Question about indirect object pronouns

Question

Is using an Indirect Object Pronouns (me, te, ...) the same as having "a me, te ..." after the verb?

For example, is:

Las morals dice a me cómo comportarse.

The same as :

Las morals me dice cómo comportarse.

Also, in the above examples, should "comportarse" be in the infinitive form, or should it be "se comportan"?

Thanks.

Thank you for filling out your profile a bit. It would be helpful in the future to know your gender. - Jubilado, Sep 9, 2015

Answer 1

I can give you a partial answer now, I could probably give your a fuller explanation if I knew what your language proficiency levels are (beginner, intermediate, advanced, fluent) in Spanish and English.

To start with your example has some errors.

It should be La moralidad me dice cómo comportarme.

We have complete grammar lessons on this site which will be helpful. Start on the main page and follow the prompts.

Buena suerte.

Why is it "La moralidad" instead of "la moral"? Also, I'm fluent in english and intermediate in Spanish. - Skirata, Sep 9, 2015

As you can see from the above picture, "moralidad" is the preferred word to "moral" or "morales" I don't know what "intermediate" means to you, but according to college standards ( I teach in college) you are somewhere toward the begining. - Daniela2041, Sep 9, 2015

of the first semester. Your misplacement of the indirect object pronouns and missing one of the correct ones, by my classroom standards, you are definitely not intermediate. No shame here, it just means that you have more to learn. Buena suerte. - Daniela2041, Sep 9, 2015

I made a typo..There should be a period after "correct ones." then a new sentence "By my ----etc" - Daniela2041, Sep 9, 2015

Answer 2

First: Using the indirect object is not the same as "a plus the pronoun" because you cannot substitute "a plus the pronoun" in the place of the indirect object pronoun. You have to use the indirect object pronoun in the sentence. You can add "a plus the pronoun" to emphasize the indirect object pronoun.

Example: José dijo, "No me gusta esa película." Tomás dijo, "Pero a mí me gusta mucho."

José said, "I don't like that film." Tomás said, "But I like it a lot."

Second: You used in Spanish a word spelled "morals". This is not a Spanish word.

Third: In Spanish la moral is an equivalent to "ethical norms" in English. It is not used in a plural form as in English "morals". Perhaps it is not commonly used. I don't know because I'm not a native speaker. Daniela2041 is a competent native speaker and if she gives "la moralidad" as the way to say what you wanted to say, you can trust her. Perhaps she will explain it further having read your comment. Daniela's example also answers how to use the verb comportarse in your sentence.

I hope this helps.

Gracias, Jubilado. Has cubierto algunas cosas que se me olvidó mencionar. ♥ - Daniela2041, Sep 9, 2015