Direct & Indirect Object Pronouns – Spanish Grammar
B1 · Spanish Grammar
Direct & Indirect Object Pronouns
Complemento Directo (CD) & Complemento Indirecto (CI) — replacing nouns to speak more fluently and naturally
Direct: lo, la, los, las, me, te, nos, osIndirect: le, les, me, te, nos, osPosition · Order · le → se rule
What are they?
Direct & Indirect Object Pronouns
Object pronouns replace nouns in a sentence to avoid repetition. There are two types:
The direct object (CD) is the person or thing that directly receives the action of the verb — it answers “what?” or “whom?”
The indirect object (CI) is the person or thing for whom / to whom the action is done — it answers “to whom?” or “for whom?”
🎯Direct = “what/whom”? Compro el libro. ← What do I buy? The book. → Lo compro. The book becomes lo.
🎁Indirect = “to/for whom”? Doy el libro a María. ← To whom? To María. → Le doy el libro. María becomes le.
💡Both in one: Le doy el libroa María. → Se lo doy. When both appear together, the indirect le/les changes to se!
How to identify them
The Question Test
Ask these questions about the verb to find which type of object you have:
AnaSUBJECT
compraVERB
el libroDIRECT OBJ
para PedroINDIRECT OBJ
Direct test
Ana compra ¿qué? → el libro = CD
Indirect test
Ana compra para ¿quién? → Pedro = CI
After applying the pronouns:
Le compra lo = Se lo compra.
“Le” → “Se” because direct and indirect pronouns appear together.
Complemento Directo (CD)
Direct Object Pronouns
Replace the noun that directly receives the action. Agree in gender & number with the noun replaced.
Singular
meme (1st)
teyou (2nd)
lohim / it (masc.)
laher / it (fem.)
lo/layou (formal)
Plural
nosus (1st)
osyou all (2nd)
losthem (masc.)
lasthem (fem.)
los/lasyou all (formal)
🔑Gender matters! The direct object pronoun must agree with the noun it replaces: el libro → lo, la carta → la, los libros → los, las cartas → las.
Examples:
📖
¿Tienes el libro? Sí, lo tengo.
Do you have the book? Yes, I have it. (lo = el libro, masc.)
🎵
¿Escuchas la música? Sí, la escucho.
Do you listen to the music? Yes, I listen to it. (la = la música, fem.)
👀
Me llaman cada día.
They call me every day. (me = direct object, 1st person)
Complemento Indirecto (CI)
Indirect Object Pronouns
Replace the person/thing for whom / to whom the action is done. No gender agreement needed!
Singular
meto/for me
teto/for you
leto/for him/her/you
Plural
nosto/for us
osto/for you all
lesto/for them/you all
🎁No gender!le and les are used for all genders. Dar a Pedro / dar a María / dar a usted → all use le. Much simpler than direct!
Examples:
💌
Le escribo una carta a mi amigo.
I write a letter to my friend. (le = to my friend)
🎂
Les compro un regalo a mis padres.
I buy a gift for my parents. (les = for my parents)
📞
¿Me puedes llamar mañana?
Can you call me tomorrow? (me = to me, indirect)
Pronoun Position
Where do pronouns go?
The position of object pronouns depends on the verb form being used.
BEFORE conjugated verb
Lo veo todos los días.
Le doy el libro.
Pronoun goes before the main conjugated verb.
AFTER infinitive / gerund
Quiero verlo.
Estoy llamandole.
Pronoun is attached to the end of infinitive or gerund.
BEFORE the verb chain
Lo quiero ver.
Le estoy llamando.
With verb + infinitive / gerund, pronoun can go before the whole structure.
AFTER affirmative imperative
¡Cómpralo!
¡Dímelo!
With affirmative commands, pronoun attaches to the end. Negative: No lo compres.
⚠️Accents with imperatives! When pronouns are attached to an affirmative imperative, you often need to add a written accent to maintain the original stress: compra → cómpralo, di → dile.
When both pronouns appear
Order & The LE → SE Rule
When both a direct and indirect pronoun appear together, the order is always: CI first, then CD.
Word order with two pronouns
Subject→CI (indirect)+CD (direct)→Verb
Example: Yo telo doy. — I give it to you. (te = indirect / to you) · (lo = direct / it)
⚠️ The LE → SE rule
le / les→sewhen followed by lo/la/los/las
When le or les (indirect) is immediately followed by lo, la, los, las (direct), the indirect pronoun changes to se to avoid the awkward “le lo” sound.
✗ Le lo doy. → ✓ Se lo doy. (I give it to him/her/you.)
✗ Les las compro. → ✓ Se las compro. (I buy them for them.)
🧩Se is ambiguous!Se lo doy could mean “I give it to him”, “to her”, “to you (formal)”, “to them”, or “to you all”. Add a clarifier: Se lo doy a ella.
Examples with both pronouns:
💐
María melo regala. (it to me)
María gives it to me. (me=CI, lo=CD)
📬
Sela escribo a ella.
I write it to her. (se→ le, la=CD the letter)
🛍️
¿Los zapatos? Telos compro mañana.
The shoes? I’ll buy them for you tomorrow.
Redundant pronoun (duplicación)
The Duplicate Indirect Pronoun
In Spanish, the indirect object pronoun is often used even when the full noun is also present. This is called duplicación and is very common in spoken Spanish.
📦
Le doy el paquete a Juan.
I give the package to Juan. (le = a Juan — both present!)
💰
Les pagamos el alquiler a los dueños.
We pay the rent to the owners.
🎤
Le pregunté la hora a ella.
I asked her the time. (both le and a ella!)
🗣️Required with personal “a”: When the indirect object is a specific person, the duplicating pronoun is obligatory: Le doy [el libro] a mi profesora — you cannot say just “Doy el libro a mi profesora” in natural Spanish.
Note on direct objects
With direct objects, duplication is used for emphasis or contrast, but is not obligatory:
📚
A éllo veo todos los días. (contrast / emphasis)
Him, I see every day. (lo = a él, emphasized)
Verbs that use indirect objects
Verbs that commonly use CI
Many very common Spanish verbs naturally take an indirect object. Learn these verbs together with le/les.
Verb
Meaning
Example with CI
dar
to give
Le doy un regalo.
decir
to tell/say
Le digo la verdad.
mandar
to send/order
Le mando un mensaje.
escribir
to write
Le escribo una carta.
preguntar
to ask
Le pregunto algo.
contar
to tell/count
Les cuento la historia.
explicar
to explain
Le explico el problema.
mostrar
to show
Les muestro las fotos.
pedir
to ask for
Le pido un favor.
recomendar
to recommend
Les recomiendo el libro.
gustar
to please (like)
Le gusta el café.
parecer
to seem
Me parece bien.
⭐Gustar & similar verbs always use the indirect object pronoun: Me gusta el libro (The book pleases me). The subject is the thing liked, not the person!
✏️ Let’s Practise — CD & CI
Test your knowledge of direct and indirect object pronouns.
1
Replace with a pronoun
– Rewrite each sentence replacing the underlined noun with the correct pronoun.
Type only the pronoun that replaces the underlined noun (e.g. “lo”, “la”, “le”, “los”, “las”, “les”).
Compro el libro. → Lo ___
Veo las películas. → ___ veo.
Escribo a mi amiga. → ___ escribo.
Doy el regalo a mis padres. → ___ doy el regalo.
Tengo los zapatos. → ___ tengo.
Explico el problema a ella. → ___ explico el problema.
Llaman a nosotros. → ___ llaman. (CD)
Cuento la historia a vosotros. → ___ cuento la historia.
🏆
2
Fill in with the correct pronoun(s)
– Choose CD, CI, or both (remember the le→se rule!).
¿Compraste el libro? Sí, compré ayer. CD only
¿Le mandaste la carta a tu madre? Sí, mandé ayer. CI + CD (le→se rule!)
¿Me prestas tus apuntes? Claro, ahora mismo presto. CI only → te
¿Conoces a esa actriz? Sí, conozco muy bien. CD (person, fem.)
Explicó el problema a los estudiantes → explicó el problema. CI → les
⭐
3
CD or CI?
– Identify whether the bold pronoun is a direct or indirect object pronoun.
¿El libro? Sí, lo tengo aquí.
Siempre le doy las gracias al profesor.
¿Me puedes escuchar un momento?
¿Las fotos? Ya las he visto.
Les mandamos una invitación a todos.
¿El café? No lo bebo nunca.
🌟
4
Put the Words in Order
– Build the sentence with the correct pronoun order. Click the answer area to undo.
Sentence 1 — CI + CD (le→se rule): “I give it to her.” (el regalo → lo, a ella → se)
Selodoyaella.
Click words above…
Sentence 2 — pronoun before conjugated verb: “I write it to you.” (la carta → la, a ti → te)
Telaescribomañana.
Click words above…
Sentence 3 — pronoun attached to infinitive: “I want to give it to you.” (lo = el libro, te = to you)
