Grammar - The Indirect Object Pronouns

Now let’s look at the same sentence only this time we will replace John with an appropriate pronoun. What would be the pronoun for John? That would be he. Now our sentence will read: He jumps. In this case, the pronoun is the direct object.

INDIRECT OBJECT

Okay, now let’s take a look at what an indirect object of a sentence is. An indirect object is a noun or a pronoun that is affected by a verb but the verb does not show the action of that noun/object or pronoun. Sound confusing? Well, let’s look at an example then.

Take the sentence: I love Christmas. In this little sentence, Christmas is a noun or object in the sentence but it is not Christmas that is taking the action as it is not doing the loving. Rather, Christmas is the indirect object because it is being loved and not doing the loving. In other words, Christmas is being acted upon. The pronoun of 'I' is the direct object that is doing the loving.

DIRECT AND INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS

Okay, let’s look at yet another sentence. Let’s look at: I love her. Once again the pronoun of 'I' is taking the action making it the direct object pronoun. Now look at the pronoun of her. This pronoun is not taking any action but is being acted upon. Therefore, the pronoun of her is an indirect object pronoun in this sentence.

One way to easily determine whether a pronoun is being acted upon is to use the words 'to' or 'for' before the pronoun. For example: I am giving my love to her. In Spanish, this would be said as: Le doy mi amor. The Spanish word 'le' is an indirect object pronoun that replaces the words 'to her'. Notice that 'le' comes before the verb in the sentence and not after 'my love'. This is because in Spanish, it would be said as: To her I give my love.

Now, let’s look at the following indirect object pronouns.

INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS

Singular

Plural

NOTE: When a sentence contains both a direct object pronoun and an indirect object pronoun that are connected to the same verb, the indirect object pronoun gets written and spoken first. For example: 'I write you' would be shown as 'Te yo escribo' in Spanish. This translates as: You I write. Here, 'you' is the indirect object pronoun and 'I' is the direct object pronoun.

USING SE IN SPANISH

NOTE: In Spanish you will often see and hear the word 'se'. Se is the same as le. In a sentence when two indirect object pronouns or an indirect and direct object pronoun are beside each other and they both begin with the letter L (for example: I am going to give it to him would be stated as: Le lo voy a dar), then le should become se because to say 'le lo' or to write it as such does not sound or look proper. When this happens, le is changed to se so that it now reads: Se lo voy a dar.

Always use se before the object pronouns lo, la, los and las. Note that se remains the same spelling whether or not the object pronoun is singular or plural. It is a bit confusing now but as you start to read, write and speak Spanish, it will become easier and more natural to you.

Now, let’s move on down to the quiz. As this is all new to you, please take as much time as you need to complete the quiz. Go at your own pace. Do not rush through. Read each of the ten quiz sentences. In each sentence the indirect object pronoun has been shown in all capitalized letters. From the answers provided, see if you can determine which indirect object pronoun should be used in place of the capitalized indirect object pronoun.