How to use direct object pronouns in Spanish.

Cómo usar los pronombres del objeto directo en español.

A direct object (DO) receives the action of the verb directly.

i.e. Ana riega el jardín.Ana waters the garden.

What does Ana water? The garden

The garden is the direct object of the sentence.

Yo sacudo el polvo.

¿Qué sacudo? El polvo

El polvo is the direct object of the sentence.

Mi madre y yo quitamos la mesa.

¿Qué quitamos? La mesa

La mesa es el objeto directo de la oración.

A pronoun replaces a noun.i.e. My mother loves my brother.

Can also be: My mother loves him.

Him is a pronoun that replaces the noun brother.

Specifically, direct object pronouns replace the direct object, personal pronouns replace the subject, indirect object pronouns replace the indirect object, etc.

The point is to make the sentence shorter or less repetitive.

i.e. Rather than saying “Sherry likes to write letters to Bob.”

You could say “She likes to write them to him.”

PP DOP IDOP

What are the direct object pronouns (DOPs) in English?

me usyouhim, her, itya’ll, them

¿Qué son los pronombres directos en español?

me nostelo,la los,las

Rule #1:The pronoun must match the noun it replaces in number and in gender.

i.e. Pablo tiende las camas. D.O.

Las can replace camas because it is feminine and plural.

Rule #2:The pronoun MUST ALWAYS NO MATTER

WHAT UNDER EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE FOREVER be RIGHT NEXT TO the verb.

Basically, the love each other and will stand to be separated by nothing and no one.

VERB PRONOUN

Rule #3:If the verb is conjugated, the DOP always goes IN FRONT of the verb.

If the verb is NOT conjugated the DOP always attaches to the end of the verb.

Note to self: ALL pronouns behave this way.

Let’s see how it works.

Step 1: Identify the direct object.

Maria barre el piso. DO=El piso

(Maria sweeps the floor)

Step 2: Identify which pronoun can replace the DO.

El piso can be replaced by lo

Step 3: Drop the DO and replace with DOP.

Maria barre lo.

Step 4: Determine if the DOP needs to be before or after the verb. (refer to rule #3)This verb is conjugated, so the DOP must go BEFORE the verb.

ANSWER: Maria lo barre. (She sweeps it.)

Step 1: Identify the direct object.

Yo voy a poner la mesa. DOP=la mesa(I am going to set the table.)

Step 2: Identify which pronoun can replace the DO.

la can replace la mesa

Step 3: Drop the DO and replace with DOP.

Yo voy a poner la.

Step 4: Determine if the DOP needs to be before or after the verb. (refer to rule #3)This verb is NOT conjugated so the DOP attaches to the END of the verb.

ANSWER: Yo voy a ponerla. (I am going to set it.)

Try these:1. Mis amigos no quieren lavar los

platos.2. Mi prima limpia el baño.3. Ustedes ordenan sus cuartos.4. Tú debes quitar las mesas del

comedor.5. Yo saco la basura todos los días.6. Marta y yo vamos a planchar la ropa

el martes.

Did you get them right?1. Mis amigos no quieren lavarlos.2. Mi prima lo limpia.3. Ustedes los ordenan.4. Tú debes quitarlas del comedor.5. Yo la saco todos los días.6. Marta y yo vamos a plancharla el

martes.

We know several categories of pronouns now….so don’t be confused!!

PP’s = Personal Pronounsi.e.Yo, tú, él/ella, usted, nosotros, vosotros,

ellos/ellas, ustedes IDOP’s = Indirect Object Pronouns

i.e. me, te, le, nos, os, les

RP’s = Reflexive Pronounsi.e. me, te, se, nos, os, se

DOP’s = Direct Object Pronounsi.e. me, te, lo, la, nos, os, los, las