Direct object pronouns I/II
Introduction
After looking at the title of this section, you may be wondering what on earth a direct object pronoun is. First, you need to understand direct objects. A direct object is a person or thing that receives the action of the verb. The following English sentences have their direct objects underlined.
I see the bike.
We eat food.
They buy tomatoes.
An easy way to determine the direct object (if there is one) is to say the subject and verb and ask, "What?" The answer to this question will be the direct object.
Examples:
They drink the juice.
They drink what? The juice.
We sold our house.
We sold what? Our house.
Now on to the pronoun part. A direct object pronoun is simply a pronoun that replaces a direct object. Here they are in English:
Now, here are some examples of sentences in which the direct object is replaced with a direct object pronoun.
You saw flowered hats.
You saw them.
She buys a sweater.
She buys it.
Direct Object Pronouns in Spanish
Now that you understand what a direct object pronoun (DOP) is and how it works, let's take a look at how DOPs function in Spanish. Here are the pronouns themselves:
The third person pronouns (lo/la and los/las) can be confusing at first, because they have so many different potential meanings. Lo means "him" or masculine "it," and la means "her" or feminine "it." The same applies for los/las: los is "them" (all masculine, or mixed) and las is "them" (all feminine). Both apply to humans and non-humans.
And now for the fun part: structure. In English, direct objects and direct object pronouns come after the verb: "I sell the house," "I sell it." In Spanish, however, the direct object can come after the verb, but the direct object pronoun must come before the verb, except in very specific circumstances (see the Level II box below for more on those). Here are some examples, just so you know what this kind of sentence will look like. After you read through these, we will move on to a step-by-step guide to using your own DOPs.
Examples:
Yo vendo la casa.
Yo la vendo.
Ella compra los zapatos.
Ella los compra.
Ustedes pierden los pantalones.
Ustedes los pierden.
This probably seems complicated and hard, and it can be confusing at first. However, with practice, it will all start to make sense. Here is how it works:
Now for some thorough examples:
1. Marta quiere un auto nuevo.
Subject, verb, and direct object: Marta is the subject here, and the verb is quiere. So we have, "Marta quiere what?" Un auto nuevo is therefore the direct object.
Choose a DOP: un auto is third person, masculine, and singular. Which DOP fits those criteria? Lo.
Placement: Marta lo quiere.
2. Jorge compró dos bicicletas.
Subject, verb, and direct object: Jorge is the subject, with the verb compró. "Jorge compró what?" Dos bicicletas. This is our direct object.
Choose a DOP: Dos bicicletas is third person, femine, and plural. Therefore, we choose the DOP las.
Placement: Jorge las compró.
Next topics:
Direct object pronouns are pronouns that replace direct objects. In Spanish, they are:
- me
- te
- lo/la
- nos
- os
- los/las
In almost all cases, DOPs precede their verbs. Exceptions include:
1. infinitives
2. present participles
3. affirmative commands
Practice...
Quick reference:
Related topics:
Spanish I:
1. Indirect object pronouns I/II
2. Gustar I/II: Verbs like gustar
Spanish II:
1. Indirect object pronouns I/II
2. Reflexive pronouns/verbs II
Spanish III:
1. Identify the subject and verb, and then use those to find the direct object by asking, "What?"
2. Determine which pronoun should replace the direct object by considering:
- POV?
- Number?
- Gender?
3. Place the pronoun before the verb. You can keep the original direct object as well as the pronoun, or, in most cases, you can drop the direct object. For a discussion of what are called "redundant object pronouns," see Direct and indirect object pronouns III.
In the vast majority of sentences, the direct object pronoun precedes its verb. However, there are certain cases in which the pronoun is actually stuck directly onto the end of a verb, so that they become a single word. Those cases include:
1. Infinitives: This often happens when you have the phrasal future or some other compound-type structure. Note that the direct object pronoun can still come before ALL of the verbs, if you want. It's a question of style.
Examples:
Quiero comprarla. (I want to buy it. Could also be La quiero comprar.)
Vamos a perderlo. (We are going to lose it. Could also be Lo vamos a perder.)
Ella va a llamarme. (She is going to call me. Could also be Ella me va a llamar.)
2. Present participles: This occurs when you have a progressive compound tense. Again, if you want, the pronouns can still come before all the verbs. When you stick them on the end of the participle, you need to add an accent to the verb to maintain the original stress and pronunciation.
Examples:
Estoy mirándolo. (I am looking at it. Could also be Lo estoy mirando.)
Tú estás comiéndolos. (You are eating them. Could also be Tú los estás comiendo.)
Usted está escribiéndola. (You are writing it. Could also be Usted la está escribiendo.)
3. Affirmative commands: This is quite common. Just remember that it does not work for negative commands -- for those, the pronoun must come before the verb. For affirmative commands, however, the pronoun must be attached to the end of the verb, and an accent should be added to preserve pronunciation.
Examples:
LÃmpialo. (Clean it.)
Hágalo, por favor. (Do it, please.)
DÃgalo. (Say it.)
Direct object pronouns II
Other resources:
