Indirect Object PronounsIndirect Object Pronouns

We’ve seen three types of pronouns so far:– Subject: yo, tú, él…– Reflexive: me, te, se…– Direct object: me, te, lo, la…

In this slide show, we are going to look at one more type: indirect objects.

What’s an indirect object?What’s an indirect object?

Complete these sentences:– The teacher gave ___ an A.– Bill Gates sent ___ a million

dollars.– My parents bought ___ a

used car.– Julia told ___ the big secret.

So tell me the answer!So tell me the answer!

Did you say something like:– The teacher gave you an A.– Bill Gates sent me a million

dollars.– My parents bought my little

sister a used car.– Julia told everyone the big

secret.

Indirect objectsIndirect objects

The indirect objects in these sentences are the people who received something: you, me, my little sister, everyone.

The first two objects use pronouns – you, me. Can you guess what the Spanish equivalents are?

That’s right!That’s right!

me > me you > te

The second pair of objects can be replaced with pronouns – her, them. What are the Spanish equivalents?

Hmm, this looks familiar!Hmm, this looks familiar!

her > le them > les

We’ve seen this form before when we looked at gusta.

Some common verbsSome common verbs

Indirect objects are used together with verbs such as:– Dar (give)– Enviar (send)– Comprar (buy)– Mandar (send)– Decir (tell)– Regalar (give a gift)

Here are the forms!Here are the forms!

The “indirect objects” are:– me > me– te > you– le > him, her, “Ud.”– nos > us– les > them, “Uds.”

¡¡Vamos a practicar!Vamos a practicar!

Complete each sentence with an appropriate indirect object pronoun. The recipient for each sentence is provided.

[Recipient: me] Mis padres ___ enviaron (sent) $100 para comprar un vestido nuevo.

Mis padres me enviaron (sent) $100 para comprar un vestido nuevo.

Remember to place all objects before a one-word verb form.

Otro, por favor.Otro, por favor.

[Recipient: you] ¿ ___ enviaron tus padres dinero también?

¿ Te enviaron tus padres dinero también?

What if there is more than one of “you” ?

¿ Les enviaron sus padres dinero también?

Use the “Uds.” form!

Muy bien.Muy bien.

[Recipient: her] Diego ___ compró un anillo (ring) a Luisa.

Diego le compró un anillo (ring) a Luisa.

Can you give us another?Can you give us another?

[Recipient: us] La profesora de antropología ___ da mucha tarea.

La profesora de antropología nos da mucha tarea.

Double trouble.Double trouble.

In all of the examples, there are two objects. That is, someone is giving something to someone. The something is the direct object and the someone (the recipient) is the indirect object).

Say what?Say what? Look at the first examples and

identify the objects: The teacher gave you an A.

– Recipient: you– Thing received: an A

Bill Gates sent me a million dollars.

– Recipient: me– Thing received: a million dollars

My parents bought my little sister a used car.

– Recipient: my little sister– Thing received: a used car

Double objectsDouble objects

We can simplify each sentence if we already know what the objects refer to. Look at this passage:

My little sister got a new apartment across town, but there is no bus service. She saw a used car she liked a lot, but she didn’t have a lot of money. My parents bought it for her.

Let’s take a closer Let’s take a closer

My parents bought it for her.

The expression in red is the indirect object (the recipient) and the word in yellow is the direct object. Both are pronouns.

What about in Spanish?What about in Spanish?

We can do the same thing in Spanish:

Tengo que comprar un libro para la clase de historia, pero no tengo dinero. Mis padres me lo van a enviar por Western Union.– Recipient: me – Thing received: lo (el dinero)

I do!I do!

Mis padres me lo van a enviar por Western Union.

Note that the indirect object precedes the direct object.

Think “indirect, direct object”: I DO.

L + L = S + LL + L = S + L

No, it’s not algebra class! There is a special rule about double object pronouns that you will need to know: if a sentence has two objects that both start with L, the first one changes to SE.

An example, please.An example, please.

Sure! Let’s simplify this sentence: Yo envié una carta a mi hermano.

You could say either:– Yo le envié una carta.

… or:– Yo la envié a mi hermano.

But you could also say:– Yo se la envié.– Note how the “le” changes to “se”;

you can’t say “le la” because both objects start with an “l.”

Let’s practice a few!Let’s practice a few!

El director dio un mensaje (message) a la secretaria.

El director ___ ___ dio. El director se lo dio.

– Lo = el mensaje– Se = a la secretaria

¡¡Otro, por favor!Otro, por favor!

Carmen envió unas cajas de ropa a su hija.

Carmen ___ ___ envió. Carmen se las envió.

– Las = las cajas– Se = a su hija

Uno mUno más y acabamos.ás y acabamos.

Mis padres regalaron unos cheques a mi hermana.

Mis padres ___ __ regalaron. Mis padres se los regalaron.

– Los = unos cheques– Se = a mi hermana (not “me)

¡Ya está!¡Ya está!

To summarize, here are the four forms you will need for Spanish:Subject Reflexive Direct object Indirect object

yo me me me

tú te te te

él se lo le

ella se la le

Ud. se lo, la le

nosotros nos nos nos

ellos se los les

ellas se las les