Indirect and Direct Objects 

Let's review: what is a subject and an object?

• The subject performs the action. She sees the ball. Ella ve la pelota.
• The object receives the action. She sees the ball. Ella ve la pelota.

EXAMPLE: I give Sam the chair.

• SUBJECT: I is the subject pronoun because it performs the action of the verb—it gives. 

• DIRECT OBJECT: What or Who? Which of these objects received the action directly? Or in this example, what do I give? I give the chair. This is the direct object because it is what is most directly related to the verb.

• INDIRECT OBJECT: To whom or for whom was the action of the verb performed? Or in this example, Whom do I give it to? I gave it to Sam, so Sam is the indirect object here. 

Now let's replace each noun with a pronoun.

I gave it to him. 

Him being the I.O and it being the D.O.

Direct Object Pronouns

What are they?

Just like subject pronouns, we use direct object pronouns to replace a name/noun.

Instead of saying: 

“Juan gave Maria flowers. He gave Maria flowers because she got her degree,”

we would replace “Maria” with “her”. 

“Juan gave Maria flowers. He gave her flowers because she got her degree.” 

We use the following pronouns for the direct object:

Where are they placed in a sentence?

The pronoun will come right before a conjugated verb.

Ella me da un regalo.

This can be confusing, as in English the pronoun comes after the verb:

I saw him. 

It is a good idea, then, to familiarize yourself with saying him before the verb in Spanish:

Lo vi.

Read through these examples below and translate them:

La veo.

La llamo.

Te veo.

Te llamo.

La ves.

La llamas.

Nos ves.

Nos llamas.

Ella nos ve. 

Ella nos llama.