GRAMÁTICA

Indirect Object

Pronouns

(pronombres de complemento

indirecto)

What is an indirect object?

The indirect object (IO) tells us where the direct object (DO) is going.

He gives the flowers to María. Where are the flowers going? To María IO = María

They left the bread at home. Who did this happen to? To them IO = They

The indirect object may also be based on whom the event happened to.

What is an indirect object? (continued)

The indirect object answers the question “to whom?” or “for whom?” the action of the verb is performed.

He gives the flowers to Sarah.

To whom does he give the flowers?

To Sarah.

IO = Sarah

He bought the flowers for me.

For whom did he buy the flowers?

For me.

IO = me

Using indirect object pronouns

In order for a sentence to have an indirect object, it must first have a direct object. Remember, the IO tells us where the DO is going.

He gives María...

the flowers, the candy, the card, the diamond

He buys me...

the book, the ring, the car, the dog

Sometimes the DO is not stated; rather it is implied, or understood.

My mother writes me every week.

DO = letter (understood) IO =

me

Indirect Object Pronouns

When the pronoun replaces the name of the indirect object, use the following pronouns:

me us

you (fam.)

him

her

it

you (form.)

them

you (pl.)

Vamos a practicar- Indirect Object Pronouns

Which indirect object pronoun would you use to talk about the following things?

1. Tu mejor amiga 5. yo

2. Adriana 6. Mr. Hammerle

3. Paco y Michael 7. Kelly y su hermano

4. Julia, Raul y yo 8. tú

le

le

les

nos

me

le

les

te

Indirect Object Pronouns (continued)

In a statement with one verb, the indirect object pronoun comes immediately before the conjugated verb.

Juan buys you a dog.

IO = te

Juan te compra un perro.

The pronoun te comes immediately before the verb compra.

The pronoun nos comes immediately before the verb compra.

Juan buys us a dog.

IO = nos

Juan nos compra un perro.

Using le and les

The indirect objects le and les present a special problem because they are ambiguous. That is, they can stand for different things:

to (for) him to (for) them

to (for) her

to (for) you (form.) to (for) you (pl.)

Where have you seen this before???

Ella le escribe a Danny una carta.

Ella le escribe a Marta una carta.

Ella le escribe a su hermana una carta.

As a result, it is important to use a prepositional phrase to make the meaning of the sentence more clear.

Vamos a practicar- More Indirect Object Pronouns

Rewrite the sentence in Spanish. Be sure to replace the underlined word with its indirect object pronoun. When necessary, be sure to use a prepositional phrase.

EX: She writes Ana. Ella le escribe a Ana.

1. He buys me the flowers.

2. We buy the books for her.

3. They (f.) sing to their mother.

4. You (fam.) write a letter to your grandmother.

Él me compra las flores.

Nosotros le compramos los libros.

Ellas le cantan a su madre.

Tú le escribes a tu abuela una carta.

Using se + indirect object pronouns

Indirect object pronouns may also be used with se to talk about unintentional events. The se is placed before the indirect object.

Se les quedó la tarea en casa.

They left the homework at home.

(They forgot the homework.)

Se me perdieron las fotos.

I lost the pictures.

Notice that when se is used, the verb is based on the object that is being talked about.

La tarea - quedó

Las fotos - perdieron

Using se + indirect object pronouns - Vocabulary

Let’s review some of the more common verbs that are used with the construction se + indirect object pronoun.

romper

Se le rompió...

Using se + indirect object pronouns - Vocabulary

quedar

Se le quedó...

Using se + indirect object pronouns - Vocabulary

acabar

Se me acabó...

Se me acabaron...

Using se + indirect object pronouns - Vocabulary

perder

Se le perdió...

Se me perdieron...

Using se + indirect object pronouns - Vocabulary

caer

Se le cayó...

Se me cayeron...

Using se + indirect object pronouns - Vocabulary

olvidar

Se te olvidó...