Direct and indirect pronouns

What you will practice

• Replace a direct object with lo, la, los, or las.
• Replace an indirect object with le or les.
• Put both pronouns before the verb, and change le lo to se lo.

Explanation

The direct object

A direct-object pronoun replaces the noun the verb acts on, and it matches gender and number. lo is masculine singular, la feminine singular, los masculine plural, and las feminine plural. Veo el libro becomes Lo veo. Compro la mesa becomes La compro. People use the same forms: Lo conozco means I know him, and La conozco means I know her. The pronoun stands before a conjugated verb. This lesson does not attach it to an infinitive or a command.

The pronoun chart

An indirect pronoun replaces the person something is given to. le means to him, to her, or to formal you. les means to them or to plural you. Neither form shows gender. Le doy el libro a Ana keeps the name and the pronoun. Plural people take les: Les doy el libro. The chart lists both sets. Do not use le for el libro. That direct object is lo.

Two pronouns together

The indirect pronoun comes first, then the direct one, before the conjugated verb. Ana me lo dio means Ana gave it to me. le and les cannot stand next to lo, la, los, or las. They become se, and the direct pronoun stays: Se lo di a Ana. se shows neither gender nor number, so the name can stay. Negation comes first: No me lo dio. Lo me dio is the wrong order.

Examples

1. Lo veo.I see him, or I see it.
2. La compro.I buy it. (feminine)
3. Le doy el libro.I give him or her the book.
4. Ana me lo dio.Ana gave it to me.
5. Se lo di a Ana.I gave it to Ana.

Common mistakes

• le lo is not a Spanish sequence. The normal form is se lo, as in Se lo di a Ana.
• A masculine thing as a direct object is lo, not le. Lo veo replaces el libro.