How To Use Direct And Indirect Object Pronouns

One problem many Spanish students have is related to direct and indirect object pronouns. First, it is hard to identify if a word or phrase is a direct or an indirect object. Then, we need to use the proper pronoun, and it’s not so simple since Spanish considers not only singular and plural but also the gender (feminine or masculine). Next, we have another problem: where do I place the pronouns? The word order is not the same as in English. Some students say, “Ok, this is too hard, I won’t use these pronouns ever!”

In this article, we will explain the difference between direct and indirect object, how to use the pronouns to replace them, and finally, where to place the pronouns in a sentence. I know you can do it! Please give it a try!

	DIRECT OBJECT (D.O)	INDIRECT OBJECT (I.O)
What is it?	It is the word or phrase which receives directly the action of the verb in a sentence. It can also refers to a person.	It is the word or phrase that tells us where the direct object is going.
Examples	I bought flowers. (Yo) compré flores. V D.O. She loves Luis. (Ella) ama a Luis. V D.O.	I bought flowers to my girlfriend. (Yo) compré flores a mi novia. verb D.O. I.O. * The flowers are going to “my girlfriend”
How can we replace them?	They can be replaced by the following pronouns: la, las, lo, los me, te, os, nos.	They can be replaced by the following pronouns: me, te, le (se), os, nos, les.
Examples	I bought flowers. I bought THEM. (Yo) compré flores. (Yo) LAS compré. Use LAS because the word “flowers” / “flores” is feminine and plural. She loves Luis. She loves HIM. (Ella) ama a Luis. (Ella) LO ama. Use LO because “Luis” is masculine and singular.	I bought flowers to my girlfriend. I bought flowers to HER. (Yo) compré flores a mi novia. (Yo) LE compré flores. Use LE because we are talking about 3rd person - singular. What if the flowers are for me? It would be: ME compré flores. TE compré flores. (for you) LE compré flores. (for him, for her, for you/ used - formal way) NOS compré flores. (for us) LES compré flores. (to them)

What if we want to replace both direct and indirect object?

First, we need to identify the direct and indirect object.
Then, we need to replace them with pronouns.
Let’s look at this sentence:

He bought flowers to us/ He bought us flowers.
Él compró flores para nosotros.

DIRECT OBJECT: flowers/ flores: LAS (feminine and plural)
INDIRECT OBJECT: to us/ NOS (1st person plural)

Remember that the order is INDIRECT OBJECT - DIRECT OBJECT:

Él NOS LAS compró.
I.O D.O

What if bought flowers to me?
It would be: ME LAS compró.
I.O D.O

What if they are for you?
TELAS compró.
I.O D.O

What if they are for her/ for him?
According to the rule, it would be:
LE LAS compró. (x)
But LE LAS doesn’t exist. LE changes into “SE”
So, the correct form would be:
SELAS compró.
I.O D.O

What if the flowers are for us?
NOSLAS compró.
I.O D.O

What if the flowers are for them?
Again, the rule says: LE LAS compró. (x) But LE LAS doesn’t exist. LE changes into “SE”
SELAS compró.
I.O D.O

Finally, where do pronouns are placed? In English direct object pronouns go after the verb.

They bought a house. They bought IT.
They want to buy a house. They want to buy IT.
They are buying a house. They are buying IT.
Buy a house! Buy IT!
Don’t buy the house! Don’t buy IT!