You are viewing a free preview of this lesson.
Subscribe to unlock all 10 lessons in this course and every other course on LearningBro.
Indirect object pronouns (pronombres de objeto indirecto) tell us to whom or for whom an action is done. They are one of the most important structures in Spanish and appear in everyday conversation constantly.
An indirect object is the person (or thing) that receives the direct object or benefits from the action. It answers "to whom?" or "for whom?"
Here, el libro is the direct object (what is given), and a María is the indirect object (to whom it is given).
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | me (to me) | nos (to us) |
| 2nd (informal) | te (to you) | os (to you all - Spain) |
| 3rd | le (to him/her/you formal) | les (to them/you all formal) |
Key difference from direct object pronouns: In the third person, the indirect object pronoun is always le (singular) or les (plural), regardless of gender. There is no lo/la distinction for indirect objects.
The placement rules for indirect object pronouns are identical to those for direct object pronouns:
Because le and les can refer to multiple people (him, her, you formal, them, you all formal), Spanish often adds a + person for clarification:
Important: Even though a María already tells us who, the pronoun le is still required. This is called redundant le and it is grammatically correct and natural in Spanish.
| Pronoun | Clarification |
|---|---|
| me | a mí |
| te | a ti |
| le | a él / a ella / a usted / a [person's name] |
| nos | a nosotros / a nosotras |
| os | a vosotros / a vosotras |
| les | a ellos / a ellas / a ustedes |
Many Spanish verbs inherently require an indirect object. These are verbs of giving, telling, showing, sending, and other acts directed at people:
Subscribe to continue reading
Get full access to this lesson and all 10 lessons in this course.