👉 How and when to use complement personal pronouns in Spanish?
– Spanish Grammar Basics for Beginners –
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Personal pronoun complements are used to replace a noun in a sentence.
They can be direct or indirect object complements depending on the person or thing they replace.
However, the only notable difference between direct and indirect object personal pronouns in Spanish is the third person singular and plural.
Personal pronouns as direct object complements
Direct object personal pronouns are used to replace a noun that the sentence is clearly about. They can be used to replace a proper noun or a common noun. The direct object personal pronouns are as follows:
- me
- te
- lo or la
- nos
- os
- los or las
Thus, in an affirmative sentence, when the subject is clearly identified by the speaker, it will be possible to replace the noun with a personal pronoun as a direct object complement.
Instead of writing “el gato come el ratón” (the cat eats the mouse), you can say “el gato lo come” (the cat eats it).
Examples:
- Tu hijo no me habla = Your son doesn’t talk to me
- Te quiero = I love you
- Paolo lo rompió = Paolo broke it
- Mi mamá nos trajó comida = My mother brought us food
- Sandra no os conoce = Sandra doesn’t know you
- Perdí mis anteojos. Los has visto ? = I lost my glasses. Have you seen them?
When the personal pronoun is the direct object of a verb in the infinitive or gerund, it can be stuck to the end of the verb.
Examples :
- Vinó a visitarme el lunes = He came to see me on Monday
- Puedes llamarlo ahora = You can call him now
- Estoy esperandolo = I’m waiting for it
- Estan superándonos = They are overtaking us
Les pronoms personnels compléments d’objet indirect
In Spanish, indirect object personal pronouns are useful to replace a noun that refers to a person.
They replace a person indirectly involved in the action. They give information about the person to whom or for whom the action described in the sentence is done.
Only third person indirect object personal pronouns differ from direct object personal pronouns. The indirect object personal pronouns are :
- me
- te
- le
- nos
- os
- les
In a sentence, it is therefore sufficient to identify the indirect object of the sentence in order to replace it with the corresponding indirect object personal pronoun.
In the statement “Pedro compró un regalo a Juan” (Pedro bought Juan a present), it is possible to replace the indirect object “a Juan” (to Juan) with the indirect object personal pronoun “le“.
We then obtain the sentence “Pedro le compró un regalo”.
Examples :
- Me envió una carta = He sent me a letter
- Gabriel te manda un paquete = Gabriel is sending you a package
- Le quiero decir algo importante = I want to tell him something important
- Nos quiere comprar la casa = He wants to buy us the house
- Maria os va a visitar jueves = Maria will come to see you on Thursday
- Les van a hablar primero = They will talk to them first
As in the case of the direct object personal pronoun, the indirect object personal pronoun can be placed at the end of the verb when it concerns a verb in the infinitive or gerund.
Examples :
- Voy a visitarle mañana = I will visit him tomorrow
- Quieres comprarle un regalo ahora ? = You want to buy You want to buy him a present now?a present now?
- Marco vinó a hablarles = Marco came to talk to Marco came to talk to them
Double pronoun
When a verb is accompanied by two personal pronouns as object complements, the personal pronoun as indirect object complement, relating to a person, is always placed before the personal pronoun as direct object complement, replacing a person or a thing.
The indirect object personal pronouns “le” and “les” become “se” when placed before the direct object personal pronouns “lo”, “la”, “los” or “las”.
Examples :
- Pablo me lo dió = Pablo gave it to me
- Maria nos lo a dicho = Maria told us
- Marcelo se los compra = Marcelo buys it for them
- Yo se las comparto = I share it with them
👉 Next lesson: Possessive pronouns
👉 Previous lesson: Adding ‘lo’ to Spanish verbs
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