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Spanish Grammar - Indirect Object Pronouns

Spanish grammar lesson 21: Indirect Object Pronouns

Indirect objects generally indicate to whom or for whom is the verb's action, not the direct recipient of the verb's action (which is the direct object).

In the sentence, "Ella le envió una carta." (She sent him/her a letter), the indirect object pronoun is "le" (him or her).

In the sentence, "Nos dieron otra oportunidad." (They gave us another opportunity), the indirect object pronoun is "nos" (us).

Indirect Object Pronouns
Pronoun
Possible English Translations
me
me, to me, for me, from me, or less commonly, (in, on, or of me), or possesive
te
you-informal (with all possible variations as seen above)
le (se)
you-formal, him, her, it (with all possible variations as seen above)
nos
us, to us, for us, from us, or less commonly, (in, on, or of us), or possesive
os
you-plural-informal-Spain (with all possible variations as seen above)
les (se)
you-plural, them (with all possible variations as seen above)

Note: As hinted in the table above, sometimes "se" needs to be substituted for "le" or "les." This is necessary when "le" or "les" precedes a third person direct object pronoun (ie: those that begin with the letter "L"). For example, if we want to say, "She gave it (the shirt, la camisa) to her," we cannot say "le la" together, but we can say, "Se la dió." (She gave it to her.)

The indirect object pronoun is positioned before the verb when the verb is conjugated (as seen above), but is placed after (and connected to) the verb when the verb is in the infinitive or imperative (giving an order). However, if the infinitive verb is preceded by a separate conjugated verb, then the indirect object pronoun can be positioned first. All of the following sentences are correct:

Antes de prepararte la comida, voy a limpiar el sartén. (Before preparing the food for you, I am going to clean the frying pan.)

¡Dale el juguete! (Give him/her the toy!)

Te voy a dar un regalo. (I am going to give you a present.)

Voy a darte un regalo. (I am going to give you a present.)

An indirect object pronoun always comes after a reflexive and before a direct object pronoun. Remember this order by using the acronym RID (reflexive, indirect, direct.)

Exercise: Read carefully, listen to, and repeat aloud the following sentences. Try to identify the indirect object pronouns, and note how they are being translated using the table above.

Les mostraron el plan.

(They showed them the plan.) Note: This also may be translated, "They showed the plan to them."

Le compré una pelota.

(I bought him a ball.) Note: This also may be translated, "I bought a ball for him."

Le sacaron la bala.

(They removed the bullet from him/her.)

Si los neumáticos están desinflados, póngales aire.

(If the tires are flat, put air in them.)

Necesito limpiarte la herida.

(I need to clean your wound.) Note: Here the translation is done using a possesive pronoun.

Si la herida está expuesta, le pondré crema antibiótica.

(If the wound is exposed, I will put antibiotic cream on it.)

El perro te tiene miedo.

(The dog is afraid of you.)

Se lo digo otra vez, esta ciudad tiene demasiado crimen.

(I tell you it again, this city has too much crime.)

Me duele oírlo.

(It hurts me to hear it.) Note: To help understand why this is an indirect object, this could be translated as, "...causes pain to me."

Nos encantan las flores.

(We love the flowers.) Note: To help understand why this is an indirect object, this could be translated as, "...cause delight in us."

Les va a interesar.

(It is going to interest them.) Note: To help understand why this is an indirect object, this could be translated as, "...be interesting to them."

 

 

See also Section 3 - "Gustar"

 

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