Spanish direct and indirect object pronouns

If you are just starting to learn Spanish, you may have noticed that many syntactic functions are somewhat complicated at first glance, such as the Spanish direct and indirect objects. Although these pronouns can create confusion and at first glance you may not be able to tell them apart, but with a little practice you will be able to understand how they work and how to distinguish between them.

Therefore, in this article you will find the necessary keys to differentiate the direct and indirect object pronouns in Spanish, how to use each of them and when. Don't miss anything and keep learning Spanish with don Quijote!

You can also read this article in Spanish or Italian.

What is a direct object pronoun in Spanish?

The Spanish direct object is the person, animal or thing on which the action of the verb directly falls. Therefore, this object complements the meaning of the verb since it designates the entity that receives the action.

In addition, the Spanish direct object is constructed without a preposition. It only takes the preposition “a” in certain cases, when it is a person or is personified. For example: “María pasea al perro todas las mañana” (Mary walks the dog every morning).

You may find an example sentence in which the Spanish direct object is replaced by a pronoun. This is one way to identify the direct object in a sentence.

For example: “Sara compra una manzana” (Sara buys an apple) -> “Sara la compra” (Sara buys it). In this sentence “una manzana” (an apple) is the Spanish direct object and is replaced by “la”.

What is an indirect object pronoun in Spanish?

On the other hand, the Spanish indirect object receives the verbal action in an indirect or secondary way. Thus, according to the meaning of the verb, the Spanish indirect object refers to the person, animal or thing that is benefited or harmed by the action; or that is the addressee of the action.

Moreover, the indirect object in Spanish is always preceded by the prepositions “a” or “para” and can be replaced with the pronouns “le” or “les”. For example:

“Luis escribe una carta a su tía” (Luis writes a letter to his aunt) -> Luis le escribe una carta (Luis writes a letter to her). In this example “a su tía” (to his aunt) is the Spanish indirect object and can be replaced by “le”.

Differences between Spanish direct and indirect objects

Both direct and indirect objects in Spanish are complements of the verb, but their difference lies in the information they provide about the action they express. Therefore, the Spanish direct object directly receives the action of the verb, and the Spanish indirect object is the addressee of the action.

Another difference between these two complements is that each one affects a type of verb in the Spanish sentence structure. The Spanish direct object only appears in transitive verbs, while the Spanish indirect object can be attached to both transitive and intransitive verbs, although it is not always necessary.

In addition, both complements can appear together in the same sentence, but this does not always have to be the case. But, as a rule, you will find one or the other, so knowing how to tell them apart is vital.

Here are some tricks to help you distinguish whether it is a Spanish direct or indirect object in a sentence:

• Pronominal substitution. The Spanish direct object can be replaced by the pronouns “lo”, “la”, “los” or “las”. While the Spanish indirect object can be replaced by “le” or “les”.
• Transform the sentence to passive voice. If we change the sentence from active to passive voice, the Spanish direct object becomes the subject of the passive, while the Spanish indirect object does not change its function.
• Asking the verb “Qué” or “A quién”. Another trick is to ask the verb of the sentence what happens (qué) or to whom (a quién) the action happens. This way, you will be able to find out whether the object is direct or indirect.
• Double pronoun “se”. If both objects are used in a sentence, the Spanish indirect pronoun will always change to “se”, while the Spanish direct pronoun will remain “la” or “lo”.

Examples of Spanish direct object

Here are some examples of sentences with Spanish direct object:

• Compré una casa (I bought a house)
• Leí un libro interesante (I read an interesting book)
• Juan pintó un cuadro hermoso (Juan painted a beautiful painting)
• Vimos una película en el cine ayer (We saw a movie at the cinema yesterday)
• Rompí un plato por accidente (I broke a plate by accident)
• Estudié matemáticas toda la tarde (I studied mathematics all afternoon)
• Limpiaron la cocina después de la cena (Cleaned the kitchen after dinner)
• Escribí un poema para mi abuela (I wrote a poem for my grandmother)
• Cocinamos una pizza para la fiesta (We cooked a pizza for the party)
• Bebimos agua después de correr (Drank water after a run)

Examples of Spanish indirect object

Here are some examples of sentences with Spanish indirect objects:

• Escribí una carta a mi amiga (I wrote a letter to my friend)
• Pedro regaló flores a su madre (Pedro gave flowers to his mother)
• Le expliqué la lección a los estudiantes (I explained the lesson to the students)
• Preparé un café para mi padre (I made coffee for my father)
• Conté una historia a los niños (I told a story to the children)
• Siempre digo la verdad a mis padres (I always tell the truth to my parents)
• Le enviaron un paquete a María (Sent a package to Maria)
• Pedimos ayuda al profesor (We asked the teacher for help)
• Mostré las fotos a mis amigos (I showed the pictures to my friends)
• Compré regalos para mi sobrino (I bought presents for my nephew)

If you want to practice finding the differences and learn to identify the Spanish direct and indirect objects, you can do it with the examples above. Also, you can use the trick of substituting for pronouns and find out what type of complement it is.

In the sentences you will see below, you will find some examples above with the substituted pronouns and with the questions to the verb.

• Yo compré una casa -> Yo la compré (¿Qué compré?) -- (I bought it. What did I buy?)
• Le expliqué la lección a los estudiantes -> Les expliqué la lección (¿A quién expliqué la lección?) – (I explained the lesson to them. To whom did I explain the lesson?)
• Juan pintó un cuadro hermoso - > Juan lo pintó (¿Qué pintó Juan?) – (Juan painted it. What did Juan paint?)
• Preparé un café para mi padre -> Le preparé un café (¿Para quién preparé un café?) – (I prepared a coffee for him. Who did I prepare a coffee for?)
• Vimos una película en el cine ayer -> La vimos en el cine ayer (¿Qué vimos en el cine ayer?) – (We saw it at the cinema yesterday. What did we see at the cinema yesterday?)
• Conté una historia a los niños -> Les conté una historia (¿A quién conté una historia?) – (I told them a story. To whom did I tell a story?)

As you may have seen, in some of the previous sentences there are two objects, one direct and one indirect, and in all cases, both can be substituted at the same time. For example: “Conté una historia a los niños” (I told a story to the children) - > Se la conté (I told it to them). In this case, the Spanish indirect object “a los niños” becomes “se”, while the Spanish direct object “una historia” becomes “la”.

Although you may think it is complicated, with a little practice you will be able to differentiate the Spanish direct object pronouns from the indirect one without any problems. And if you have more doubts, you can consult with a qualified teacher in one of our Spanish courses. Come and live a unique and unforgettable experience with donQuijote while you learn Spanish in Spain and master the identification of complements in Spanish.