Spanish object pronouns: Tips and rules for placing object pronouns in Spanish

With the help of the Spanish object pronouns, you can refer to people or objects that are already known from previous sentences. This makes everyday language use easier and otherwise shortens longer Spanish sentences. To help you understand the Spanish object pronouns, we will give you the corresponding personal pronouns, which you have certainly already dealt with in the conjugation of Spanish verbs. The following overview contains all the object pronouns used in the Spanish language:

As already mentioned, the object pronoun replaces an object or person that has already been mentioned. To use the correct Spanish object pronoun, you should therefore pay attention to the pronoun that is replaced by the object pronoun. As a rule, object pronouns in Spanish come in front of the conjugated verb. To make the sentence structure with object pronouns understandable, take a look at the sentence structure of a Spanish sentence with and without object pronouns below. For a better comprehension, there is an example sentence below the general structure.

In this example, you can notice how the object bocadillo is replaced by the object pronoun lo. You can also see that the object pronoun is placed before the conjugated verb come.

The two object pronouns lo and la are used when you want to say to him, her or it. However, if you want to say to him or to her, you have to use the Spanish object pronoun le. The same applies to the plural form. If you want to say them or their, you either use los, for masculine objects, or las for feminine objects. In case you want to say to them or for them (in the plural form) in your sentence, you use the Spanish object pronoun les.

Here are a few example sentences to clarify this explanation:

Yo busco un cuchillo. Yo lo busco.
Yo le regalé un viaje a mis padres. Se los regalé.
Yo le presto mi bolígrafo a él. Le presto el bolígrafo.

Direct object pronouns replace direct objects. The direct object can be an object or a person. To find out if it is a direct object, you can ask the auxiliary question Who or What (quién y qué).

Here you can find all the direct object pronouns in Spanish:

Este coche es muy bacano, pero no puedo compralo. Es demasiado caro para mí.
Pago las bebidas en efectivo. - Las pago en efectivo.
¿Has traído los computadores? - Los has traído?
Me gustan los patacones. Los quiero comer todos los días.

Indirect object pronouns replace indirect objects in a sentence and usually refer to persons and only in very rare cases to things or objects. To find an indirect object pronoun, you can ask the auxiliary question Wem? (¿A quién?).

Here you can find all the indirect object pronouns in Spanish:

Mi hermano me hace un regalo.
Ella le canta una canción.
Mis padres me compran un coche.
Yo os he invitado a la fiesta.
Nosotros lo hemos dicho muchas veces.

When using indirect and direct Spanish object pronouns, there are a few special points that you should bear in mind. Look at them carefully to avoid making unnecessary mistakes when speaking Spanish.

When you use Spanish object pronouns in combination with the very common preposition con, you must be aware that new words are created. You can find these new words below:

Since the combination con mi is not melodious and is difficult to pronounce, the two very short words become a melodious conmigo.

In Spanish, it is often the case that the object is mentioned twice. Once in the form of a direct object pronoun and once as a normal object. In German, there is no such sentence structure. Therefore, you should pay attention to this in your Spanish sentence formation. The following examples will make the whole thing more understandable:

Yo le compro un regalo a mi mamá.
Nosotros le hemos dado un bocadillo al niño.
Ellos les han llevado los computadores.

In spoken and written Spanish, you are constantly confronted with object pronouns. It is therefore very important that you understand Spanish object pronouns well. To find the right object pronoun, you should always pay attention to the object that is replaced by the object pronoun. In order to understand the topic better and in a more sustainable way, you should definitely start creating your own Spanish sentences with object pronouns.

Alternatively, you can plan your next holiday to a Spanish-speaking city such as Málaga or Barcelona and intensify your learning progress in speaking Spanish during a language study trip to Spain.