Sounds like: She dressed her own wounds.

Word Order with Indirect Object Pronouns

The indirect object pronoun with a single conjugated verb

If there is only one verb in the sentence, the indirect object pronoun is placed directly
before the conjugated verb. If the statement is negative, the word no precedes the
pronoun:

El mozo nos sirvió agua. The waiter served us water.

Raúl me mandó una carta. Raúl sent me a letter.
Pedro no les escribió. Pedro didn’t write to them.

The indirect object pronoun with two verbs

If there are two verbs, the first one being a conjugated verb and the second one either
an infinitive or a present participle (ending in -ing: -ando, -iendo), there are two
possibilities, both entirely correct.

 The indirect object pronoun may be placed immediately before the conjugated verb

El mozo nos quiere servir agua. The waiter wants to serve us water.
Raúl me vino a dar una carta. Raúl came to give me a letter.
Ella te está haciendo un vestido. She is making a dress for you.

 The indirect object pronoun may be attached to the infinitive or to the present
participle

El mozo quiere servirnos agua. The waiter wants to serve us water.

Raúl vino a darme una carta. Raúl came to give me a letter.
Ella está haciéndote un vestido. She is making you a dress.

 In a negative sentence the negative word is placed before the first verb

Juan no te tiene que dar nada. Juan doesn’t have to give you anything.
Juan no tiene que darte nada. Juan doesn’t have to give you anything.

 The direct object pronoun before the auxiliary haber

The indirect object pronoun is always placed before the auxiliary verb haber in
compound tenses. It cannot be attached to the past participle nor placed between the
auxiliary verb and the past participle:

Juan me ha dicho la verdad. Juan has told me the truth.

Ellos te han traído dinero. They have brought you money.
El no nos ha llamado. He hasn’t called us.

Imperative Form (Commands) and Indirect Object Pronouns

Indirect object pronouns are attached to affirmative commands and are placed between
no and the verb in negative commands:

Danos el dinero. Give us the money.

No nos des el dinero. Do not give us the money.

Direct and Indirect Objects Used Together

In Spanish, as well as in English, an indirect object may precede or follow the direct
object:

Manuel le (IO) dio un auto (DO) a su hijo (IO). Manuel gave a car to his son.
Manuel le (IO) dio a su hijo (IO) un auto (DO). Manuel gave his son a car

When both the direct and the indirect object pronouns are used together in a sentence,
the position of the pronouns is the same as when direct and indirect object pronouns
appear individually.

 The indirect object pronoun always precedes the direct object pronoun

 Both pronouns are placed before a conjugated verb (here IOP stands for Indirect
Object Pronoun; DOP for Direct Object Pronoun):

Carlos compra flores para ti. Carlos buys flowers for you.
Carlos te (IOP) las (DOP) compra. Carlos buys them for you.

 Placement of direct and indirect object pronouns together, with two verbs

If there are two verbs, the first being a conjugated verb and the second one an
infinitive or a present participle - gerund (ending in -ando or -iendo), both pronouns are
placed either before the conjugated verb or attached to the infinitive or to the present
participle, whichever the case might be

Carlos quiere comprar flores para ti.
Carlos te las quiere comprar.
Carlos quiere comprártelas.
Carlos está comprando flores para ti.
Carlos te las está comprando.
Carlos está comprándotelas.
Carlos wants to buy flowers for you.
Carlos wants to buy them for you.
Carlos wants to buy them for you.
Carlos is buying flowers for you.
Carlos is buying them for you.
Carlos is buying them for you.

 Placement of direct and indirect object pronouns before haber

Both pronouns are placed before the auxiliary verb haber in compound tenses. They are
never attached to the infinitive in this case, nor placed between haber and the past
participle:

Carlos ha comprado flores para ti. Carlos has bought flowers for you.
Carlos te las ha comprado. Carlos has bought them for you.
(Incorrect:)
(Carlos ha te las comprado.) (Carlos ha comprádotelas.)

 When the indirect object pronoun changes to se

When both the direct object pronoun and the indirect object pronoun begin with the
letter l (e.g. les los, les la, le la, le los, etc.) , the indirect object pronoun changes to se
(se los, se la, se la, and se los, respectively).

Rules for the Position of Pronouns - examples

 Only one verb - If there is only one verb in the sentence, the two pronouns must be
placed before the verb:

Compré un lápiz para ti. I bought a pencil for you.

DOP: lo; IOP: te
Te lo compré. I bought it for you.

Pagué una cuenta para Tom. I paid a bill for Tom.

DOP: la; IOP: le
Se la pagué. I paid it for him.

Compramos libros para ellas. We bought books for them.

DOP: los; IOP: les
Se los compramos. We bought them for them.

 One verb + infinitive - If there are two verbs and the second one is an infinitive,
there are two possible ways of writing a correct sentence: the two pronouns may be
placed before the conjugated verb or attached to the infinitive:

Quiero traer un lápiz para ti. I want to bring you a pencil.

Te lo quiero traer. I want to bring it for you.
Quiero traértelo. I want to bring it for you.

Quiero pagar una cuenta para Tom. I want to pay a bill for Tom.
DOP: la; IOP: le
Se la quiero pagar. I want to pay it for him.
Quiero pagársela. I want to pay it for him.

Puedo comprar un libro para ellas. I can buy a book for them.
DOP: lo; IOP: les
Se lo puedo comprar. I can buy it for them.
Puedo comprárselo. I can buy it for them.
 One verb + present participle - If there are two verbs in the sentence and the
second one is a present participle, there are two possible ways to write a correct
sentence in Spanish: the pronouns may be placed before the conjugated verb or
attached to the present participle (gerund):

Estoy trayendo un lápiz para ti. I’m bringing you a pencil.

Te lo estoy trayendo. I’m bringing it for you.
Estoy trayéndotelo. I’m bringing it for you.

Estoy abriendo el negocio para él I am opening the store for him.

DOP: lo; IOP: le
Se lo estoy abriendo. I am opening it for him.
Estoy abriéndoselo. I am opening it for him.

 Haber + past participle - The only correct way to use two pronouns in a construction
with the auxiliary verb haber and a past participle is to place the pronouns before
the auxiliary verb:

He traído un lápiz para ti. I have brought you a pencil.

Te lo he traído. I have brought it for you.
No he traído un lápiz para ti. I have not brought you a pencil.
No te lo he traído. I have not brought it for you.

He hecho la tarea para Juana. I have done the task for Juana.
DOP: la; IOP: le
Se la he hecho. I have done it for her.

 Since the meaning of the pronoun se may be ambiguous when the sentence is out of
context, clarification such as the following may be added to the sentence:

para él a ellos para Tom

a ella para ellas a los estudiantes
para Ud. para Uds. para mi madre
Se los compré para/a él. I bought them for/from him.
Se las dimos a ellas. We gave them to them.
Se la (la lección) expliqué a los chicos. I explained it (the lesson) to the kids.
Se lo hicimos a Tom. We did it to Tom.