Spanish Direct Object Nouns and Pronouns

What they are and how to use them

Los pronombres de objeto

directo

Direct objects can be

nouns, e.g., people,
places, things, ideas,
etc. or pronouns that
receive the action of
the verb. This is true in
English and in Spanish.

Los pronombres de objeto

directo
English Direct Object
Pronouns
me
you
him, her, it

us
them

Pronombres de objeto
directo en espaol
me
te
lo, la

nos
os
los, las

Los pronombres de objeto

directo
I read the book.
I read it.

(Yo) Leo el libro.

(Yo) Lo leo.

Who or what do I read? The book! El libro!

The book/it receives the action of the verb.
In Spanish, the direct object pronoun usually
goes
before the conjugated verb.

Los pronombres de objeto

directo

You buy the food.

You buy it.

(T) Compras la
comida.
(T) La compras.

Who or what do you buy? The food! La

comida!
The food/it receives the action of the verb.
So, in Spanish, where does the direct object
pronoun usually go? It goes before the

Los pronombres de objeto

directo

She does it (an

activity--no gender)
often.

Ella) Lo hace a
menudo.

Who or what do she do? An activity (no

gender)
The activity/it receives the action of
the verb.
So, in Spanish, where does the direct
object pronoun usually go?

Los pronombres de objeto

directo

Do you love me?

Of course, I love
you!

(T) Me quieres?
Claro que (yo) te quiero!

Los pronombres de objeto

directo
Lo queremos, Sr.
Smith!

La queremos
tambin, Sra. Smith
The direct object to replace the Ud. form of you
is lo or la depending on
the gender of the person that Ud. refers to.

We love you, Mr. Smith!

We love you, too, Mrs.
Smith

Los pronombres de objeto

directo

I love my children.
I love them.

Amo a mis hijos.

Los amo.

My children are specific people and

the direct object of the verb love,
so I need a before the direct object noun mis
hijos.
But, there is NO personal a before
direct object pronouns.

Los pronombres de objeto

directo

Likewise, there is
NO personal a
after the verbs
ser, tener or
hay.

Son mis amigos

Porfirio y Paloma.
Tienen tres hijos.
Hay cinco nietos
en su familia: Paco,
Pedro, Pancha,
Pepe y Pilar.

Los pronombres de objeto

directo

Personified items

Countries
Extrao

a mi
Mxico querido.

Pets
Amamos

a nuestro
perrito Spike.

Depersonified People

When referring to
indefinite, non-specific,
or anonymous people,
we
do not use a personal a.
Busco

un carpintero.
Necesitamos unos
maestros para las clases.

Los pronombres de objeto directo

con el presente
continuo
English Direct Object Pronombres de objeto
Pronouns
directo en espaol
me
you
him, her, it

us
them

me
te
lo, la

nos
os
los, las

Los pronombres de objeto

directo
con el presente continuo

In Spanish, there are two

possible places to put the
direct object pronoun in a
present progressive sentence.

Example 1:

(T) Me ests llamando.

Example 2:

(T) Ests llamndome.

Los pronombres de objeto

directo
con el presente continuo

Example 1:

(T) Me ests
llamando.

In Example 1, the direct

object pronoun me is
before the conjugated
verb, ests.

Example 2:

(T) Ests
llamndome.

In Example 2, the direct

object pronoun me is
connected to the
present participle
llamando.

Los pronombres de objeto

directo
con el presente continuo

Note:
If the direct object pronoun is attached to the
present participle, an accent mark must be
placed over the a in the -ando ending, or the e
in -iendo. (llamndome, llamndote, etc.
(barrindolo, abriendolas, etc.)

Los pronombres de objeto

directo
con el presente continuo

Note:
By attaching the pronoun, you are adding another
syllable to the end of the word.
By adding an accent mark to the -ando or -iendo
ending, the stress will still be on the same syllable as
usual.
Remember to put the accent mark over the strong
vowel in the dipthong (a or e).

Los pronombres de objeto directo

con el presente
continuo
English Direct Object Pronombres de objeto
Pronouns
directo en espaol
me
you
him, her, it

us
them

me
te
lo, la

nos
os
los, las

Los pronombres de objeto

directo
con los infinitivos
In Spanish, there are
two possible places to
put the direct object
pronoun in a sentence
with an infinitive.

Los pronombres de objeto

directo
con los infinitivos

Example 1:

(T) Me vas a
llamar.
In

Example 1, the
direct object
pronoun me is
before the
conjugated verb,

Example 2:

(T) Vas a
llamarme.
In

Example 2, the
direct object
pronoun me is
connected to the
infinitive llamar.

Los pronombres de objeto

directo
con los infinitivos

Example 3:

(Yo) Lo puedo
hacer.
In

Example 3, the
direct object
pronoun me is
before the
conjugated verb,

Example 4:

(Yo) Puedo
hacerlo.
In

Example 4, the
direct object
pronoun me is
connected to the
infinitive hacer.

Los pronombres de objeto

directo
con los infinitivos

Example 5:

(l) Lo quiere
comprar.
In

Example 3, the
direct object
pronoun me is
before the
conjugated verb,

Example 6:

(l) Quiere
comprarlo.
In

Example 4, the
direct object
pronoun me is
connected to the
infinitive comprar.

Los pronombres de objeto

directo
con los infinitivos

Note:
It is NOT necessary to add an accent mark to the infinitive.
ALL direct object pronouns end in either a vowel or the letter
s.
According to the rules of Spanish pronunciation, when a
word ends in a vowel, an n, or an s, the second to the last
syllable gets stressed. This would put the stress then, on the
infinitive ending (ar, er, ir) which is the way infinitives are to
be pronounced.

EL FIN

Presented by Rita Simons Santiago