Direct Objects, the Personal a, and Direct Object Pronouns (Los complementos directos, la a personal, y los pronombres de complemento directo)

I eat the tamales. Óscar kisses his wife. A direct object is a thing or person that receives the direct action of the verb. I eat the tamales. Yo como los tamales. Óscar kisses his wife. Óscar besa a su esposa.

More information about the personal a follows on the next slide. Notice that direct objects that are people or domesticated animals (and sometimes personified things) are signaled by the personal a. Óscar kisses his wife. Óscar besa a su esposa. I walk my dog every morning. Paseo a mi perro todas las mañanas. Patriots love their country. Los patriotas aman a su patria. More information about the personal a follows on the next slide.

Generally, the personal a is not used after the verb tener. More on the personal a Generally, the personal a is not used after the verb tener. Óscar tiene una esposa muy bonita. Óscar has a very pretty wife. Nor is it used with a direct object that is an unspecified or indefinite person. Buscamos una secretaria eficiente. We’re looking for an efficient secretary.

More on the personal a Alicia visita al médico. The personal a followed by the definite article el contracts to form al. Alicia visita al médico. Alicia visits the doctor. When the interrogative quién(es) requests information about the direct object, the personal a precedes it. ¿A quién llama Elisa? Whom is Elisa calling? The personal a must be repeated before each human direct object in a series. Visito a Emilio y a Lola. I visit Emilio and Lola.

Identifying a direct object A direct object is a thing or person that answers what or whom, respectively, in the following equation: SUBJECT + VERB + WHAT (WHOM) DIRECT OBJECT Yo como los tamales

the piano the piano the piano the piano the piano the piano Pronouns are particles (little words) that take the place of the object itself, so that the object does not have to be repeated ad nauseum . . . Did you buy the piano ? Yes, I bought the piano . Did you pay a lot for the piano ? Well, the piano wasn’t cheap. Can you play the piano ? Yes, and my brother plays the piano too.

Notice how many times “the piano” was repeated. Pronouns are particles (little words) that take the place of the object itself, so that the object does not have to be repeated ad nauseum . . . the piano the piano the piano the piano the piano the piano Notice how many times “the piano” was repeated.

Pronouns are particles (little words) that take the place of the object itself, so that the object does not have to be repeated ad nauseum . . . A better, more concise way is to use pronouns instead of repeating the noun over and over. Did you buy the piano ? Yes, I bought it . Did you pay a lot for ? it Well, wasn’t cheap. it Can you play ? it Yes, and my brother plays too. it

Direct object pronouns in Spanish, just as in English, take the place of the direct object itself, so that the direct object does not have to be repeated, and repeated, and repeated . . . ¿Compraste el piano ? Sí, lo compré. ¿Puedes tocar ? lo Sí, y mi hermano sabe tocar también. lo

The direct object pronouns in Spanish are as follows: These are used exclusively for people me nos te os These are used lo, la los, las (lo, la) (los, las) for people and things

Now let’s see how pronouns replace things or people that are direct objects. I eat the tamales. Yo como los tamales. Yo los como. Notice that third-person direct object pronouns agree in gender and number with the noun they replace.

Now let’s see how pronouns replace things or people that are direct objects. Óscar kisses his wife. Óscar besa a su esposa. Óscar la besa. Notice that third-person direct object pronouns agree in gender and number with the noun they replace.

Óscar besa a su esposa. a Óscar la besa. Notice that the personal a goes away when the direct object noun is replaced by a direct object pronoun. Óscar besa a su esposa. a Óscar la besa.

or after an infinitive or gerund (present participle). PLACEMENT OF PRONOUNS ALL object pronouns are placed either before a conjugated verb (except for affirmative command forms) Óscar la besa. (Óscar, bésala.) or after an infinitive or gerund (present participle). Óscar la va a besar. Óscar va a besarla. Óscar la está besando. Óscar está besándola.

Direct object pronouns are commonly used in conversation when the object is established or known. Again, this avoids needless repetition. ¿Dónde ves a Jorge y a Sarita? Where do you see Jorge and Sarita? Los veo en clase. I see them in class. ¿Visitas a tu abuela con frecuencia? Do you visit your grandmother often? Sí, la visito mucho. Yes, I visit her a lot. Do not be misled into thinking that los and la in the above answers are the subjects of the sentences just because they appear in subject position. The subject of both answers, which is of course yo, is simply not expressed in these instances.

¿Me vas a invitar a tu fiesta? Be aware that object pronouns, just like verbs, must make a flip-flop transition when first and second persons are involved in the conversation. ¿Me vas a invitar a tu fiesta? Sí, te voy a invitar. ¿Nos puedes ayudar mañana? No, no los puedo ayudar.

Adolfo is not going to call her. In negative sentences, the direct object pronoun is placed between no and the conjugated verb. Adolfo no la va a llamar. Adolfo is not going to call her. But, again, as in affirmative sentences, the object pronoun may be attached to the end of the infinitive or present participle. Adolfo no va a llamarla.

El Pretérito de los verbos

El Pretérito: is a past tense (“-ed”) talks about what happened is a completed action I went to the store. I bought a shirt. I paid in cash.

The stem for regular verbs in the pretérito is the infinitive stem. Tomar tom- Hablar habl- Comer com- Beber beb- Abrir abr- Salir sal-

Pretérito endings for -ar verbs are: -é -aste -ó -amos -asteis -aron

Pretérito endings for –er / -ir verbs are: -í -iste -ió -imos -isteis -ieron

REMEMBER: accents on the “yo” form and the “él / ella / Ud.” form -ar / -ir “nosotros” form is the same in present and pretérito

Por ejemplo: (-ar verbs) tomar tomé tomaste tomó tomamos tomasteis tomaron

Por ejemplo: (-ar verbs) hablar hablé hablaste habló hablamos hablasteis hablaron

Por ejemplo: (-er / -ir verbs) comer comí comiste comió comimos comisteis comieron

Por ejemplo: (-ar verbs) trabajar trabajé trabajaste trabajó trabajamos trabajasteis trabajaron

Por ejemplo: (-er / -ir verbs) volver volví volviste volvió volvimos volvisteis volvieron

Por ejemplo: (-er / -ir verbs) abrir abrí abriste abrió abrimos abristeis abrieron

Por ejemplo: (-er / -ir verbs) escribir escribí escribiste escribió escribimos escribisteis escribieron

Unos Irregulares: Verbs ending in -car, -gar, and -zar have a spelling change in the “yo” form of the pretérito. buscar tocar practicar pagar jugar llegar almorzar empezar comenzar

The “yo” form of the pretérito changes to conserve the sound of the infinitive: -car -gar -zar “-qué” “-gué” “-cé” “tocé” “jugé” “rezé”

Por ejemplo: (-car verbs) buscar busqué buscaste buscó buscamos buscasteis buscaron

Por ejemplo: (-car verbs) practicar practiqué practicaste practicó practicamos practicasteis practicaron

Por ejemplo: (-gar verbs) pagar pagué pagaste pagó pagamos pagasteis pagaron

Por ejemplo: (-gar verbs) jugar jugué jugaste jugó jugamos jugasteis jugaron

Por ejemplo: (-zar verbs) almorzar almorcé almorzaste almorzó almorzamos almorzasteis almorzaron

Por ejemplo: (-zar verbs) empezar empecé empezaste empezó empezamos empezasteis empezaron

There are several Spanish adjectives that have a shortened form when they precede certain nouns.

The most common shortened adjectives are those that drop the final -o in front of a masculine singular noun. normal shortened meaning alguno algún some bueno buen good malo mal bad ninguno ningún no, none postrero postrer last, final primero primer first tercero tercer third uno un one, a Note that algún and ningún require the addition of an accent in order to maintain the proper word stress.

The adjective Santo is shortened to San when it precedes most masculine saints' names. San Diego San José San Juan San Luís San Miguel San Tobías exceptions: Santo Domingo, Santo Tomás, Santo Toribio

There are two adjectives which are shortened before a noun of either gender: grande gran big cualquiera cualquier any

Ciento is shortened to cien when it precedes a plural noun of either gender or when it multiplies a number. ciento veinte 120 cien euros 100 euros cien mil 100,000

Los Números en Español Spanish4Teachers.org

Del 0 al 100 0-19 20 = veinte 30 = treinta 40 = cuarenta 50 = cincuenta 60 = sesenta 70 = setenta 80 = ochenta 90 = noventa 100 = cien Spanish4Teachers.org

Del 20 al 99 Trick Ejemplo 21-29 veinti + número veintidos 31-39 treinta y + número treinta y tres 41-49 cuarenta y + número cuarenta y seis 91-99 noventa y + número noventa y nueve Notice: the numbers that only form one word are… Spanish4Teachers.org

Recuerda!!! Los números del 0 al 99 are very important because they make part of all the other numbers that follow… Spanish4Teachers.org

100, 200, 300, 400, …, 900 To learn the numbers from 100- 999, we must first learn the ones ending in two CEROS. Like which ones??? Spanish4Teachers.org

200, 300, 400, …, 900 200 = doscientos 300 = trescientos 400 = cuatrocientos 500 = quinientos 600 = seiscientos 700 = setecientos 800 = ochocientos 900 = novecientos Trick: Number + cientos Be careful with these because they are exceptions!!! Spanish4Teachers.org

101 al 199 1 0 1 1 1 2 1 9 9 ciento uno ciento doce ciento The numbers from 101 to 199 start with Ciento 1 0 1 1 1 2 1 9 9 ciento uno ciento doce ciento noventa y nueve Trick: Ciento + Number Spanish4Teachers.org

200 al 1000 1000 MIL Numbers from 201 to 1000 are very easy: 200 doscientos 201 doscientos uno 300 trescientos 304 trescientos cuatro 400 cuatrocientos 415 cuatrocientos quince 500 quinientos 520 quinientos veinte novecientos Novecientos noventa y nueve 900 999 1000 MIL Spanish4Teachers.org