Indirect Object Pronouns

Indirect and direct objects Some sentences in Spanish (and in English) can have 2 objects, a direct object and an indirect one. These sentences involve actions such as: giving something to someone, buying something for someone, saying something to someone etc. There is both a “something” and a “someone” as objects of the verb/action.

An indirect object describes to whom or for whom an action is done. Indirect objects are almost always people and include the personal a. Yo doy los libros a los estudiantes. (direct object) (indirect object)

¿Cuáles objetos son indirectos? Escribo un e-mail a mi madre. Los niños compran flores a su abuelo. Tienes que decir la verdad a los niños. Mi novio da un beso a mí.

Indirect objects as pronouns An indirect object usually appears in a sentence as an indirect object pronoun: Me (to, for) me Te (to, for) you Le (to, for) him, her, you Nos (to, for) us Les (to, for) them, you

Indirect object pronouns are similar to direct object pronouns, except “le,” is used instead of “lo, la” and “les” is used instead of “los, las” Indirect object pronouns are often placed in front of the conjugated verb: ¿Quién te escribió esa carta. Mi padre me escribió esa carta.

When you have two verbs together you can put the indirect object pronoun either before the first or after the second: Mi papá le está escribiendo una carta a Alberto. Mi papá está escribiéndole una carta a Alberto.

Le and Les Because “le” and “les” can mean “to you, to him, to her, to them or to you guys” an indirect object noun (personal a + person) is usually added after the direct object or before the indirect object pronoun to clarify. Le doy un beso a Alberto, pero no le doy un beso a Carlos porque no me gusta.

Common 2 object verbs: Dar to give (someone sthg) Servir to serve (someone sthg) Comprar to buy (someone sthg) Mandar/enviar to send (s.o. sthg.) Escribir to write (s.o. sthg) Traer to bring (s.o. sthg) Decir to tell (s.o. sthg.) Pedir to ask for (sthg. from s.o.) Hacer to make (sthg from s.o.)

Práctica: re-write each sentence and include the indirect object. Hago albóndigas (a ti) Yo di un beso (a mi novio) Elena compró flores (a su madre) Tú mandaste un e-mail (a nosotros) Vamos a traer desayuno (a ustedes) Él dice la verdad (a mi) Ellos dan cinco dólares (a los niños)