How to Use Direct and Indirect Pronouns - Part 1

In Part 1 of this lesson we learned how to use singular direct and indirect pronouns to substitute direct and indirect objects. We will now continue with the plural forms.
 
For your reference, here's a table showing how the direct and indirect object pronouns in Spanish are identical except for the third-person singular and plural (him, her, it, them, formal you), and the second-person plural (you) forms:

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You can clearly see that nos (us) is the first-person plural form of both the direct and indirect object pronouns in Spanish. It follows that the pronoun nos (us) is used to substitute a direct object. Remember that we need a transitive verb in order to have a direct object. Here's a good example:
 

Y del cielo van cayendo cristales, nos lavan

And from the sky, crystals start falling, they wash us

Caption 9, Aterciopelados - Río

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But nos (us) can also be used as an indirect pronoun to substitute an indirect object:
 

Nos darán una degustación.

They will give us a tasting.

Caption 27, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa

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In the previous example, nos is the indirect object, while una degustación (a tasting) is the direct object. So, to substitute both objects you must say: Nos la darán (They will give it to us).
 
Now, the pronoun os (you) is used as a direct object by people who use vosotros (you), mainly in Spain:
 

Os esperamos pronto.

We expect you soon.

Caption 20, Viernes Santo en Tobarra - ¡La Cuna del Tambor!

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In the Americas, where people use ustedes (you) rather than vosotros (you), the direct pronoun is either los or las:
 
Los esperamos pronto.
We expect you soon.
 
But if, for example, we are talking to a group of only girls, we use las (you):
 
Las esperamos pronto.
We expect you (feminine plural) soon.
 
Now, to substitute the indirect object, Spaniards use the same pronoun, os (you):
 
Os doy un ejemplo.
I give you (plural) an example.
 
In the previous example, os is the indirect object, while the direct object is un ejemplo (an example), a masculine noun that according to our table should be substituted by the direct pronoun lo. So, if we were to substitute both objects, we would say os lo doy (I give it to you). If we were talking about una explicación (an explanation), then we would say os la doy (I give it to you). If we were talking about unos consejos (some words of advice), we would say os los doy (I give them to you), and so on.
 
In the Americas, on the other hand, the indirect pronoun is les (you) for both masculine and feminine forms. So, using a modified version of the previous examples:
 
Les doy un ejemplo, muchachos.
I give you an example, guys.
 
Les doy un ejemplo, muchachas.
I give you an example, girls.
 
What if we were to substitute both objects in the Latin American way? Can we say les lo doy? The answer is no, because, as we mentioned in Part I of this lesson, there's a special rulefor combining pronouns when le(s) and lo(s)/la(s) would end up next to each other in a sentence: you must use se instead. So we must say se lo doy, muchachos (I give it to you, guys). If we were giving una explicación (an explanation) to a group of girls, then we would say se la doy, muchachas (I give it to you, girls). If we were talking about giving unos consejos (some words of advice) to a group of guys, we would say se los doy (I give them to you), and so on.
 
Finally, for the third-person plural, los and las are used for the direct object in both Spain and the Americas:
 
Yo doy ejemplos a mis alumnos / Yo los doy a mis alumnos.
I give examples to my students / I give them to my students.
 
Ella da explicaciones a las maestras / Ella las da a las maestras.
She gives explanations to the teachers / She gives them to the teachers.
 
And les is used for a plural indirect object, no matter whether it's feminine or masculine:
 
Yo doy ejemplos a mis alumnos / Yo les doy unos ejemplos.
I give examples to my students / I give them examples.
 
Ella da explicaciones a las maestras / Ella les da explicaciones.
She gives explanations to the teachers / She gives them explanations.
 
And now let's see how to substitute both direct and indirect objects in the previous examples. For the indirect object you have to use se instead of les because you can never say les los or les las:
 
Yo doy ejemplos a mis alumnos / Yo se los doy.
I give examples to my students / I give them to them.
 
Ella da explicaciones a las maestras / Ella se las da.
She gives explanations to the teachers / She gives them to them.
 
Finally, remember that Spanish also uses the third-person forms of the pronouns to address people formally. So:
 
Direct object, singular:
 
Yo la escucho, señora / Yo lo escucho, señor.
I listen to you, ma’am / I listen to you, sir.
 
Indirect object, singular:
 
Yo le preparo té, señora / Yo le enciendo el cigarro, señor.
I prepare tea for you, ma’am / I light up the cigarette for you, sir.
 

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Indirect object, plural (in the Americas the familiar and formal forms are the same; in Spain the familiar is os and the formal is les):
 
Yo doy ejemplos a ustedes / Yo los doy a ustedes / Yo les doy ejemplos / Yo se los doy.
I give examples to you / I give them to you / I give examples to you / I give them to you.

How to Use Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns - Part 2

Direct and indirect object pronouns in Spanish are used to substitute indirect and direct objects. This lesson explores the proper way to do these substitutions using examples from our catalog of videos.

The direct and indirect object pronouns in Spanish are identical except for the third-person singular and plural (him, her, it, them)  and the second-person formal (you) forms:

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So, the pronoun me is used to substitute either the direct object, as in:

A Adícora me trajo el viento.

The wind brought me to Adícora.

Caption 7, Adícora, Venezuela - Darío y el Kitesurfing

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Or the indirect object, as in:

Mi papá había ido a Nueva York

My father had gone to New York

en un viaje de negocios y me trajo unos discos.

on a business trip and brought me some records.

Caption 1, Carli Muñoz - Niñez

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In the previous example, me is the indirect object, while unos discos (some records) is the direct object, which is a plural masculine noun that according to our table is substituted by los (them). So, to substitute both objects you must say: me los trajo (he brought them to me).

Now, the pronoun te is used to substitute either the direct object:

Y de este lado sólo te revuelca,

And from this side it only pushes you around,

pero del otro lado te come.

but from the other side it eats you.

Captions 37-38, Antonio Vargas - Artista - Comic

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or the indirect object:

Bueno y por eso te traje las aspirinas.

Well, and that's why I brought you the aspirins.

Caption 43, Muñeca Brava - 2 Venganza

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In the previous example, te is the indirect object, while las aspirinas (the aspirins) is the direct object, which is a plural feminine noun that according to our table is substituted by las (them). So, to substitute both objects you must say: te las traje (I brought them to you).

For the third person of singular (him, her, it & formal "you"), though, Spanish uses lo, la for direct object and le for indirect object. So, for a feminine noun as cicatriz (scar) in the direct object position we use la (in genderless English we use "it"):

Porque tiene una pequeña cicatriz en el brazo que sólo yo conozco

Because he has a small scar on his arm that only I know about

porque se la hizo jugando conmigo.

because he got it playing with me.

Captions 41-42, Yago - 10 Enfrentamientos

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For a masculine noun as pollo (chicken) in the direct object position we use lo (again, English uses "it"):

Ya tenemos listo aquí nuestro pollo.

We already have our chicken ready here.

Y lo decoramos con un poco de ajonjolí y cebollín.

And we decorate it with a bit of sesame seeds and chives.

Captions 17-18, [Bears in the Kitchen] Osos en la cocina - Pollo asiático

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Take note that lo and la are also used for usted (the formal you) in the direct object position. Lo is used for a noun in the direct object position that designates a male person (Morgan):

Morgan, la Señorita Victoria

Morgan, Miss Victoria

está enterada de su regreso y lo espera en el escritorio.

is aware of your return and awaits you in the study.

Caption 29, Muñeca Brava - 18 - La Apuesta

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Or la for a noun in the direct object position that designates a female person (let's say Ms. Gonzalez):

Señora Gonzalez, el doctor la verá a las diez.
Ms. Gonzalez, the doctor will see you at ten.

On the other hand, the indirect object uses a different pronoun le (him, her, it & formal "you"). So, for a masculine noun like muchacho (boy) in the indirect object position we use le:

Otro muchacho que nunca escuchó

Another boy that never listened

Los consejos que su madre le dio

To the advice his mother gave him

Captions 40-41, La Secta - Consejo

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And we would also use le if we were talking about una muchacha (a girl):

Otra muchacha que nunca escuchó los consejos que su madre le dio
Another girl that never listened to the words of advice his mother gave her

Equally, we use le if we are addressing someone formally:

Usted que nunca escuchó los consejos que su madre le dio
You who never listened to the words of advice your mother gave you

Got it? Now a test. How do you substitute not only the indirect object (muchacho, muchacha, usted), but also the direct object los consejos (the words of advise) in the previous examples? This is how:

Otro muchacho que nunca escuchó los que su madre le dio
Another boy that never listened to the ones his mother gave him

Otra muchacha que nunca escuchó los que su madre le dio
Another boy that never listened to the ones his mother gave her

Usted que nunca escuchó los que su madre le dio
You who never listened to the ones your mother gave you

It's interesting to note how English can't use "them" to replace "the words of advise" in this particular construction because the wording is odd (it's somehow odd in Spanish as well). So let's simplify the example (the indirect object and indirect pronouns appear in bold):

Mamá dio unos consejos al muchacho / Mamá se los dio.
Mom gave the boy some words of advise / Mom gave them to him.

Mamá dio unos consejos a la muchacha / Mamá se los dio.
Mom gave the girl some words of advise / Mom gave them to her.

Mamá dio unos consejos a usted / Mamá se los dio. 
Mom gave you some words of advise / Mom gave them to you.

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As you can see, it was now possible to use "them" to replace "the words of advise" in English. But did you notice that Spanish used se instead of le to replace the indirect object this time! Why is that? Well, that's because in Spanish there's a special rule for combining pronouns: when le(s) and lo(s)/la(s) would end up next to each other in a sentence you must use se instead. So you can never say Mamá le los dio, you must say Mamá se los dio. We will learn more about this rule and continue with the plural forms of the direct and indirect pronouns in Part II of this lesson.

Do you remember reflexive verbs? A verb is reflexive when the subject in a sentence performs an action on itself, in other words, when the subject and the object are the same. In Spanish reflexive verbs use reflexive pronouns (me, te,se, nos, etc.), which play the role of direct object in the sentence:
 

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Yo me veo en el espejo.
I look at myself in the mirror.
 
Since they involve a direct object, reflexive verbs are also transitive verbs (verbs that take a direct object). Many transitive verbs can be transformed into reflexive verbs. Peinar (to comb), for example, is a classic example of a transitive verb:

Yo peino a mi bebé

I comb my baby's hair

Caption 21, Lecciones con Carolina - Verbos reflexivos

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that can also be transformed into a reflexive verb, peinarse:

Yo me peino

I comb my hair [literally, "I comb myself"]

Caption 20, Lecciones con Carolina - Verbos reflexivos

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On the other hand, intransitive verbs are action verbs that, unlike transitive verbs, don't take a direct object receiving the action. Examples are llegar (to arrive), estornudar (to sneeze), morir (to die), caer (to fall), etc. Consequently, these verbs can't really be transformed into reflexive verbs. So why do we always hear Spanish speakers using reflexive pronouns with these verbs? For example:
 

Si me caigo, me vuelvo a parar

If I fall, I stand up again

Caption 8, Sondulo - Que te vaya mal

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Obviously, me caigo doesn't mean “I fall myself." It just means "I fall," because the verb caer[se] is part of a group of verbs that use reflexive pronouns but are not reflexive verbs. These verbs are called verbos pronominales, verbs that are typically conjugated using a reflexive pronoun that doesn't have any syntactic function. It's just the way these verbs are typically constructed! Another example is the verb morir (to die). Me muero doesn't mean "I die myself"; it just means "I die." The following example uses it as part of an idiomatic expression:
 

No hablemos más de comida

Let's not talk about food

que me muero de hambre.

since I'm starving hungry [literally, "I'm dying of hunger"].

Captions 40-41, Salvando el planeta Palabra - Llegada

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Now, while reflexive verbs like peinarse always need to be used with reflexive pronouns, verbs like caer (to fall) and matar (to kill) can be used either as pronominales (caerse and morirse), or as simple intransitive verbs (caer, morir), that is, without the reflexive pronouns. Therefore, the following expressions are also correct (though maybe just a little less common in everyday speech):
 
Si caigo, me vuelvo a parar. 
If I fall, I stand up again.
 
No hablemos más de comida que muero de hambre.
Let's not talk about food since I'm starving [literally, "I'm dying of hunger"].
 
The really tricky aspect of reflexive pronouns is how to use them, either with verbos reflexivos like peinarse or verbos pronominales like caerse and morirse. Typically, you will use the pronoun before the verb, for example me caigo (I fall), te peinas (you comb your hair). But how do you use reflexive pronouns in a sentence that uses more than one verb, for example an auxiliary verb such as the verb ir (to go) combined with a verb in the infinitive?
 
Voy a caer
I'm going to fall
 
Juan va a morir
Juan is going to die
 
Well, the rule is simple. You either use the reflexive pronoun right before the auxiliary verb:
 
Me voy a caer 
I'm going to fall
 
Juan se va a morir
Juan is going to die
 
Or you use it after the verb in infinitive as a suffix:
 
Voy a caerme
I'm going to fall
 
Juan va a morirse
Juan is going to die
 
And the same rule applies to reflexive verbs like peinarse:
 
Ella se va a peinar = Ella va a peinarse
She is going to comb her hair
 
In fact, this rule applies to all pronouns, even pronouns that are not reflexive (that are used to substitute the direct object in any given sentence), like lo, la, los, las, and te:
 
Como sandía / La como
I eat watermelon / I eat it
 
Voy a comer sandía
I'm going to eat watermelon
 
Voy a comerla = La voy a comer
I'm going to eat it
 

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Coincidentally, comer (as well as other "ingestion verbs") is an excellent example of a verb that is transitive in nature but that is also used as a pronominal verb with reflexive pronouns. For example, it’s also correct to say voy a comérmela (I’m going to eat it).

In one of Yabla's videos, Spanish veterinarian, Jesús López, uses two interesting and very similar words:

Cualquiera puede traer cualquier animal.

Anyone can bring any animal.

Caption 8, Centro de Recuperación de la Fauna Salvaje - Veterinario Jesús López

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The Spanish words, cualquiera (anyone) and cualquier (any), may look very much alike, but their functions happen to be very different. While cualquiera is an indefinite pronoun, cualquier is an indefinite adjective.

For that reason, whenever the adjective, cualquier, is used, it must be accompanied by a noun, e.g. cualquier animal (any animal). Let's take a look at these examples:

En cualquier caso, los datos de España no son nada alentadores.

In any case, the data from Spain is not encouraging at all.

Captions 27-28, 3R - Campaña de reciclaje

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Mira los niños, juegan con globos de cualquier color

Look at the kids, they play with balloons of any color

Caption 9, Café Tacuba - Mediodía

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¿Puede venir cualquier persona aquí? -Sí.

Can any person come here? -Yes.

Caption 5, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos

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On the other hand, the pronoun, cualquiera (anyone), should not be used to accompany a noun, but rather to substitute it, as cualquiera means "anyone." For example, you can use the pronoun, cualquiera, to substitute the phrase, cualquier persona, in the previous example:

¿Puede venir cualquiera aquí? -Sí.
Can anyone come here? -Yes.

Here is another example containing the pronoun, cualquiera:
 

No cualquiera podía ser caballero. O sea...

Not just anyone could be a knight. I mean...

Caption 17, Antonio Vargas - Artista - ilustración

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Now, to further complicate the matter, Spanish has a common plural form for both the adjective, cualquier, and the pronoun, cualquiera, which is cualesquiera. Although the use of this plural form for both the adjective and the pronoun is uncommon in everyday speech, let's go ahead and transform the previous examples into their plural forms as an excercise. You will note that their English translations are identical to their singular equivalents. 

For the adjective, cualquier:

¿Pueden venir cualesquiera personas aquí? -Sí.*
Can any person come here? -Yes.

For the pronoun, cualquiera:

No cualesquiera podían ser caballeros.
Not just anyone could be a knight.

* As a side note, a shorter version for the adjective, cualesquier, also exists, but this is even less common and can generally only be found in old literature.

Finally, and very interestingly, there is one instance in which the word, cualquiera (and its plural, cualesquiera), can be used as a qualitative adjective meaning "insignificant" or "irrelevant." When used in this manner, the adjective always comes after the noun rather than before it. This use is equivalent to the English expression "any old" or "just any."  Let's see an example. 
 

Sólo espera, que hoy no será un día cualquiera

Just wait, because today won't be any old day

Caption 49, Cuarto poder - Aquí no se está jugando

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This adjective is most commonly used in negative phrases:
Este no es un perro cualquiera; es el perro de mi padre.

This is not just any dog. It's my father's dog.

No era un tipo cualquiera; era el jefe de la tribu.

He wasn't just any guy. He was the tribe's chief.

By extension, however unfairly, the expressions, un cualquiera and una cualquiera, can mean "a nobody" and "a prostitute" (or low class or sexually promiscous woman), respectively. You can find an example in our Argentinian telenovela, Muñeca Brava:

Pero a mí no me va a ofender porque yo no soy una cualquiera.

But you're not going to disrespect me because I am not a floozy.

Captions 83-84, Muñeca Brava - 43 La reunión

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This is the end of the lesson. Thank you for reading, and don't forget to send us you comments and suggestions.