Spanish: An Essential Grammar

Direct object pronouns

No lo conozco muy bien. I don’t know him very well.

Me criticaron. They criticized me.

Nos han visto. They have seen us.

It should be noted that in the 3rd person the direct object pronoun agrees

in gender (as well as number) with the item referred to:

Deja las cartas aquí y las subiré más tarde.

Leave the letters here and I’ll take them upstairs later.

Like other pronouns that vary for gender, direct object pronouns are used

in the masculine plural form to refer to groups containing both masculine

and feminine components:

–¿Dónde están Ana y Eduardo? ‘Where are Ana and Eduardo?’

–No los he visto. ‘I haven’t seen them.’

Notes:

1 The impersonal verb haberis sometimes used with a direct object pronoun to

refer to an unexpressed noun, e.g. Los hay en rojo‘We have them in red’.

2 The pronoun loscan be used to refer to añosin situations such as the following:

–Enrique cumple hoy cuarenta años. –No los aparenta‘ “Enrique is forty today.”

“He doesn’t look it” ’.

Uses of indirect object pronouns

For the indirect object with verbs like gustar, see 11.5.

Indirect object pronouns are most commonly used to indicate to whom

something is given, directed or said:

Les trajo un regalo. She brought them a present.

¿Qué te ha dicho? What has he said to you?

Le dirigió la mirada. She looked at him.

8.2.2.1

8.2.2

(^1111) 8.2.1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1011

1

12111

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

20111

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

30111

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

40

41111

Direct and

indirect

object

pronouns

75