Skip links
Published on: Grammar Bites

Practice los PRONOMBRES de OBJETO DIRECTO and improve your Spanish Grammar (Middle Beginners)

Having issues wrapping your head about the differences between ME, TE, LO/LA, NOS, LOS/LAS? Keep calm and check out this easy Spanish Grammar to get rid of all your doubts!

El OBJETO DIRECTO might be a thing, a person, or an animal that directly receives the action performed by the Subject of the sentence and expressed by the verb.

When the Objeto Directo is a person or an animal, the object is preceded by the preposition A (known as the A personal). We don’t need this preposition when the objeto directo is a thing.

In order for us to determine which is the Objeto Directo in a sentence, we need to ask the question: ¿Qué + verbo? o ¿A quién + verbo? The answer will be the Objeto Directo. Let’s break it down with this example:

Yo compro mariscos en este supermercado siempre.

Pregunta: ¿Qué compro yo en este supermercado siempre?
Respuesta: mariscos = Objeto directo

El cliente paga al vendedor por los productos.

Pregunta: ¿A quién paga el cliente por los productos?
Respuesta: al vendedor = Objeto directo

Ella lleva a su mascota a caminar.

Pregunta: ¿A quién lleva ella a caminar?
Respuesta: a su mascota = Objeto directo

Now that we know how to identify el Objeto Directo, let’s talk about los pronombres de Objeto Directo. We use los pronombres when we have already identified el Objeto Directo and we want to avoid unnecessary repetition.

See the pronombre that corresponds to each category of Objeto Directo (thing, person, animal) in the following chart:

Placement of los pronombres:

1. Typically, los pronombres de objeto directo go before the conjugated verb:

  • Yo los compro en este supermercado siempre.

2. When we have a verb in the infinitivo, as part of a phrase, los pronombres de objeto directo can go before the two verbs or they can be attached at the end of the verbo en infinitivo:

  • a) Yo los quiero comprar en este supermercado. (Before the two verbs in the phrase; the first verb is conjugated, the second one is not).
  • b) Yo quiero comprarlos en este supermercado. (Attached to the end of the verbo en infinitivo to form a single word).

3. When our main action has a gerundio, los pronombres de objeto directo can also go before the two verbs or they can be attached at the end of the gerundio:

  • a) Yo los estoy comprando en este supermercado. (Before the two verbs in the phrase; the first verb is conjugated, the second one is a gerundio).
  • b) Yo estoy comprándolos en este supermercado. (Attached to the end of the gerundio to form a single word).
Continue working on your Spanish Grammar reviews with our helpful Grammar Bites HERE!
Activities for Private Students & Members: 

View subscription plans

OR

Login To Unlock The Content!