Q&Ai confuse direct and indirect object nouns in spanish

i confuse direct and indirect object nouns in spanish

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hi, i have finished first 43 lessons, i have learnt a lot but still confuse that direct and indirect object nouns in spanish, is there an easy way to understand them without doubting again? Thanks!

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updated Mar 5, 2010

posted by seco

5 Answers

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Direct Object Pronouns (DOPs) replace the noun and answer the question "What?" or "Who?". For example, if your telling someone to eat their apple, you would more than likely say "Eat it" than "Eat the apple". So, in Spanish, instead of "Come la manzana" you could just say "Cómela". "la" answers the question "What?" and replaces the noun. They can be used for both people and objects. The 3rd person pronouns must match in gender. So "la" was used for "la manzana" because it is feminine. If it had been "pollo" it would change to "cómelo" because pollo is masculine. If it was more than one apple/chicken, it would change to "cómelas" or "cómelos" in order to match number. The DOPs are:

me-me
te-you
lo/la-it/him/her
nos-us
os-you all (informal)
los/las-them, you all (formal)

Indirect Object Pronouns (IOPs) answer the question "For/To Whom?". When used with Direct Object Pronouns, they tell to or for whom an object or action is intended. For example, if one wants to say, "bring the book", they would say "tráelo" with "lo" refering to the book. If you would like to say "bring me the book" you would add the IOP to make it known that the book is intended for you, "tráemelo" with "me" signifying "to me". When combining IOPs and DOPs, the IOP proceeds the DOP. The DOPs are:

me-to/for me
te-to/for you
le/se-to/for him/her/it
nos-to/for us
os-to/for you all (informal)
les/se-to/for them, you all (formal)
*(you can see that 1st and 2nd person singular/plural are the same as the IOPs)

"se" is used when the DOP 3rd person is feminine so that you don't end up with "-lela" or "-lelo". For example, if you wanted to say "bring her the book", it would be incorrect to say "tráelelo". The sound made be the two 'l"s together complicates the flow. Instead, you would say "tráeselo".*

updated Mar 5, 2010

edited by mr-solis

posted by mr-solis

This is a Big help. Thanks mr-solis - 0021954c, Mar 5, 2010

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Gez

Not with commands. They are connected to the command in IOP DOP order. Now, if your'e making a statement sentence, the IOP and DOP can both be placed infront and unconnected. For example:

"He brought her the book"

Trajó el libro a ella
Se lo trajó

se refers to to/for her, and lo refers to the book

A trick that should be used with STRICT CAUTION is to read it backwards to double check and make sense of the order. STRICT CAUTION because it is not a universal rule.