This document discusses Spanish direct object nouns and pronouns. It provides the direct object pronouns in Spanish and their English equivalents. It explains that direct objects receive the action of the verb and discusses where the direct object pronoun is typically placed in different Spanish sentence structures, such as before or attached to verbs, infinitives, and present participles. It also covers uses of direct object pronouns with personified objects and depersonified people.

1. What they are and how to use them
Spanish Direct Object Nouns and Pronouns

2. Los pronombres de objeto directo
 Direct objects can be
nouns, e.g., people,
places, things, ideas,
etc. or pronouns that
receive the action of
the verb. This is true
in English and in
Spanish.

3. Los pronombres de objeto directo
English Direct Object
Pronouns
me us
you
him, her, it them
Pronombres de objeto
directo en español
me nos
te os
lo, la los, las

4. Los pronombres de objeto directo
 I read the book. 
 I read it. 
 (Yo) Leo el libro.
 (Yo) Lo leo.
Who or what do I read? The book! ¡El libro!
The book/it receives the action of the verb.
In Spanish, the direct object pronoun usually goes
before the conjugated verb.

5. Los pronombres de objeto directo
 You buy the food.
 You buy it.
 (Tú) Compras la
comida.
 (Tú) La compras.
Who or what do you buy? The food! ¡La comida!
The food/it receives the action of the verb.
So, in Spanish, where does the direct object pronoun
usually go? It goes before the conjugated verb.

6. Los pronombres de objeto directo
 She does it (an
activity--no gender)
often. 
 (Ella) Lo hace a
menudo.
Who or what do she do? An activity (no gender)
The activity/it receives the action of the verb.
So, in Spanish, where does the direct object pronoun
usually go?

7. Los pronombres de objeto directo
 Do you love me?
 Of course, I love
you!
 ¿(Tú) Me quieres?
 ¡Claro que (yo) te
quiero!

8. Los pronombres de objeto directo
 We love you, Mr. Smith!
 We love you, too, Mrs.
Smith!
 ¡Lo queremos, Sr.
Smith!
 ¡La queremos
también, Sra. Smith
The direct object to replace the Ud. form of “you”
is lo or la depending on
the gender of the person that Ud. refers to.

9. Los pronombres de objeto directo
 I love my
children.
 I love them.
 Amo a mis hijos.
 Los amo.
My children are specific people and
the direct object of the verb “love,”
so I need a before the direct object noun mis hijos.
But, there is NO personal a before
direct object pronouns.

10. Los pronombres de objeto directo
 Likewise, there is
NO personal a
after the verbs
ser, tener or hay.
 Son mis amigos
Porfirio y Paloma.
 Tienen tres hijos.
 Hay cinco nietos en
su familia: Paco,
Pedro, Pancha,
Pepe y Pilar.

11. Los pronombres de objeto directo
 Personified
items
 Countries
 Extraño a mi
México
querido.
 Pets
 Amamos a
nuestro perrito.
 Depersonified People
 When referring to
indefinite, non-
specific, or
anonymous people,
we do not use a
personal a.
 Busco un carpintero.
 Necesitamos un
médico.

12. Los pronombres de objeto directo
English Direct Object
Pronouns
me us
you
him, her, it them
Pronombres de objeto
directo en español
me nos
te os
lo, la los, las
con el presente continuo

13. Los pronombres de objeto directo
 In Spanish, there are two
possible places to put the
direct object pronoun in a
present progressive
sentence.
 Example 1:
 (Tú) Me estás llamando.
 Example 2:
 (Tú) Estás llamándome.
con el presente continuo

14. Los pronombres de objeto directo
 Example 1:
 (Tú) Me estás
llamando.
 In Example 1, the direct
object pronoun me is
before the conjugated verb,
estás.
 Example 2:
 (Tú) Estás
llamándome.
 In Example 2, the direct
object pronoun me is
connected to the present
participle llamando.
con el presente continuo

15. Los pronombres de objeto directo
 Note:
 If the direct object pronoun is attached to the present
participle, an accent mark must be placed over the a in
the -ando ending, or the e in -iendo. (llamándome,
llamándote, etc. (barriéndolo, abriendolas, etc.)
con el presente continuo

16. Los pronombres de objeto directo
 Note:
 By attaching the pronoun, you are adding another
syllable to the end of the word.
 By adding an accent mark to the -ando or -iendo
ending, the stress will still be on the same syllable as
usual.
 Remember to put the accent mark over the strong
vowel in the dipthong (a or e).
con el presente continuo

17. Los pronombres de objeto directo
English Direct Object
Pronouns
me us
you
him, her, it them
Pronombres de objeto
directo en español
me nos
te os
lo, la los, las
con el presente continuo

18. Los pronombres de objeto directo
In Spanish, there are two
possible places to put the
direct object pronoun in a
sentence with an infinitive.
con los infinitivos

19. Los pronombres de objeto directo
 Example 1:
 (Tú) Me vas a
llamar.
 In Example 1, the
direct object pronoun
me is before the
conjugated verb,
vas.
 Example 2:
 (Tú) Vas a
llamarme.
 In Example 2, the
direct object pronoun
me is connected to
the infinitive, llamar.
con los infinitivos

20. Los pronombres de objeto directo
 Example 3:
 (Yo) Lo puedo
hacer.
 In Example 3, the
direct object pronoun
me is before the
conjugated verb,
puedo.
 Example 4:
 (Yo) Puedo hacerlo.
 In Example 4, the
direct object pronoun
me is connected to
the infinitive, hacer.
con los infinitivos

21. Los pronombres de objeto directo
 Example 5:
 (Él) Lo quiere
comprar.
 In Example 3, the
direct object pronoun
me is before the
conjugated verb,
quiere.
 Example 6:
 (Él) Quiere
comprarlo.
 In Example 4, the
direct object pronoun
me is connected to
the infinitive,
comprar.
con los infinitivos

22. Los pronombres de objeto directo
 Note:
 It is NOT necessary to add an accent mark to the infinitive.
ALL direct object pronouns end in either a vowel or the letter
s.
 According to the rules of Spanish pronunciation, when a
word ends in a vowel, an n, or an s, the second to the last
syllable gets stressed. This would put the stress then, on the
infinitive ending (ar, er, ir) which is the way infinitives are to
be pronounced.
con los infinitivos

23. ¡Gracias por su atención!