Dec 15^th

The direct object in Spanish

n this article, we will look at what a direct object is in Spanish, as well as the direct object pronouns, which are pronouns that avoid unnecessary repetition of words in the sentence. We will explore how to use these pronouns, common mistakes, and many examples. Let's go!

The direct object.

In Spanish, there are verbs that do not need an object to convey a message. For example, if I say llueve (it rains), anyone who knows what rain is will understand my message. Similarly, if I say nació mi hijo (my child was born), I am also conveying a message with nothing more than the grammatical subject and the verb. These are called intransitive verbs: verbs that do not need a direct object to convey a message. However, if I say something like tengo (I have) or vendo (I sell) without further context, I am not conveying any meaningful message. For these verbs to make sense, they need to be complemented by something that can be, respectively, had or sold: the direct object. The direct object is what undergoes the action of the verb. Let’s look at some examples:

¿Qué tienes ahí? What do you have there?
Tengo una botella de vino. I have a bottle of wine.

¿Qué compraste ayer? What did you buy yesterday?
Compré unos libros. I bought some books.

In these examples, la botella de vino (the bottle of wine) is the direct object of the verb tener (to have), and los libros (the books) are the direct object of the verb comprar (to buy). To identify the direct object, we can ask the verb “what?” or “who?”.

If the direct object is a person or a beloved animal, it must be introduced with the preposition a.

Llamé a un médico. I called a physician.
Nosotros lo tenemos a él, que es el mejor. We have him, who’s the best.

In these examples, el médico is the direct object of the verb llamar , because he is the one being called, and él is the direct object of the verb tener, because he is the one being “had.”

After a noun is introduced in a conversation or text, it is usually replaced in future references by direct object pronouns to avoid unnecessary repetition. First, we will look at these pronouns, and then at how they are used.

Direct object pronouns.

Yo me

Tú te

Usted lo (masculino), la (femenino)

Él lo

Ella la

Nosotros/as nos

Vosotros/as os

Ustedes los (masculino y genérico), las (femenino)

Ellos los

Ellas las

I place them next to the personal pronouns to make it easier to identify which direct object pronoun corresponds to which person and number, but the direct object pronouns actually replace the personal pronoun when the noun they represent is the direct object of the verb, not the grammatical subject. The latter is the one that performs the verbal action.

If I want to express that I have been seen by someone, I would normally say, for example, ella me vio (she saw me). Ella (she) is the grammatical subject, who performs the action of seeing, and yo (I) am the direct object, because I undergo the action of being seen. Let’s look at more examples, substituting the nouns with pronouns.

Tengo una botella de vino. La tengo. I have a bottle of wine. I have it.

Ayer compré unos libros. Ayer los compré. Yesterday I bought some books. I bought them yesterday.

Hoy vi a tus padres en el centro. Hoy los vi en el centro. Today I saw your parents in the city center. Today I saw them in the city center.

Position of pronouns in the sentence.

The position of pronouns in the sentence can vary depending on the grammatical structure. Below, we will look at the main rules:

1. Before the conjugated verb.

When the verb is conjugated, the direct object pronoun is placed before it:

Juan lee el libro. Juan reads the book.
Juan lo lee. Juan reads it.
No compré la entrada. I didn’t buy the ticket.
No la compré. I didn’t buy it.

2. After the infinitive

If there is an infinitive verb, the pronoun can be attached to the end of the verb:

Voy a comprar las flores. I am going to buy the flowers.
Voy a comprarlas. I’m going to buy them.
Quiero ver la película. I want to see the film.
Quiero verla. I want to see it.

It can also be placed before the conjugated verb. Both constructions are valid and have the same meaning:

Voy a comprar las flores. I am going to buy the flowers.
Las voy a comprar. I’m going to buy them.
Quiero ver la película. I want to see the film.
La quiero ver. I want to see it.

3. After the gerund.

In structures with gerunds, the pronoun can be placed after the gerund, forming a single word:

Está leyendo el periódico. He’s reading the newspaper.
Está leyéndolo. He’s reading it.
Sigo buscando a Luisa. I keep looking for Luisa. Sigo buscándola. I keep looking for her.

It can also be placed before the conjugated verb. Both constructions are valid and have the same meaning.

Está leyendo el periódico. He’s reading the newspaper.
Lo está leyendo. He’s reading it.
Sigo buscando a Luisa. I keep looking for Luisa. La sigo buscando. I keep looking for her.

4. After the affirmative imperative.

In affirmative commands, the pronoun is attached to the end of the verb:

Escribe la carta. Write the letter.
Escríbela. Write it.
Compra los boletos. Buy the tickets.
Cómpralos. Buy them.

In the case of the negative imperative, the pronoun is placed before the verb:

No escribas la carta. Don’t write the letter.
No la escribas. Don’t write it.
No compres los boletos. Don’t buy the tickets.
No los compres. Don’t buy them.

The use of "lo" as a neutral form.

The pronoun “lo” is also used to refer to ideas, concepts, or something indeterminate.

¿Entendiste lo que dije? Did you understand what I said? Sí, lo entendí. Yes, I understood it.
Todo lo que haces es interesante. Everything you do is interesting.

Pronouns and agreement.

Direct object pronouns must agree in gender and number with the noun they replace:

Juan tiene una guitarra. Juan has a guitar.
Juan la tiene. Juan has it.
María compró los zapatos. María bought the shoes.
María los compró. María bought them.
¿Tienes las llaves? Do you have the keys?
Sí, las tengo. Yes, I have them.

Sentence Structure.

When indirect object pronouns are used along with, for example, temporal markers, the pronouns can be placed in different positions within the sentence, marking subjective differences in the meaning of the sentence.

Ayer vi a tus padres en el centro. Yesterday I saw your parents in the city center.

Ayer los vi en el centro. Emphasizes yesterday..

Los vi ayer en el centro. This emphasizes that who I saw were the parents of my interlocutor.

En el centro los vi ayer. This emphasizes that it was in the city center.

Common mistakes.

Confusion with “le” and “les”: Some speakers, especially in certain regions of Spain, use “le” or “les” instead of “lo” or “los” to refer to people. This phenomenon is known as leísmo:
- Vi a Juan. Le vi. (Instead of Lo vi.)

Although leísmo is accepted in some cases, meaning it is not considered a mistake according to the RAE (Royal Spanish Academy), it is not grammatically necessary. Additionally, the verb ver (to see), among others, can take both a direct and an indirect object. The explanation of indirect objects will be the subject of another article, but let’s provide a small example. If I want to express that I saw Juan, I say lo vi (I saw him). But if I want to express that, for example, I saw his hands, I say le vi las manos (I saw his hands). When replacing las manos, the direct object, with its pronoun, it changes, and the sentence becomes se las vi (I saw them). But as I mentioned earlier, we will cover that in another article.

Omitting the pronoun: In Spanish, the direct object pronoun must always be included when it replaces the object:
- Wrong: ¿Compraste el pan? → Sí, compré.
- Right: ¿Compraste el pan? → Sí, lo compré.
Placement errors: Some students place the pronoun incorrectly:
- Wrong: Voy lo a comprar.
- Right: Voy a comprarlo.

I know it’s a lot of information in one text, but this topic is essential to achieve fluency in the Spanish language, as these pronouns are used all the time in both spoken and written language. However, and I say this from my own experience as a language learner, mastering them is a matter of practice and time. Keep going! Here are exercises to practice this important aspect of the Spanish language.