Indirect vs direct object pronouns in Spanish

Mastering object pronouns in Spanish is an essential part of how to become fluent in Spanish, since this is an element that native speakers understand almost instinctively. Object pronouns are common and important because they streamline communication by replacing nouns to avoid repetition and there are two types in Spanish: direct and indirect. In this blog post, we’ll outline all you need to know, from how to use direct object pronouns in Spanish to how to use indirect object pronouns in Spanish, passing through their pronunciation, types, usage and everything else in between.

What are direct object pronouns in Spanish?

Let’s start with the question of what are direct object pronouns in Spanish. Well, direct object pronouns take the place of nouns that are the direct object of a verb, meaning the object that receives the action of the verb directly. If Person X does something to Thing X then the direct object is Thing X.

No matter whether you enrol in online Spanish courses or decide to learn Spanish in Madrid in person, in both cases you’ll come to learn that there are eight direct object pronouns for Spanish. What are these eight direct object pronouns in Spanish? Let’s take a look in the following table: 

Examples of how to use direct object pronouns in Spanish

Following on from the above, you might want to know what is an example of a direct object in a sentence and a direct object pronoun in a sentence. So, let’s take a look at a few, since examples are the most effective way to learn Spanish.

• I see the children = Veo a los niños / I see them = Los veo
• We bought a house = Hemos comprado una casa / We bought it = La hemos comprado 
• She can’t find the keys = No puede encontrar las llaves  / She can’t find them  = No puede encontrarlas
• Write a letter  = Escribe una carta / Write it  = Escríbela 

As you can see from the examples, the placement of direct object pronouns goes before a conjugated verb or they can be attached on the end of a verb when it is an infinitive or gerund, or an affirmative informal command.

What are indirect object pronouns in Spanish?

Moving on to the indirect pronouns in Spanish, these take the place of nouns which are not the direct object of a verb, meaning an object that receives the action of the verb indirectly. In this case, it’s about an object that has something done for it. So, if Person X does something for Thing X then the indirect object is Thing X. 

How many indirect object pronouns are there in Spanish? In this case, there are only six indirect object pronouns in Spanish, given that the third person pronouns are the same no matter the gender. Here is that full list of six indirect object pronouns in Spanish: 

Examples of how to use indirect object pronouns in Spanish

Let’s also move on to some examples of indirect objects and indirect object pronouns in sentences.

• I will give the books to the children = Daré los libros a los niños / I will give the books to them  = Les daré los libros
• We bought a house for my parents = Hemos comprado una casa para mis padres / We bought them a house = Les hemos comprado una casa
• She will give the keys to her neighbour = Dará las llaves a su vecino  / She will give him the keys  = Le dará las llaves
• Write a letter to your father  = Escribe una carta a tu padre / Write him a letter  = Escríbele una carta

The placement of indirect object pronouns in Spanish can also be before a conjugated verb or attached to the infinitive, gerund or command.

When to use direct vs indirect object pronouns in Spanish

Still not 100 percent sure about when to use indirect object pronouns in Spanish vs when to use direct object pronouns? A simple way to think about it is to consider that a direct object is the thing, person or animal that is receiving the action of the verb, while an indirect object is the thing, person or animal that is the recipient of the action performed with the direct object.

Of course, there are some further nuances beyond what we’ve gone over here, but the above should provide the baseline information on how to use direct and indirect object pronouns in Spanish.