Direct Objects
how do you substitute a word with lo, los, la , las, le , les?
3 Answers
There are a few rules you need to keep in mind with direct object pronouns. One of the most important is to know what is and what isn't a direct object pronoun.
A direct object is the item that is acted upon by a verb. For example, in the sentence "I payed him", the word "him" is the direct object, because that is what is being payed, it's being acted on by the verb
The next important point is that you need to remember that all third person direct object pronouns (i.e., lo, la, los, las) need to match in gender and number with the object it is replacing. Thus, "el hombre" would be come lo, "la chica" would be la, and so on.
After you have figured out the actual direct object pronoun you will use, you need to know where to put it.
If the object pronoun is being used with a lone conjugated verb, you must place the pronoun before the verb: "Yo la como"
If the object pronoun is being used with a conjugated verb and an infinitive or present participle, it can either go before the verb, or be attached to the end of the infinitive or participle: "Yo la estoy comiendo" OR "Yo estoy comiéndola"; "Yo la voy a comer" OR "Yo voy a comerla"
Note: when attaching a pronoun to the end of a participle, you must add an accent to maintain emphasis. Generally, this will be the third vowel from the end of the participle with the object attached: "comiéndolo", "bebiéndola", etc.
If the object pronoun is being used with an an affirmative command, it will be attached to the end of the command. For example, "¡Hazla!", "¡Cómprelo!", etc. Again, if one pronoun is attached to a command with more than one syllable, an accent must be added to maintain emphasis.
If the object pronoun is being used with a negative command, it will be placed before the command. For example, "¡No la comas!", "¡No lo haga!", etc.
One thing I am unsure of is in the compound tenses, such has the present perfect. However, according to this post, this post and this website, it is not acceptable to ever attach an object pronoun to the end of a past participle: Therefore, an object pronoun would have to precede the conjugated form of "haber": "Yo lo he comido", "Tú la has bebido"
OK, I´m in the process of reviewing this and mandatos from last semester before I plow into next semester and indirect objects, so at least trying to answer is good practice for me too. Not sure I´m good enough to explain it all yet, but I think these are solid (ish?) examples
Here are a couple short examples. Aquí hay unos ejemplos cortos.
I take the book Tomo el libro
I take it. Lo tomo.
I want to take the book. Quiero tomar el libro.
I want to take it. Quiero tomarlo.
hope that helps. Espero que te ayuda.
