Download Indirect Object Pronouns

Indirect Object Pronouns
The indirect object (IO) tells us where the direct object (DO) is going.
He gives the book to María.
DO=Book
Where is the book going?
To María.
IO=María
He gives María the book.
DO=Book
Where is the book going?
To María.
IO=María
The indirect object answers the question "To whom?" or "For whom?" the action of the verb is
performed.
He gives María the book.
To whom does he give the book?
To María.
IO=María
He buys me flowers.
For whom does he buy the flowers?
For me.
IO=me
Sentences that have an indirect object usually also have a direct object. Remember, the IO tells
us where the DO is going. Notice how the sentences below just wouldn't work without a direct
object.
He gives María . . .
the book, the pen, the diamond, etc.
He buys me . . .
flowers, candy, an ironing board, etc.
Sometimes the direct object is not stated; rather it is implied, or understood.
My mother writes me every week.
DO=letter (understood)
IO=me
(My mother writes me a letter every week.)
She told him.
DO=it (understood)
IO=him
(She told it to him.)
To identify the indirect object use our two guidelines:
1. The IO tells us where the DO is going.
2. The IO answers the question "to whom?" or "for whom" the action of the verb is
performed.
When a pronoun takes the place of the name of the indirect object, use the following pronouns:
me (me)
te (you-familiar)
le (him, her, you-formal)
nos (us)
os (you-all-familiar)
les (them, you-all-formal)
In an affirmative statement with one verb, the indirect object pronoun comes immediately before
the conjugated verb.
Juan me compra un regalo.
John buys me a gift.
John buys a gift for me.
Juan te compra un regalo.
John buys you a gift.
John buys a gift for you.
Juan le compra un regalo.
John buys her a gift.
John buys a gift for her.
Juan nos compra un regalo.
John buys us a gift.
John buys a gift for us.
Juan os compra un regalo.
John buys you-all (familiar) a gift.
John buys a gift for you-all.
Juan les compra un regalo.
John buys them a gift.
John buys a gift for them.
Now, focus in on one part of each of the previous examples:
Juan me compra un regalo.
John buys (for) me a gift.
Juan te compra un regalo.
John buys (for) you a gift.
Juan le compra un regalo.
John buys (for) her a gift.
Juan nos compra un regalo.
John buys (for) us a gift.
Juan os compra un regalo.
John buys (for) you-all (familiar) a gift.
Juan les compra un regalo.
John buys (for) them a gift.
Let's extract the IO phrase and its English equivalent:
me compra
buys (for) me
te compra
buys (for) you
le compra
buys (for) her
nos compra
buys (for) us
os compra
buys (for) you-all
les compra
buys (for) them
Just like with the direct object, the indirect object presents a problem if one tries to translate
word-for-word:
Juan me compra un regalo.
John for me he buys a gift.
The key to learning to use the indirect object pronouns is the same as the key for direct object
pronouns. You must learn to think in phrases, not words. The phrases consist of a pronoun and a
conjugated verb. In the following examples, note that the IO remains the same, while the subject
of the phrase changes.
me compra
he buys me
me compran
they buy me
me compras
you buy me
The IO pronouns le and les present a special problem because they are ambiguous. That is, they
can stand for different things.
le
to (for) him
to (for) her
to (for) you-formal
les
to (for) them
to (for) you-all-formal
The following sentences, while grammatically correct, are ambiguous:
Ella le escribe una carta.
Ella les escribe una carta.
Out of context, there is no way we can know the meaning.
Ella le escribe una carta.
She writes him a letter.
She writes her a letter.
She writes you (formal) a letter.
Ella les escribe una carta.
She writes them a letter.
She writes you-all (formal) a letter.
Since le and les can mean more than one thing, a prepositional phrase is often added to remove
the ambiguity.
Ella le escribe a Juan una carta.
Ella le escribe a su hermana una carta.
Ella le escribe a usted una carta.
Ella les escribe a sus padres una carta.
Ella les escribe a ustedes una carta.
Sometimes a prepositional phrase is added not for clarity, but rather for emphasis.
Juan me da a mí el dinero.
John gives me the money.
(emphasizing that the money is given to me and not to someone else)
Juan te da a ti el dinero.
John gives you the money. (emphasis on you)
There is no ambiguity in the following sentence. It can only mean one thing.
Juan me da el dinero.
John gives me the money.
The addition of a prepositional phrase merely adds emphasis.
Juan me da a mí el dinero.
John gives me the money.
Let's sum up the important points of this lesson:
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The IO tells us where the DO is going.
The IO answers the question "to whom" or "for whom."
Sentences that have an IO usually also have a DO
Sometimes the DO is not stated, but rather is implied, or understood.
The IO pronouns are: me, te, le, nos, os, les.
Place the pronoun before the conjugated verb.



Think in phrases, do not translate word-for-word.
Le and les are ambiguous.
Prepositional phrases are often used for clarity and for emphasis.
To identify the indirect object use our two guidelines:
1. The IO tells us where the DO is going.
2. The IO answers the question "to whom?" or "for whom" the action of the verb is
performed.
When a pronoun takes the place of the name of the indirect object, use the following pronouns:
me (me)
te (you-familiar)
le (him, her, you-formal)
nos (us)
os (you-all-familiar)
les (them, you-all-formal)
In a negative statement with one verb, the indirect object pronoun comes between the negative
word and the conjugated verb.
Él no me compra nada.
He doesn't buy me anything.
He doesn't buy anything for me.
Ella no te trae el desayuno.
She doesn't bring you breakfast.
She doesn't bring breakfast for you.
No le mando a él la cuenta.
I don't send him the bill.
I don't send the bill to him.
Ellos no nos compran ningún regalo.
They don't buy us any gifts.
They don't buy any gifts for us.
Compare the affirmative statements with their negative counterparts.
Él me compra algo.
Él no me compra nada.
Ella te trae el desayuno.
Ella no te trae el desayuno.
Le mando a él la cuenta.
No le mando a él la cuenta.
Ellos nos compran regalos.
Ellos no nos compran ningún regalo.
Remember, don't translate word-for-word. Instead, think in terms of phrases, or concepts. "Ellos
no nos compran ningún regalo" contains 3 concepts:
1. ellos nos compran (they buy us)
2. regalo (gift)
3. no, ningún (make the sentence negative)
The key to learning to use the indirect object pronouns is the same as the key for direct object
pronouns. You must learn to think in phrases, not words. The phrases consist of a pronoun and a
conjugated verb. In the following examples, note that the IO remains the same, while the subject
of the phrase changes.
no me compra
he doesn't buy (for) me
no me compras
you don't buy (for) me
Remember, the IO pronouns le and les present a special problem because they are ambiguous.
That is, they can stand for different things.
le
to (for) him
to (for) her
to (for) you-formal
les
to (for) them
to (for) you-all-formal
The following sentences, while grammatically correct, are ambiguous:
Ella no le escribe una carta.
Ella no les escribe una carta.
Out of context, there is no way we can know the meaning.
Ella no le escribe una carta.
She doesn't write him a letter.
She doesn't write her a letter.
She doesn't write you (formal) a letter.
Ella no les escribe una carta.
She doesn't write them a letter.
She doesn't write you-all (formal) a letter.
Since le and les can mean more than one thing, a prepositional phrase is often added to remove
the ambiguity.
Ella no le escribe a Juan una carta.
Ella no le escribe a su hermana una carta.
Ella no le escribe a usted una carta.
Ella no les escribe a sus padres una carta.
Ella no les escribe a ustedes una carta.
Sometimes a prepositional phrase is added not for clarity, but rather for emphasis.
Juan no me da a mí el dinero.
John doesn't give me the money.
(emphasizing that the money is not given to me but rather to someone else)
Juan no te da a ti el dinero.
John doesn't give you the money. (emphasis on you)
There is no ambiguity in the following sentence. It can only mean one thing.
Juan no me da el dinero.
John doesn't give me the money.
The addition of a prepositional phrase merely adds emphasis.
Juan no me da a mí el dinero.
John doesn't give me the money.
Remember:

The IO tells us where the DO is going.








The IO answers the question "to whom" or "for whom."
In order for a sentence to have a IO, it must also have a DO.
Sometimes the DO is not stated, but rather is implied, or understood.
The IO pronouns are: me, te, le, nos, os, les.
In a negative sentence, place the pronoun between the negative word and the
conjugated verb.
Think in phrases, do not translate word-for-word.
Le and les are ambiguous.
Prepositional phrases are often used for clarity and for emphasis.
When a sentence has two verbs, the first verb is conjugated and the second verb remains in the
infinitive form.
poder
to be able
pagar
to pay
Puedo pagar diez pesos.
I am able to pay 10 pesos.
preferir
to prefer
hablar
to speak
Elena prefiere hablar español.
Elena prefers to speak Spanish.
In sentences with two verbs, there are two options regarding the placement of the indirect object
pronoun.
1. Place it immediately before the conjugated verb
2. Attach it directly to the infinitive
Here are examples of the indirect object pronoun placed before the conjugated verb:
Me necesitas dar un regalo.
You need to give me a gift.
Te necesito comprar un sombrero.
I need to buy you a hat.
Juan nos debe prestar el dinero.
Juan must lend us the money.
María le quiere alquilar a Juan el apartamento.
María wants to rent the apartment to Juan.
Here are examples of the indirect object pronoun attached directly to the infinitive:
Necesitas darme un regalo.
You need to give me a gift.
Necesito comprarte un sombrero.
I need to buy you a hat.
Juan debe prestarnos el dinero.
Juan must lend us the money.
María quiere alquilarle a Juan el apartamento.
María wants to rent the apartment to Juan.
Here are the two methods side by side. Neither method is "better" than the other.
Me necesitas dar un regalo.
Necesitas darme un regalo.
You need to give me a gift.
Te necesito comprar un sombrero.
Necesito comprarte un sombrero.
I need to buy you a hat.
Juan nos debe prestar el dinero.
Juan debe prestarnos el dinero.
Juan must lend us the money.
María le quiere alquilar a Juan el apartamento.
María quiere alquilarle a Juan el apartamento.
María wants to rent the apartment to Juan.
When reading or hearing sentences like these, you must learn to recognize whole groups of
words, rather than inspecting each word independently.
Me necesitas dar un regalo.
Me necesitas dar = You need to give me
Necesitas darme un regalo.
Necesitas darme = You need to give me
Te necesito comprar un sombrero.
Te necesito comprar = I need to buy you
Necesito comprarte un sombrero.
Necesito comprarte = I need to buy you