Indirect Object Pronouns (I.O.P.)
Learn Spanish: Direct Object Pronouns in Spanish
This learn Spanish grammar lesson goes over the second type of Spanish object pronouns, the indirect object pronoun (I.O.P.) In a sentence, the Indirect Object is the second, or indirect recipient of the action of the verb. That is, the person or person for whom or to whom an action is done. The indirect object answers the questions: for whom or to whom?
| To whom? |
Yo te di un libro. |
I gave a book to you. |
| For whom? |
Maria me compró una chaqueta. |
Mary bought a jacket for me. |
These are the forms:
| Me |
To or For me |
| Te |
To or For you (informal) |
| Le |
To or For him/her/you (formal) |
| Nos |
To or For us |
| Os |
To or For you all (only used in Spain) |
| Les |
To or For them/you all |
The I.O.P. is placed before a conjugated verb.
| Tus padres te dan dinero. |
Your parents give you money. (give money to you) |
| Mi hermano me compró un suéter. |
My brother bought me a sweater. (bought a sweater for me) |
When you use a verbal phrase (a verb that has more than one word), you can place the indirect object pronoun before the verbal structure or attached to the infinitive or the gerund, similar to D.O.P.'s.
| Can I give you the book now? |
Puedo darte el libro ahora? |
| Te puedo dar el libro ahora? |
| I am explaining them the lesson. |
Estoy explicandoles la lección. |
| Les estoy explicando la lección. |
Notice that by using "le" or "les" one cannot tell if it's for him, her, you, them, or you all. In order to clarify this to the reader or listener, you can add the folowing:
le |
les |
| a él |
a ellos |
| a ella |
a ellas |
| a usted |
a ustedes |
See for example:
| Le estoy escribiendo a él |
I'm writing to him. |
| Ella va a enviarles a ustedes un documento. |
She is going to send you all a document. |
There are some verbs that always take the I.O.P. because they imply a receiver or a listener.
| Dar |
to give |
| Explicar |
to explain |
| Mandar |
to send |
| Enviar |
to send |
| Regalar |
to give a gift |
| Pedir |
to request |
| Preguntar |
to ask a question |
| Comprar |
to buy |
| Decir |
to say |
| Escribir |
to write |
| Responder |
to respond |
See for example:
| ¿Ella les explicó el problema a ustedes? |
Did she explain the problem to you (all)? |
| Voy a mandarte una carta. |
I am going to send you a letter. |
| Le quiero comprar a ella una regala. |
I want to buy her a gift. |
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