Spanish 2.7. Object Personal Pronouns

Object personal pronouns in Spanish can be divided into three classes: prepositional, direct, and indirect object pronouns.

Prepositional Object Pronouns

These pronouns come after a preposition, such as “de” (of, from, or about), “con” (with), “en” (in or on), “sin” (without), etc. Prepositional object pronouns are the same as subject pronouns except in the first- and second-person singular cases.

Personal Subject Pronoun	Prepositional Object Pronoun	Examples
yo	mí	Ellos hablan de mí. They talk about me.
tú	ti	Este regalo es para ti. This gift is for you.
él/ella/usted	él/ella/usted	Saldré con él. I will go out with him.
nosotros/-as	nosotros/-as	No está contra nosotros. He is not against us.
vosotros/-as	vosotros/-as	Yo confío en vosotros. I trust in you.
ellos/ellas/ustedes	ellos/ellas/ustedes	No voy sin ellos. I won’t go without them.

One notable exception is when using the preposition “con” with “mí” and “ti,” one should use “conmigo” and “contigo” instead of “con mí” and “con ti,” which do not exist, e.g., “Ven conmigo” (Come with me), “Quiero salir contigo” (I want to go out with you), etc.

The subject pronouns “yo” and “tú” are used instead of “mí” and “ti,” respectively, following these prepositions: “entre” (between or among), “excepto/salvo/menos” (except), “incluso/hasta” (including), and “según” (according to). For example, “Mucha gente, incluso yo, no lee el periódico” (Many people, including myself, do not read the newspaper), “Lo mantenemos entre tú y yo” (We keep it between you and me), “Es la verdad según tú” (It is the truth according to you), etc.

Reflexive Prepositional Pronouns

The reflexive prepositional pronouns are a special case of the prepositional object pronouns, such as “myself,” “yourself,” “himself,” etc. This is used when the subject and the object pronoun refer to the same person.

Subject Pronoun	Reflexive Prepositional Object Pronoun	Examples
yo	mí	Yo no hablo de mí. I don’t talk about myself.
tú	ti	Compraste un regalo para ti. You bought a gift for yourself.
él/ella/usted	sí	Ella se alaba a sí misma. She praises herself.
nosotros/-as	nosotros/-as	Lo hacemos para nosotros. We do it for ourselves.
vosotros/-as	vosotros/-as	Pensáis solo en vosotros. You only think of yourselves.
ellos/ellas/ustedes	sí	Quieren todo para sí. They want everything for themselves.

The reflexive prepositional pronoun “sí” becomes “consigo” when combined with the preposition “con.” For example, “Él está feliz consigo” (He is happy with himself), “Ellos siempre llevan dinero consigo mismos” (They always carry money with themselves).

More often than not, the reflexive prepositional object pronoun is followed by the adjective “mismo,” “misma,” “mismos,” or “mismas,” meaning “same” for emphasis. For example, in the expression “Yo hablo de mí mismo,” meaning “I speak about myself,” the adjective “mismo” is added to emphasize that one is speaking about himself. The expression “Yo hablo de mí” has the same meaning but without emphasis.

Note that “sí” can mean “himself,” “herself,” “itself,” “yourself” (formal singular), “themselves,” or “yourselves,” depending on the subject it refers to.

Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns

The second and third classes of object personal pronouns in Spanish are direct and indirect object pronouns. This tends to be one of the most challenging grammar lessons for English-speaking students. Nevertheless, the use of direct and indirect objects is so ubiquitous that we feel obliged to cover it at this beginner level. Feel free to return to this lesson at times of confusion if you do not fully grasp all the details.

Before we delve into the details, let us first define the difference between the two classes, since the distinction in English is not always clear. The direct object is the noun directly acted upon, whereas the indirect object is usually the noun (or person) receiving the direct object. For example, in the expressions “He gives it to us” and “I give it to you,” the “it” is the direct object acted upon, whereas “us” is the indirect object in the first example and “you” in the second. In English, we use “me,” “you,” “him,” “her,” “us,” and “them,” regardless of whether we are referring to a direct or indirect object. In Spanish, there are some differences.

1. The direct and indirect object pronouns generally come before the verb, e.g., “nos lo da” (He gives it to us). Attachment to the end of the verb will be discussed as an exception.

2. The indirect object always comes before the direct object when both are in the same sentence.

3. Unlike in English, we do not add the equivalent of “to” before the indirect object, e.g., “I give it to you” becomes “te lo doy” where “te” means “to you” in this context.

Now, let us learn the direct and indirect object pronouns and their equivalents in English.

Direct Object Pronoun	Indirect Object Pronoun	English Equivalent
me	me	me
te	te	you (informal singular)
lo/la	le	him/her/it/you (formal singular)
nos	nos	us
os	os	you (informal plural)
los/las	les	them/you (formal plural)

Notice that the direct and the indirect object pronouns are only different in the third-person singular and plural forms.

Attaching Object Pronouns to Verb Ends

Now, let us look at the three cases in which the direct or indirect object pronoun attaches to the end of the verb. In Spanish, object personal pronouns attach to the infinitive, gerund (ending with “-ando” or “-endo,” equivalent to “-ing” in English), or affirmative imperative.

Quiero hacerlo.	I want to do it.	obj. pron. + infinitive
Voy a preguntarle.	I’m going to ask him.	indirect obj. pron. + inf.
Estoy haciéndolo.	I am doing it.	direct obj. pron. + gerund
Estaba preguntándole.	I was asking him.	indirect obj. pron. + gerund
Ábrelo.	Open it.	dir. obj. pron. + imperative
Pídele dinero.	Ask him for money.	ind. obj. pron. + imperative

Keep in mind that attachment is optional in some of the cases above. The sentences in the first and the second columns are equivalent.

Quiero hacerlo.	Lo quiero hacer.	I want to do it.
Estoy haciéndolo.	Lo estoy haciendo.	I am doing it.
Estaba preguntándole.	Le estaba preguntando.	I was asking him.

Next: Combining Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns

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