Spanish Indirect-Object Pronouns

Spanish verbs can be accompanied by direct and indirect objects. A direct object is the noun or pronoun that the verb acts directly on, while an indirect object is the person affected by the action but not acted directly upon. So in a sentence such as I see Sam, Sam is the direct object of see because Sam is the object that is seen. But in a sentence such as I am writing Sam a letter, Sam is the indirect object. The item being written is letter, so letter is the direct object. Sam is the indirect object as one who is affected by the verbs action on the direct object. Spanish Differentiates Betweem Direct and Indirect Objects If youre learning Spanish, the distinction can be important to make because Spanish, unlike English, sometimes uses different pronouns for direct and indirect objects. It is also important to note that many Spanish sentences use indirect-object pronouns where a different construction is used in English. For example, me pintà ³ la casa would typically be translated as he painted the house for me. In fact, one sign of an indirect object in English is that it usually can be understood, to use me as an example, as for me or to me. For instance, he bought her the ring is the same as he bought the ring for her. In that first sentence, her is an indirect object. (The Spanish equivalent would be à ©l le comprà ³ el anillo.) Here are the indirect-object pronouns along with their English equivalents and examples of their uses: me — me — Juan me da una camisa. (John is giving me a shirt.)te — you (singular familiar) — Juan te da una camisa. (John is giving you a shirt.)le — you (singular formal), him, her — Juan le da una camisa a usted. (John is giving you a shirt.)  Juan le da una camisa a à ©l.  (John is giving him a shirt.)  Juan le da una camisa a ella.  (John is giving her a shirt.)nos — us — Marà ­a nos da unas camisas. (Mary is giving us some shirts.)os — you (plural familiar) — Marà ­a os da unas camisas. (Mary is giving you some shirts.)les — you (plural formal), them — Marà ­a les da unas camisas. (Mary is giving you some shirts, or Mary is giving them some shirts.) Note that the direct-object and indirect-object pronouns are identical in the first and second persons. Where they differ is in the third person, where the only indirect objects (except in what is usually considered substandard speech) are le and les. Using Indirect Objects in Special Cases As some of the above examples indicate, an indirect-object pronoun is used whenever a sentence includes an indirect object, even though a pronoun might not be used in English. A further clause can be added for clarity or emphasis, but, unlike in English, an indirect pronoun is the norm. For example, le escribà ­ could mean I wrote to him, I wrote to her or I wrote to you, depending on the context. To clarify, we can add a prepositional phrase, as in le escribà ­ a ella for I wrote to her. Note that le is still typically used, even though a ella makes it redundant. Both direct- and indirect-object pronouns are typically placed before conjugated verbs, as in the above examples. They can be (but dont have to be) attached to infinitives and present participles: Te voy a escribir una carta and voy a escribirte una carta (I am going to write you a letter) are both correct, as are le estoy comprando un coche and estoy comprà ¡ndole un coche (I am buying him a car). In commands, direct and/or indirect objects are attached to affirmative commands but precede negative commands. Escrà ­beme (write me), but no me escribas (dont write me). Note that in affirmative commands and when attaching an object to a present participle, attaching the object at the end of the verb can result in an orthographic accent being needed to keep the stress on the correct syllable. If you have a direct object and an indirect object with the same verb, the indirect object comes first. Te las escribo. (I am writing them to you.) Sample Sentences Using Indirect-Object Pronouns Indirect objects are shown in these sentences in boldface. Object pronouns in regular type are direct objects or objects of prepositions. No le voy a dar el gusto a nadie de vencerme tan facilmente. (I am not going to give anyone the pleasure of defeating me so easily. A nadie is a redundant phrase; le remains necessary. The -me of vencerme is a direct object.) ¿Nunca me has visto beber algo mà ¡s que una copa de vino? (Have you never seen me drink more than one cup of wine? Beber here is an infinitive acting as a direct object.)Le construyeron un gimnasio para que pudiera ejercitarse. (They built him/her a gymnasium so he/she could exercise. Note that the indirect object here can apply to both males and females.)Queremos decirle a ella que ella forma gran parte de nuestras vidas. (We want to tell her that she makes up a big part of our lives. Que and the words following function as a direct object.)