Object pronouns
Lo, la, le, me, te: where an object pronoun goes, before the verb or on the end of it.
Learn
Object pronouns, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Leave out subject pronouns unless you need them
The verb ending already tells you who is doing it, so Spanish usually drops yo, tú and the rest: Juego al fútbol, I play football. Use the pronoun for a contrast or for emphasis: Yo juego al fútbol, pero ella prefiere el baloncesto. Usted and ustedes are kept more often, to be polite and clear.
Use lo, la, los and las for it, him, her and them
A direct object pronoun stands for the person or thing the verb acts on. Lo replaces a masculine noun and la a feminine one, los and las the plurals: ¿El libro? Lo leo esta noche, The book? I'm reading it tonight. Choose by the gender of the noun, so a feminine thing is la: ¿La película? La vi ayer.
Use me and te for me and you
Me (me, to me) and te (you, to you, for a friend) work as both direct and indirect objects: Mi abuela me llama, My grandmother calls me; Te veo mañana, I'll see you tomorrow; Te mando una foto, I'll send you a photo.
Use le and les for to him, to her and to them
An indirect object pronoun means to or for someone. Le is to him, to her or to you (usted), and les is to them: Le doy un regalo, I give him (or her) a present; Les escribo un mensaje, I write them a message. Le doesn't change for gender.
Put the pronoun before a single verb
With one verb, the pronoun goes in front of it, and after no: La compro, I buy it; No lo entiendo, I don't understand it. In the perfect tense it goes before he, has and the rest: Lo he comprado, I've bought it.
Put the pronoun before two verbs or on the end of the infinitive
With a verb and an infinitive, the pronoun goes either before the first verb or on the end of the infinitive. Lo voy a comprar and Voy a comprarlo both mean I'm going to buy it. The same goes for poder, querer, deber and tener que: Te puedo ayudar or Puedo ayudarte.
Join the pronoun to the end of a command
A tú command takes the pronoun on its end, often with a written accent to keep the stress where it was: ¡Cómpralo!, Buy it! ¡Llámame!, Call me! Short commands may not need one: ¡Dame el libro!, Give me the book!
Use nos and os for us and youHigher only
Nos means us or to us, and os means you or to you when talking to two or more friends. They go in the same places as the other pronouns: Nos invitan a la fiesta, They're inviting us to the party; Os puedo ver or Puedo veros, I can see you.
Object pronouns key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Subject pronoun
- The word for who does the action: yo, tú, él, ella, usted, nosotros, vosotros, ellos, ellas, ustedes. Spanish usually leaves it out, because the verb ending says who.
- Direct object
- The person or thing the verb acts on directly. In Veo la película, the film is the direct object, so it becomes la: La veo, I watch it.
- Indirect object
- The person something is given, said or sent to, where English says to or for: Le doy el regalo, I give her the present; Les escribo, I write to them.
- lo and la
- It, him or her as a direct object. Choose by the gender of the noun replaced: el móvil becomes lo, la mochila becomes la.
- le and les
- To him, to her or to you (usted), and to them. Le digo la verdad, I tell him the truth.
- me and te
- Me and you, or to me and to you: ¿Me ayudas?, Will you help me? Te llamo luego, I'll call you later.
- comprarlo
- A pronoun joined to the end of an infinitive, as in Voy a comprarlo, I'm going to buy it. It means the same as Lo voy a comprar.
- nos and osHigher only
- Us and you (two or more friends), or to us and to you: Nos llama cada día, She calls us every day.
Common mistakes in Object pronouns
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Putting the pronoun after the verb, as in English: Veo lo for I see it.
With one verb, the pronoun goes in front: Lo veo. It can join the end of an infinitive, and it joins the end of a command: Quiero verlo, ¡Míralo!.
Choosing lo for a feminine thing because it means it: ¿La camiseta? Lo compré.
Lo and la follow the gender of the noun they replace. La camiseta is feminine, so La compré, I bought it.
Using lo or la for to him or to her: La doy un regalo.
When something is given, said or sent to the person, use le or les: Le doy un regalo. Keep lo and la for the person or thing the verb acts on directly.
Putting the pronoun between two verbs: Voy lo a comprar.
There are two right places and the middle is never one of them: before the first verb (Lo voy a comprar) or on the end of the infinitive (Voy a comprarlo).
Putting the pronoun before no, as in Lo no entiendo.
No comes first, then the pronoun, then the verb: No lo entiendo, No te veo.
Practice
Try a Object pronouns question
A GCSE-style original question from this topic. Have a go before you open the working - deciding on an answer first is what makes the working stick.
You are talking about el regalo for your friend. Which sentence is right?
- Voy a comprar lo mañana.
- Lo voy a comprarlo mañana.
- Lo voy a comprar mañana.
- Voy a lo comprar mañana.
Show the answer and the working
Answer: Lo voy a comprar mañana.
In a two-verb phrase the pronoun can go before the conjugated verb: Lo voy a comprar mañana. It appears once, and never between a and the infinitive.
- El regalo is masculine singular: lo.
- In voy a comprar the pronoun goes before voy or on the end of comprar.
- Only one of them, once: Lo voy a comprar mañana.