Indirect Object
Pronouns
Spanish 3 VC c.4
Identifying the parts of a sentence:
Verb - the action or state of being
Subject – who does the action
who or what + verb = subject
Direct Object – who or what
receives the action directly
S+V+ who or what = D.O.
Indirect Object – to whom or for
whom the action is done
S+V+(D.O.) + to whom or for whom=I.O.
Identifying an
Indirect Object:
1. The I.O. answers the
question “to whom?” or “for
whom” the action of the verb
is performed.
S + V + (D.O.) + to whom or for whom
= Indirect Object
I am giving the gift to her.
Object Pronoun
Placement
1. If it is the object of a conjugated
verb, it goes in front of that
verb.
2. If it is the object of an infinitive
verb, attach it to the end of the
infinitive.
Object Pronoun
Placement
1. Me gusta la comida china.
I like Chinese food.
2. Yo quiero darle el libro a él.
I want to give him the book.
Object Pronoun
Placement
3. Dame el libro.
Give me the book.
4. No le dé las llaves a él.
Don’t give him the keys.
Combination Object
Pronoun Placement
1. When more than one object
pronoun is used, they need to be
placed using the acronym
RID (reflexive)(Indirect)(direct)
2. If both the D.O.p and I.O.p are used
AND both are in the 3rd person,
THEN the I.O.p (le or les) changes
to SE
Ie…Quiero darselo a ella.
Watch for this…
• In English the indirect object is
typically only represented once,
either with the pronoun or the
clarifier.
Paco gives her the gift.
Paco gives the gift to her.
Watch for this…
• In Spanish the indirect object is
typically represented twice, once
with the pronoun (manditory)
and once with the clarifier
(sometimes optional).
Paco le da el regalo a ella.
Indirect Object Clarifier
1. A
2. Name or prepositional pronoun.
mí
nosotros
ti
-----él, ella, Ud. ellos, ellas,
Uds.
Clarifier Placement
1. Place the indirect object clarifier
at the end of the sentence with
non-gustar like verbs.
2. Place the I.O. clarifier at the
beginning of the sentence with
gustar-like verbs.
Examples:
I.O.c
I.O.p
V
S
1. A Paco le gusta el libro.
Paco likes the book.
S
V
I.O.c D.O.n
2. Paco gives her flowers.
Paco le da flores a ella.
Practice
Sentence Translations:
1. Paco invites Marta to his party.
2. Marta gives a present to Paco.
3. The waiter can bring the food to me.
4. Pancho wants to bring the books to us.
5. Pancho is bringing them to us.
6. The waitress is bringing it to me.
7. Are you bringing me a glass of water?
8. He is bringing it to her.
9. Quito is bringing them to Paco.
10. She can bring the ice cream to us.
Practice
Sentence Translations:
1. Paco invita a Marta a su fiesta.
2. Marta le da un regalo a Paco.
3. El camarero puede traerme la comida.
4. Pancho quiere traernos los libros.
5. Pancho nos los trae.
6. La camarera me lo trae.
7. ¿Me trae Ud. un vaso de aqua?
8. El se lo trae a ella.
9. Quito se los trae a Paco.
10. Ella puede traernos el helado.
Turn and with your neighbor compare
and contrast indirect objects in Spanish
and English.