"Te" vs "os"

Question

I'm not sure what the difference is between these two pronouns. Are they both direct pronouns, or is one perhaps an indirect object? Is one singular and the other plural? How do you know which to use in any given sentence? Thank you for any help you can give!

Answer 1

One is singular (te), and the other is plural (os). Bear in mind that "os" is only used in Spain. In Latin America, either "les" "las" or "los" is used. You will notice from the alternate forms given that te and os can be either a direct or an indirect object pronoun, and that will depend on what they are doing in the sentence.

Both writing at the same time! You are right - they can be either IO or DO pronouns, depending on context. - Noetol, Mar 13, 2013

Thank you for this question and the anwser. It's something I'm trying to get my head round too.. - littlemo2, Mar 13, 2013

It's funny when that happens! - BigMike, Mar 13, 2013

Answer 2

They are both direct object pronouns. "Te" is the second person singular familiar. "Os" is the second person familiar plural, and is not very commonly used outside of Spain, it being associated with the "vosotros" form.

These can be a little confusing for English speakers, since we do not have separate "familiar" and "formal" forms. We just use "you" for all cases, singular and plural.