Direct Objects & Direct Object Pronouns An English and Spanish Lesson

What is a direct object? A direct object is a noun/noun phrase that receives the action of the verb. S V DO The cat ate the mouse. S V DO The dog ate the cat. The thing that did the eating is the SUBJECT. The thing that was eaten is the DIRECT OBJECT.

A direct object receives the action of the verb. The direct object answers the question who or what? A direct object can be a person or a thing.

English John threw the ball. Who did the action (subject)? - John What did John do (verb)? – threw What did he throw (direct object)? – the ball In this case the direct object is a thing.

Another example….. My friend made coffee. Who did the action? (subject) – my friend What did he do? (verb) – made What did he make? (direct object) - coffee

Spanish Juan tiró la pelota. Mi amigo hizo café. Juan – subject Tiró – verb La pelota – direct object Mi amigo hizo café. Mi amigo – subject Hizo – verb café – direct object

What are Direct Object Pronouns? Direct Object Pronouns substitute the direct object.

Direct object pronouns in Spanish Me – me (person only) Nos – us Te – you Os – you all Lo – him / it La – her / it (person or thing) Los – them Las – them

Some rules Direct object pronouns have the same gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) as the nouns they replace. The direct object pronoun is placed in front of the conjugated verb. 3) The subject and the verb must agree.

Ejemplos Juan tiró la pelota. Juan la tiró Mi esposo hizo café. Mi amigo lo hizo.

More practice Pablo compró las flores. Anita tiene los libros. Pedro come la sopa. Mis padres compran el almuerzo. Yo veo la película. Mi hermana y yo leemos los poemas.

Direct objects that are people. It works the same way. Let’s practice using the verb conocer (to know a person). Do you remember how to conjugate conocer? Conozco conocemos Conoces conocéis Conoce conocen

Let’s see how much we know I know you. You know me. They know us. We know them. They know him. I know her. You know us.

How did you do? I know you. Yo te conozco You know me. Tú me conoces. They know us. Ellos nos conocen. We know them.(m) Nosotros los conocemos. They know him. Ellos lo conocen. I know her. Yo la conozco. You know us. Tú nos conoces.

One more thing about direct objects When the direct object (NOT THE DIRECT OBJECT PRONOUN) is a person or a pet, you must insert a “personal a”. Juan conoce a Anita. Juan la conoce. Nosotros vimos a los estudiantes. Nosotros los vimos.

2-verb phrases When you are using a direct object pronoun with a 2-verb sentence structure, you have the choice of placing the direct object pronoun before the conjugated verb or attach it to the end of the infinitive (but not both).

Por Ejemplo Yo quiero comprar las muñecas. Yo las quiero comprar. Or Ella va a comer la ensalada. Ella la va a comer. Or Ella va a comerla.

Práctica El gato comió el ratón. > El gato lo comió. El perro comió el gato. > El perro lo comió. Lavé los platos. > Los lavé. Luisa va a comprar ropa nueva. > La va a comprar. Va a comprarla. ¿Llamaste a Miguel? > No, no lo llamé. ¿Estudias la lección? > Sí, la estudio. ¿Invitaron a Ana y a Paco? > Sí, los invitamos.

¿Lo entiendes? Go to www.studyspanish.com and click on grammar, then click on #41, #42, and #43. (Read through notes and complete “Basic Quiz”.)