Spanish Indirect Object Pronouns: Forms, Usage, and Practice

In this post we’ll look at Spanish indirect object pronouns. First, we’ll define some concepts that you’ll need to understand in order to use indirect object pronouns. Then we’ll look at the forms of the pronouns themselves. Next, we’ll see how to use them in sentences. And finally we’ll have some practice exercises so that you can test yourself.

Let’s Define Some Terms

First let’s look at some important grammatical concepts that will help us understand indirect object pronouns.

Subject Nouns and Pronouns

When you say a sentence, there are certain roles that typically appear. For example, the person or thing that the sentence is about, the one performing the action or experiencing the state, is the subject. Subjects are usually nouns (Sarah, the man, the children) or pronouns (she, he, they). The word pronoun simply means a word that stands in for (pro-) a noun: I, you, he, she, it, we, they. Or in Spanish yo, tú, él, ella, usted, nosotros/as, vosotros/as, ellos, ellas, ustedes. Remember though that Spanish subject pronouns are typically dropped.

Verbs

After the subject, we have the word that expresses the action or state that the subject is doing or experiencing. This is the verb. Some examples of English verbs are do, go, sing, sleep, be, or hacer (hago, haces, hace…), ir (voy, vas, va…), cantar (canto, cantas, canta…), dormir (duermo, duermes, duerme…) ser (soy, eres, es…). As you probably know, Spanish verbs change a lot more than English verbs do to match their subjects.

Direct Objects

You can read more about direct objects here. But here’s a quick summary. If there is someone or something that’s directly affected by the verb, this is the direct object. Take a look at these examples:

• Veo a mis amigos.
  I see my friends.
• Claudia está leyendo un libro muy bueno.
  Claudia is reading a really good book.

In the first example, I/yo (which is dropped) is the subject, see/veo is the verb, and my friends/mis amigos are the people directed affected. They are who or what I see, so they are the direct object. (In Spanish note that you have to add a, which is called the a personal. You only use this when the direct object is a specific noun referring to a person or a beloved pet.) In the second example, Claudia is the subject, is reading/está leyendo is the verb, and a really good book/un libro muy bueno is the direct object. (Since libro is an object and not a specific person, you don’t use the a personal.)

Indirect Objects

If there is someone or something that’s indirectly affected by the verb, in other words that benefits from or receives the direct object this is the indirect object. Indirect objects are the people (or sometimes things) to or for whom something is done. Take a look at these examples:

• Les doy regalos a mis amigos.
  I give gifts to my friends.
• Él le envía muchos mensajes de texto a su madre.
  He sends a lot of text messages to his mother.

In the first example, I/yo (which is dropped) is the subject, give/doy is the verb, gifts/regalos is the direct object, the thing that is being given, and to my friends/a mis amigos is the indirect object, that person that benefits from or receives the gift. We’ll come back to that les at the beginning in a moment. In the second example, he/él is the subject, sends/envía is the verb, a lot of text messages/muchos mensajes de texto is the direct object, and to his mother/a su madre is the indirect object, the person who receives the messages. Notice that there’s a le before the verb in the second example.

One feature of Spanish that’s different from English is that even if you have an indirect object noun, you need to duplicate it with an indirect object pronoun. Les means to them, and it’s a duplicate of the indirect object a mis amigos. Le means to her, and it’s a duplicate of a su madre.

• Les doy regalos a mis amigos.
  I give gifts to my friends. “I give them gifts to my friends.”
• Él le envía muchos mensajes de texto a su madre.
  He sends a lot of text messages to his mother. “He sends her a lot of text messages to his mother.”

Spanish Subject, Direct Object, and Indirect Object Pronouns

Forms of Spanish Indirect Object Nouns

Now let’s look at the forms of indirect objects, starting with nouns. Indirect object nouns in Spanish are introduced with the preposition a (to). This is just like English, but in English you can also use word order without to. Take a look at these examples. Notice that there are two possible ways to express the same things in English, but only one option (always with a) in Spanish.

• Pablo le escribe un correo electrónico a su novia.
  Pablo writes an e-mail to his girlfriend.
  Pablo writes his girlfriend an e-mail.  
• La abuela les cuenta un cuento a los niños.
  Grandmother tells a story to the kids.
  Grandmother tells the kids a story.

Forms of Spanish Indirect Object Pronouns

Next we’ll move on to the form of indirect object pronouns. If you use a pronoun instead of a noun as an indirect object, you need to use the indirect object pronouns, which are different from both subject and direct object pronouns. Let’s review all of them. Notice that indirect object pronouns are identical to direct object pronouns, except that lo and la both become le, and los and las both become les. You saw both le and les in the first examples of indirect objects above.

Just keep a few things in mind when using pronouns in Spanish:

• You normally drop subject pronouns in Spanish unless you’re stressing a comparison, for example HE (but not she) does something.
• Direct object pronouns are not dropped in Spanish. If there is one, you need to include it.
• There are lots of forms for you in Spanish! If you know someone well, or if you’re speaking to someone younger, use tú. If you want to show respect, use usted. Vosotros and vosotras are for when you’re speaking to more than one person, a bit like you all or you guys in English. But it’s used in Spain and not in Latin America, where it’s replaced by ustedes. In Spain, ustedes is on the plural polite form, but it’s used to speak to any group of people in Latin America.
• Nosotros, vosotros, and ellos have feminine forms for groups of women: nosotras, vosotras, and ellas. 

Position of Spanish Indirect Object Nouns

Now let’s talk about the position of indirect objects in Spanish. Typical Spanish word order is similar to English if the direct and indirect objects are nouns, as long as we’re using to or for before the indirect object in English. Just remember that you need to include a duplicate pronoun for the indirect object noun:

English: subject + verb + direct object + to/for indirect object
Spanish: subject + indirect object pronoun duplicate + verb + direct object + indirect object

• El maestro le da un libro al estudiante.
  The teacher gives a book to the student.
• Pedro le escribe una carta a Rosa.
  Pedro writes a letter to Rosa.
• La niña siempre les dice la verdad a sus padres.
  The girl always tells the truth to her parents.
• Juan le compra leche a su madre.
  Juan buys milk for his mother.

Position of Spanish Indirect Object Pronouns

Like direct object pronouns, indirect object pronouns come before the verb in Spanish. Since you already have to include a duplicate indirect object pronoun in the third person (he, she, they), all you have to do is drop the a noun phrase and you’re left with a simple indirect object pronoun.

• El maestro le da un libro.
  The teacher gives him/her a book.
• Pedro le escribe una carta.
  Pedro writes a letter to him/her.
• La niña siempre les dice la verdad.
  The girl always tells them the truth.
• Juan le compra leche.
  Juan buys him/her milk.

The other indirect object pronouns come in exactly the same position, right before the verb.

• Mi hermana me dio las llaves del coche.
  My sister gave me the car keys.
• Te enviaré un texto esta noche.
  I’ll send you a text tonight.
• La doctora nos da los resultados del análisis de sangre.
  The doctor gives us the blood test results.

Progressive Tenses and Infinitives

If you use a progressive tense with estar and the present participle (ending in –ando or –iendo), there are two possible placements for the indirect object pronoun. It can come before the form of estar, or it can be attached to the end of the present participle. Remember to add an accent to preserve the stress pattern.

• Les estoy explicando el problema. OR: Estoy explicándoles el problema.
  I’m explaining the problem to them.
• Le estamos comprando un regalo. OR: Estamos comprándole un regalo.
  We’re buying her a gift.

The same two word order options exist with infinitives.

• Le tengo que comprar un regalo. OR: Tengo que comprarle un regalo.
  I have to buy her a present.
• Les voy a enviar un texto. OR: Voy a enviarles un texto.
  I’m going to send them a text.

Practice

Finally, let’s practice what we’ve learned. Now practice Spanish indirect object pronouns with several exercises. Each of the following sentences includes an indirect object noun, for example: I sent a message to my friend. Change each indirect object noun into an indirect object pronoun, for example: I sent him/her a message. Then translate your answer. Answers are given below.

1. Yo le di el regalo a María.
2. Él le escribió una carta a su amigo.
3. Nosotros le contamos el secreto a Ana.
4. Ellos les enviaron un mensaje a los estudiantes.
5. ¿Tú le diste las llaves al portero?
6. Les estoy explicando la lección a los niños.
7. Juan le pidió ayuda a su profesor.
8. María le está mostrando las fotos a su madre.
9. Le regalé un libro a mi hermano.
10. ¿Le vas a dar la tarea al profesor?
11. Les compramos un regalo a nuestras amigas.
12. Mamá preparó la cena para nosotros.
13. Ella les está diciendo la verdad a ustedes.
14. El mesero me sirvió el café a mí.
15. Les enviaré una postal a mis abuelos.
16. ¿Quién te dio este consejo a ti?
17. Ellos les van a contar la historia a sus hijos.
18. Siempre les prestamos dinero a nuestros amigos.
19. ¿Le preguntaste algo a Juan?
20. El profesor les explicó el problema a los estudiantes.

Answers

1. Yo le di el regalo. (I gave her the gift.)
2. Él le escribió una carta. (He wrote him a letter.)
3. Nosotros le contamos el secreto. (We told her the secret.)
4. Ellos les enviaron un mensaje. (They sent them a message.)
5. ¿Tú le diste las llaves? (Did you give him the keys?)
6. Estoy explicándoles la lección. / Les estoy explicando la lección. (I am explaining the lesson to them.)
7. Juan le pidió ayuda. (Juan asked him for help.)
8. María le está mostrando las fotos. / María está mostrándole las fotos. (María is showing her the photos.)
9. Le regalé un libro. (I gave him a book.)
10. ¿Le vas a dar la tarea? / ¿Vas a darle la tarea? (Are you going to give him the homework?)
11. Les compramos un regalo. (We bought them a gift.)
12. Mamá nos preparó la cena. (Mom prepared us dinner.)
13. Ella les está diciendo la verdad. / Ella está diciéndoles la verdad. (She is telling you the truth.)
14. El mesero me sirvió el café. (The waiter served me the coffee.)
15. Les enviaré una postal. (I will send them a postcard.)
16. ¿Quién te dio este consejo? (Who gave you this advice?)
17. Ellos les van a contar la historia. / Ellos van a contarles la historia. (They are going to tell them the story.)
18. Siempre les prestamos dinero. (We always lend them money.)
19. ¿Le preguntaste algo? (Did you ask him something?)
20. El profesor les explicó el problema. (The teacher explained the problem to them.)

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