Before you learn about indirect objects, be sure you are familiar with direct objects first by clicking here. While a direct object is the direct recipient of an action, or what the verb is doing, indirect objects tell you to whom or for whom something is done. The underlined words in the following sentences are the indirect objects.
Hablo con María → I talk to/with Maria.
Mandé la carta a Juan. → I sent the letter to Juan.
Voy a dar el dinero a mi hermano. → I will give the money to my brother.
Compraste un regalo para tu novia. → You bought a gift for your girlfriend.
The following are the indirect object pronouns. Note that only the third person pronouns are different from the direct object pronouns.
|
English |
Spanish |
English |
Spanish |
|
me |
me |
us |
nos |
|
you |
te |
you |
os |
|
him, her, you, it |
le |
you (plural), them |
les |
Let’s rewrite the previous sentences with indirect object pronouns. Remember that object pronouns usually go before the verb.
| Hablo con María. I talk to/with Maria. |
Le hablo. I talk to/with her. |
|
| Mandé la carta a Juan. I sent the letter to Juan. |
Le mandé la carta. I sent him the letter. |
|
| Voy a dar el dinero a mi hermano. I will give the money to my brother. |
Le voy a dar el dinero. / Voy a darle el dinero. I will give him the money. |
|
| Compraste un regalo para tu novia. You bought a gift for your girlfriend. |
Le compraste un regalo. You bought her a gift. |
Another thing to know about indirect object pronouns is that you don’t necessarily need to replace the indirect object. You can actually use both in a sentence. It may seam redundant at first, but it can be helpful in clarifying and identifying things in the 3rd person.
Yo les doy el dinero a ellos. → I give the money to them.
Ella te compra un regalo a ti. → She is buying a gift for you.
Finally, you will use indirect object pronouns with verbs like gustar. Click here to find out more about how that works.
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