5.D Indirect and direct object pronouns
Pronouns
All pronouns (direct, indirect, and double object pronouns) can be placed in three places:
- before the conjugated verb
- attached to the infinitive
- attached to the progressive (ando, iendo, yendo)
- when you attach double object pronouns to the infinitive and to the progressive you need to add an accent mark.
Now, let’s review how each is used:
Direct object pronouns
What is a direct object pronoun? A direct object (D.O.) is used instead of or to replace the noun. this could be for a person or thing that is directly affected by the action expressed by the verb.;
| Me to/for me | Nos to/for us |
| Te to/for you (informal) | Os to/for you (informal plural) |
| Lo masculine/singular noun | Los masculine/plural noun |
| La feminine/singular noun | Las feminine/singular noun |
Voy a comer tacos
In this sentence, the noun is tacos. Tacos is masculine and it is plural so the D.O. would be los
Los voy a comer. (1. before a conjugated verb)
Voy a comerlos. (2. attached to the infinitive)
Indirect object pronouns
What is an indirect object pronoun? An indirect object (I.D) is the part of the sentence that answers for whom or to whom something is done. This part of the sentence can be replaced with an indirect object pronoun. The indirect object pronouns are as follows;
| me to/for me | nos to/for us |
| te to/for you (informal) | os to/for you (informal plural) |
| le to/for you (formal singular), him, her | les to/for you plural, them |
Double Object pronouns
Double-object pronouns follow the same placement rules learned previously.
The structure when using double object pronouns is the following:
| FIRST: Indirect object pronouns | SECOND: Direct object pronouns |
The indirect object pronoun is placed before the direct object pronoun.
- If the indirect object pronouns le and les are followed by the direct object pronouns lo, la, los and las, le and less will change to se.
Voy a comprar un coche a josé
| Se lo voy a comprar |
| Voy a comprár |
Voy a comprárselo |