Katia
How to use object pronouns in Spanish correctly? I need to understand the exact rules of using object pronouns (me, te, le/lo, la, los, las).
Jul 1, 2015 9:50 AM
Answers · 3
3
I'm not a Spanish native but I can give you a few pointers. The first thing you need to remember is that if you need to use two object pronouns, the indirect object pronoun always comes first. And two third-person object pronouns can never appear together. I.e le/les & lo/la/los/las E.g. ¿Quién te compró los zapatos? Mi madre me los compró. When you need to use two third-person pronouns together the indirect object pronoun becomes "se" E.g. Se lo dije a ella ayer. <---- "le" becomes "se" here because you can't say "le lo" in Spanish. Also, a lot of the time you will need to use a clarifying phrase like "a ella" to make it clear who you're talking about, as the above sentence without "a ella" could equally read "I told him/you/them/you all." ¡Espero que sea de ayuda!
July 1, 2015
"Me" and "te" can be direct or indirect objects. The problems come with third person: "le" is indirect, lo is direct (for masculin) and la (for feminin) is direct too. Take care, except people from the south of Spain (Andalucía), nearly all spanish inhabitants use them wrong. Apart from the accepted "leísmo", it also exists (BUT THEY ARE NOT CORRECT) laísmo (the use of the la instead of the le) and loísmo (the use of the lo instead of the le). Both laísmo and loísmo are too colloquial, and as leísmo shows a lack of spanish grammar. In case of any doubts, If I were you I would transcript into the passive. For example: Tú compras un coche (Direct Object o Complemento Directo) a tu hermano (Indirect object, complemento indirecto) - Un coche (el DO o CD becomes the subject) es comprado por ti para tu hermano (IO o CI still almost the same). Another clue: a direct object can be easily replaced by "eso, esa" and the indirect object is always preceed by the preposition "a", which can be easily replaced by "para"
July 1, 2015
The pronouns ending in a -e are indirect, e.g.; Compré un regalo a Elena - Le compré un regalo. You should be careful, because even the spanish make big mistakes with these pronouns. "Le" can be use for people, usually men, when they are a direct object: Quiero a Mark. - Le quiero. However, this is currently correct because nearly the north of Spain (specially Castilla y León) are used to this mistake, which is named "leísmo". I highly recommend you not to do it, but do not get surprised if someone says it o you find it written.
July 1, 2015
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