Spanish direct object pronouns
Direct object pronouns (pronombres de objeto directo ) replace a direct object, which is a noun that receives the action of a verb.
Example:
- Mauricio prepara el bizcocho. (Mauricio prepares the sponge cake.):
- Mauricio lo prepara. (Mauricio prepares it.)
Lesson Outline
Hide- 1.Direct object pronoun forms
- 2.Use
- 3.Placement
- 3.1.Placement in commands
- 3.2.Placement with infinitive forms
- 3.3.Placement with gerund forms
- 4.Exercises
- 4.1.Spanish direct object pronouns - Answer the questions
- 4.2.Spanish direct object pronouns practice quiz
- 4.3.Spanish direct object pronoun placement - Fill in the blanks
Direct object pronoun forms
| Pronoun | English translation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| me | me | José me extraña. (Juan misses me.) |
| te | you | No te ví en la reunión. (I do not see you at the meeting.) |
| lo* | him, it (masc.), you (form.) | Lo cociné yo anoche. (I cooked it last night.) |
| la | her, it (fem.), you (form.) | La necesito ahora. (I need her now.) |
| nos | us | Nos invitaron a su boda. (They invited us to their wedding.) |
| os | you | Os espero en Málaga. (I will wait for you in Malaga.) |
| los | them (masc.), you (form.) | Los compré en una tienda muy barata de Valencia. (I bought them in a very cheap shop in Valencia.) |
| las | them (fem.), you (form.) | Las respecto muchísimo. (I respect them a lot.) |
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* In some parts of Spain, you may hear LE instead of lo when the object is a man.
Example:
Ví a Pablo: Le ví ayer. OR Lo ví ayer. (I saw him yesterday.)
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Use
As in English, direct object pronouns refer to something or someone previously mentioned.
They avoid repetition.
Examples:
Echo mucho de menos a mi madre. La necesito ahora. (I miss my mother so much. I need her now.)
Placement
Direct object pronouns generally precede verbs (both simple and compound ones).
Examples:
- Has visto mi falda? La has visto? (Have you seen my skirt? Have you seen it?)
- No, no la he visto. (No, I haven't seen it.)
Anyway, direct object pronoun placement depends on the conjugated form of the verb.
Pay attention to the following cases:
- negative and affirmative commands
- infinitive
- gerund
1. Placement in commands
With negative commands, the pronoun precedes the verb which refers to the command.
Example:
¡No pintes la pared! ¡No la pintes! (Don't paint the wall! Don't paint it!)
With affirmative commands, attach the pronoun to the verb which indicates the command.
Example:
¡Ponte la bufanda! ¡Póntela*! (Put your scarf on! Put it on!)
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* If the stressed syllable of the verb is the next-to-last one (not counting the pronoun), add the accent mark
2. Placement with infinitive forms
When used with infinitive forms, the pronoun occurs after the verb and it is attached to it.
Example:
Llamarlo no me da vergüenza. (Calling him does not make me feel embarassed.)
When in addition to the infinitive there is another verb form, the pronoun may occur before or after the infinitive.
Example:
- ¿Vas a comprar un nuevo abrigo? (Are you going to buy a new overcoat?)
- Sí, lo voy a comprar. (Yes, I am going to buy it.)
- Sí, voy a comprarlo. (Yes, I am going to buy it.)
3. Placement with gerund forms
When used with gerund forms, the pronoun occurs after the verb and it is attached to it.
Example:
- ¿Habéis hecho los deberes? (Have you done your homework?)
- No, estamos haciendolos ahora mismo. (No, we are doing it right now.)
When in addition to the gerund there is another verb form, the pronoun may occur before or after the gerund.
Example:
- Juan te está regalando un ramo de flores. (Juan is giving a bouquet of flowers to you.)
- Juan te lo está regalando. (Juan is giving it to you.)
- Juan te está regalandolo. (Juan is giving it to you.)
Exercises
- Spanish direct object pronouns - Answer the questions
- Spanish direct object pronouns practice quiz
- Spanish direct object pronoun placement - Fill in the blanks
Spanish direct object pronouns - Answer the questions
Spanish direct object pronouns practice quiz
Spanish direct object pronoun placement - Fill in the blanks
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Brandon .
Elena is an excellent teacher and a very nice person. I have been training in Spanish with Elena for quite some time now after her being recommended to me by a friend, and have consistently been very pleased with our lessons. While I do not consider myself to be very good at learning foreign languages, Elena is very patient and adapts the lessons to my ability, making me feel at ease. In fact, I find her to be extremely skilled at assessing exactly where I am at any given time with respect to my individual learning situation, and structuring the lessons accordingly. I think I probably would have given up trying to learn Spanish had I not began my study with Elena; and that would have been a shame considering where I am now with the language. Because of Elena's skilled help, I am extremely pleased to not only be conversant in basic Spanish, but also have confidence that I will one day reach full proficiency with the language. No other learning method I tried before meeting Elena compares to the one-on-one, personalized instruction I receive from her, which comprises reading; writing; developmental exercises; and most importantly, conversation. To be able to look at Spanish now and have it appear largely familiar is extremely satisfying. I even plan to study Italian with Elena after reaching my desired level in Spanish. These are not things I ever imagined would occur at the beginning stages of my studies. I am a native English speaker and find Elena's English to be excellent. She had no difficulty instructing me from the very beginning levels where it was necessary that a lot of English be spoken in our lessons, to where we are now with much less English being spoken. The friend who recommended Elena to me learned Dutch from her, and is equally pleased with their experience. I would not hesitate to learn from Elena any of the languages she teaches. I give Elena my highest recommendations and thank her for all the help she has provided me.
Elena P.
Thank you for your feedback, Brandon! I am very happy to know that you are so satisfied with the lessons. I've always believed that you could make it and I am glad that we never gave it up. The right attitude and a high level of perseverance have been the keys to your success. It has been a pleasure to be your guide in your learning process. I know that you can do much more, so let's continue towards a next level!
An D.
Hands down one of the best teachers I've had the pleasure of working with. Very knowledgeable in all aspects of Bulgarian (grammar rules, expressions, ...) but also in both English and French, which helps whenever you have a more in-depth question on the how or why something is the way it is in Bulgarian. Furthermore he has his own material and always comes prepared, but he is equally open to changing the subject of a lesson to suit your needs. He is patient, positive and not too scholarly, which is what you need as an adult learning day- to- day Bulgarian.I have been working with him for 18 months now and still look forward to our lessons every week.
Zlatko Z.
An's Bulgarian has tremendously improved since she gave it go a year and a half ago. Of course, It goes without saying that I am pleased to work with such an enthusiastic learner who is living proof that, through hard work and perseverance, everyone can succeed in their language goals. An, you are now an independant user of the language who is able to successfully lead real-live conversations. Pat yourself on the back.
Again a lesson full of fun anf full of learning opportunities. I really like Angels patience and ability to adapt to my learning process.
Angel S.
This student is one of the best ones I ever had in my long teaching career. She is always so diligent and willing to learn more and more. I am so happy to work with her and see the immense progress she has made since we first started working together. Thank you Silke!
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I would highly recommend Tove. Her lessons are fantastic and I learn exactly what I'm interested in. Tove is very friendly, our chemistry goes well together and I really enjoy being tought by her.
Tove K.
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We are an Italian family residing in France for 3 months, we have two 10 year old children who have just started attending CM1. We asked Natalia to give the children two lessons a week to speed up their learning. We are super happy with the choice. Nous sommes une famille italienne résidant en France depuis janvier, nous avons deux enfants de 10 ans qui viennent de commencer la CM1. Nous avons demandé à Natalia de leur donner deux leçons par semaine pour accélérer leur apprentissage. Nous sommes super contents de Natalia. We are an Italian family living in France since 3 months, we have two 10 year old children who have just started attending CM1. We asked Natalia to give the kids two lessons a week to speed up their learning. We are super happy with this choice.
Natalia L.
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Daniela V.
Dear Hilde, thank you very much for your words. I'm glad you are satisfied with our time together. I will continue to do my best to make you practice your beautiful Italian in a cheerful and peaceful way :-)
Danilo G.
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Corinne P.
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Fabia F.
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Megan L.
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THEANO G.
Σ' ευχαριστώ πολύ Μέγκαν! I'm glad you had a good experience and that you enjoyed it. Your excitment about learning greek motivates me even more :)
Paola .
Marissa is a very professional teacher who can put the student at ease. It is precise, effective and oriented towards achieving the objectives: highly recommended.
Marissa F.
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Luisa A.
Dear Martin thank you so much ! It's my pleasure taking class with you. And thanks a lot for your suggestion about Us movies ( Just Mercy) or Us books
Alba B.
I had my first lesson a couple of days ago and everything went super good!
Karin was attentive, transmiting her positivism and helping me with every doubt I had.
She really focus on teaching how to pronounce and talk a language, so this is really interesting for me, to practise it & be able to use it in my day by day.
I really recommend her to everyone willing to learn a new language :)
Karin L.
Hi Alba! Thank you so much for your wonderful review! I enjoyed our class too & I wish you the best of luck with all your future projects :-)
Chiara M.
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Silvia C.
Thank you so much for the Chiara review! It was a real pleasure to have this lesson with you. I wish you a nice trip with the German language!
Remark T.
The lesson with Celia was perfect! She was puntcual, kind and her teaching method is effective and funny.
She started the class with some "games" to get to know eachother and then we discussed about an article she provided. The time of the class passed really fast and I learned new vocabulary.
Absolutely raccomended.
Celia S.
Thank you so much, Remark! I´m happy to know you enjoyed our lesson and I´m looking forward to having more in the near future! Cheers!
Silvia B.
Ekaterina writes new words and sentences learnt during the lesson. She has got a very nice attitude and great accent! A pleasure to work with... yes, even in German!!!!!
Ekaterina V.
Dear Silvia, thank you very much for your feedback! It's a real pleasure to have classes with you, and I hope you find them useful!