Object Pronouns

Earlier in the course, you learned how to use subject pronouns in Spanish. In this lesson, you'll learn how to use object pronouns.

Demonstrative pronouns are covered in the lesson Demonstrative Pronouns. Possessive pronouns are convered in the lesson Possessive Pronouns.

First we'll start with a short conversation in Spanish between Sofía and Ana when they are in a clothing store.

Conversations

Listen to the following conversation between Sofía and Ana as they are deciding on which clothes to buy.

Clothing Store

Español

Ana necesita una camisa nueva, así que ella y Sofía entran en una tienda de ropa.

Sofía: Esta camiseta es muy bonita.

Ana: Sí, pero es demasiado pequeño.

Sofía ¿Qué tal esta blusa?

Ana: No me gusta el color.

Sofía: Estas camisetas están de oferta y son muy baratas.

Ana: Me gusta la camisa azul y la roja.

Sofía: Creo que quiero comprar una de estas camisas también.

Ana: ¿Qué color te gusta?

Sofía: Me gusta la camisa blanca.

Ana: Vamos a comprarlos.

English

Ana needs a new shirt, so she and Sofía walk into a clothing store.

Sofía: This t-shirt is very nice.

Ana: Yeah, but it's too small.

Sofía: How about this blouse?

Ana: I don't like the colour.

Sofía: These shirts are on sale and they are very cheap.

Ana: I like the blue shirt and the red shirt.

Sofía: I think I want to buy one of these shirts too.

Ana: Which color do you like?

Sofía: I like the white shirt.

Ana: Let's go buy them.

Pronouns

There are three types of personal pronouns in Spanish: subject pronouns, object pronouns, and prepositional pronouns. Subject pronouns were already covered earlier in the course. In this lesson, we'll learn about object pronouns and prepositional pronouns.

Subject and Object of a Sentence

The subject of the sentence is who or what the sentence is about. This can be a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase. The subject is doing the action in a sentence.

The direct object of a sentence is the noun or pronoun that is receiving the action. The indirect object in a sentence receives the direct object. Only certain verbs require indirect objects. Not all sentences have direct objects or indirect objects, but a sentence that has an indirect object, it also needs to have a direct object.

In English, if there is an indirect object in a sentence, it usually comes before the direct object. If you want to put the indirect object after the direct object, you need to put to before the inderect object. Some examples will help clear this up. The subject in these examples is in red, the direct object is in blue, and the indirect object is in orange.

I saw her.

I gave her the keys.

I gave the keys to her.

An object pronoun is the the form of a pronoun to use when it is the object of a sentence.

Pronoun Summary

The following table lists the subject, object, and indirect object forms of Spanish pronouns.

Spanish Subject	Object	Indirect Object	English
yo	me	me	I
tú	te	te	you (one person informal)
usted	lo, la	le	you (one person formal)
él	lo	le	he, it
ella	la	le	she, it
nosotros, nosotras	nos	nos	we
vosotros, vosotras	os	os	you (plural informal)
ustedes	los, las	les	you (plural polite)
ellos, ellas	las, los	les	they

Object Pronoun Placement

Object pronouns usually precede the main verb of a sentence. For example, Te veo (I see you). When the main verb is followed by an infinitive or gerund, the object pronoun can either come before the main verb or be attached to the infinitive or gerund. For example, Los quiero ayudar or Quiero ayudarlos (I want to help them). When attaching an object pronoun to a gerund, an accent mark is often required to preserve the original stress. For example, Estoy leyéndolo (I am reading it).

When both an indirect and a direct object pronoun are in a sentence, the indirect pronoun normally comes first, followed by the direct pronoun. For example, Me lo envió (He sent it to me). If the indirect pronoun is le or les and the direct pronoun begins with l (lo, la, los, las), then le and les are replaced with se. For example, Le di el libro becomes Se lo di (I gave it to him/her).

Examples

Pronouns can be difficult to master in Spanish. Here are some examples of how to use pronouns correctly. Remember that Spanish subject pronouns are often dropped in a sentence.

Soy yo.	It's me.
Son ellos.	It's them.
¿Qué haces mañana?	What are you doing tomorrow? (Speaking to one friend or family member)
¿Qué hacéis mañana?	What are you doing tomorrow? (Speaking to more than one friend and/or family member)
¿Me puede usted ayudar?	Can you help me? (Speaking to a stranger)
Los oímos.	We hear them.
El gato nos ve.	The cat sees us.
¿Viste la película?	Did you see the film?
No veo a tu padre en la cocina.	I don't see your father in the kitchen.
Los vi en el parque.	I saw them at the park.
¿Lo quieres?	Do you want it?
Aquí está una taza. ¿Quieres tenerla?	Here is a cup. Do you want to have it?
Aquí está el libro. ¿Quieres tenerlo?	Here is the book. Do you want to have it?
Hay la cuchara. Ponla en la mesa.	There is the spoon. Put it on the table.
Te dijo la verdad.	He told you the truth.
Dígame lo que es.	Tell me what it is.
Acabo de conocerle.	I just met him.

Pronouns After a Preposition

When following a preposition, pronouns have the form shown in the following table. Note: yo and tú are used instead of mí and ti for a few prepositions such as entre and según, and when more than one pronoun is used.

Spanish	English
mí	me
ti	you (singular informal)
usted	you (singular formal)
él	him, it
ella	her, it
nosotros, nosotras	we
vosotros	you (plural informal)
ustedes	you (plural formal)
ellos, ellas	they

Examples

El regalo es para mí.	The gift is for me.
El regalo es para ti.	The gift is for you.
El libro es para él.	The book is for him.
La mesa está entre tú y yo.	The table is between you and me.

Pronouns After Con

The preposition con has a few special forms: conmigo (with me), contigo (with you familiar), and consigo (with himself, with herself, with yourself, with themselves).

Examples

Ellos fueron con nosotros.	They went with us.
¿Puedo ir contigo?	Can I go with you? (informal)
¿Puedo ir con usted?	Can I go with you? (polite or formal)
Él está enojado conmigo.	He is angry with me.
Ella está enojada con él.	She is angry with him.
Ella está enojada consigo.	She is angry with herself.

Flashcards

Here are some flashcards to help you learn the Spanish object pronouns.

Practice Questions

Here are some questions to help you learn Spanish object pronouns. Use the familiar forms of you.

Progress

Chapter 8