Use of object pronouns

Question

Hey there. I'm still grappling with IO/DO pronouns. I may have made this more complicated than it needs to be (probably) but can you tell me which of these is correct and explain why the one that is wrong is wrong?

En ingles decimos, por ejemplo, "I want you to wait there."

Como se dice en espanol?

1) Necesito que esperes allí 2) Te necesito esperar allí (or does this really mean "i need to wait for you there"?) 3) Necesito esperarte allí (and as above for 2))

Thank you

Doh - sorry for the typo. I mean "I need you to wait there". But i guess the grammar is the same. - neenee1969, May 19, 2011

Answer 1

It's really the same as in English for simple sentences like this. The verb needs to be conjugated to match the subject and the objects can be nouns or pronouns. In Spanish, the verbs are conjugated differently depending on the subject, so the subject pronoun is usually omitted.

(Yo) quiero que esperes aquí.

Since quiero is conjugated to mean something you want, you don't have to add the "I". However, if you want to contrast what you want as opposed t everyone else, you need to put it in. What English does with word emphasis in this example, Spanish does by adding an obvious word. It is like saying I (and not somebody else) I want. . .

Since you only want this to happen, you cant say that it is going to happen. In English this is not a big deal, but in Spanish they have a change in "mood" that communicates that you don't really know this for a fact: it is called the subjunctive. Even though it is in the subjunctive, Spanish still conjugates the verbs differently for every person (ie. me, he/she/it, you, etc.) so "esperes" includes the "you" part in English of wanting/waiting for someone to do something.

Answer 2

I want you to wait there would be Quiero que esperes allí/á.

I need you to wait there = Necesito que esperes allí/á.

Yes and quiero sounds better than necesito in this context. - kenwilliams, May 19, 2011

Answer 3

Thank you. I'm trying to understand why it is: "I need THAT..." "Necesito que..." versus "I need you...." "te necesito...." Can anyone explain?

Necesito que esperes... literally translates as "I need that you wait," though one wouldn't say that in English; we'd say "I need you to wait." (This way, we avoid using the English subjunctive). Because you need the subjunctive when expressing what you want/need someone to do, it's formed with ... que {subj. verb}.

Hope this helps! There's most likely someone who can explain it better than I can.

excellent. ta - neenee1969, May 19, 2011

Answer 4

Thank you everyone. Together you have answered my question very well!

Answer 5

I have also had problems with direct and indirect object pronouns. Let me recommend the video available on this site. It takes about 10 minutes to watch and gives several good examples.

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For reference material, try looking these over.

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Hope that helps!

Answer 6

Thank you. I'm trying to understand why it is:

"I need THAT..." "Necesito que..."

versus "I need you...." "te necesito...."

Can anyone explain?

Answer 7

Necesito/Quiero que esperes allí = I need/want you to wait there