Object pronouns: track the thing and the recipient
CEFR A2
What you will learn
- Choose a complete direct or indirect object pronoun by person, gender, number and role.
- Place an object pronoun before a finite verb or attach it to an infinitive or gerund.
- Order two object pronouns and replace le/les with se before lo/la/los/las.
The idea
A direct object is the person or thing directly affected by the verb: “Leo la carta” becomes “La leo”. An indirect object is the recipient, destination or experiencer: “Doy el mapa a Leo” includes “le”. Gender chooses among “lo/la/los/las” only after the direct-object role is clear. “Le/les” does not agree with the thing given; it points to the recipient.
The table gives the role-based system shared across the Spanish-speaking world. In much of Spain, accepted masculine-person “leísmo” permits “Le vi” for one male person; many other varieties use “Lo vi”. Things remain “lo/la/los/las”.
“Ustedes” takes third-person verb and object forms everywhere. “Vosotros/os” belongs mainly to Spain; most other regions use “ustedes/los/las/les” according to role.
Complete direct and indirect object paradigms
| reference | direct object | indirect object |
|---|---|---|
| me | me | me |
| you, singular informal | te | te |
| him / it masculine | lo | le |
| her / it feminine | la | le |
| us | nos | nos |
| you, plural informal in most of Spain | os | os |
| them masculine / mixed | los | les |
| them feminine | las | les |
| you, formal singular or plural | lo/la/los/las according to reference | le/les |
Complete placement pattern
| verb environment | position | model |
|---|---|---|
| one finite verb | before the verb | La envío hoy. |
| negative finite verb | after no, before the verb | No la envío hoy. |
| finite verb + infinitive | before the finite verb or attached to the infinitive | La voy a enviar. / Voy a enviarla. |
| finite estar + gerund | before estar or attached to the gerund | La estoy enviando. / Estoy enviándola. |
| affirmative command | attached to the command | Envíala. |
Two pronouns: person first, thing second
| indirect slot | direct slot | result |
|---|---|---|
| me | lo / la / los / las | me lo, me la, me los, me las |
| te | lo / la / los / las | te lo, te la, te los, te las |
| le / les | lo / la / los / las | se lo, se la, se los, se las |
| nos | lo / la / los / las | nos lo, nos la, nos los, nos las |
| os | lo / la / los / las | os lo, os la, os los, os las |
How it sounds
- Ana se lo entrega.The map is the masculine singular direct object: “lo”. Luis is the singular recipient: underlying “le”. Before “lo”, “le” changes to “se”, and both pronouns precede the finite verb.
Your turn
Two or three, to check that the bit above landed.
Use the red letter: ¿La carta? Sí, ___ envié ayer.
la — “La carta” is the feminine singular thing directly sent, so it becomes the direct-object pronoun “la”.
Use the blue book and the named recipient: A Elena ___ di el libro azul.
le — Elena receives the book, so the indirect-object pronoun is “le”. The book remains the explicit direct object.
Use the two green keys and the backpack: ¿Las llaves? Voy a ___ en la mochila.
guardarlas — The feminine plural direct object is “las”. With the infinitive it attaches as one word: “guardarlas”.
What your own language pushes you to say
Wrong ¿La carta y los libros? Veo la mañana y voy a comprar los después.
Right ¿La carta y los libros? La veo mañana y voy a comprarlos después.
A clitic precedes a finite verb or attaches to an infinitive as one written word.
Once it makes sense
Practise this: “Lo”, “la”, “le” — and they go in frontPractise this: “Veo a María”: the “a” that English cannot seeMe gusta: the sentence turns roundReflexive and pronominal verbs: keep the pronoun with its personThe preterite: place a finished event on the timeline