Personal Pronouns Singular and Plural

Subject Pronouns indicate the person who does the action. Singular Plural Yo I Nosotros We Tú You Él Ella Usted He She Thou Ellos Ellas Uds. They (male) They (Female) Thou all (Ya’ll)

Using the subject pronoun. Often, we do not need to use the subject pronoun, because the verb tells us who the subject is. Como mucha carne. We know that Yo is doing the action because of the –o ending of the verb. In the third person, we do need to state the subject because él, ella and usted share the same verb form. Usted come mucho pero ella come poco. If we didn’t state the subjects in both of the clauses, we wouldn’t know who does what. The same thing is true for the third person plural.

Object pronouns indicate the receiver of the action. The direct object pronoun indicates the person or thing that receives the action directly. The indirect object pronoun indicates the person or thing who receives the result of the action.

The Direct Object The direct object receives the action of the verb. Sr. Burroughs mata el ratón El perro come el gato. Mimi grita insultos. Buffy besa al maestro. Fred Durst canta la canción

If we want to replace the direct object with a pronoun—so that we don’t have to keep repeating it—we simply use one of the following. Me = me Nos = us Te = you Os = y’all Lo = it (masc) La = it (fem) Los = them (masc) Las = them (fem)

H&R Block la prepara (la declaración). In Spanish, we place the pronoun directly before the verb. H&R Block la prepara (la declaración). Cartman los come (los Cheesy Poofs). Beavis lo fuma (el cigarro). Yo te amo (a ti). Ellos me odian (a mí).

Pablo quiere comer el caballo Pablo lo quiere comer. When we have a verb and an infinitive—two verbs in a row, we can place the pronoun before the first verb or attach it to the end of the second verb: Pablo quiere comer el caballo Pablo lo quiere comer. Pablo quiere comerlo. Voy a besar a ti. Te voy a besar. Voy a besarte.

The Indirect Object Indicates to/for/at somebody. Le tiramos tomates al Sr. Burroughs. We throw tomatoes at Sr. Burroughs. Sr. Burroughs nos da malas notas (a nosotros). Sr. Burroughs gives bad grades to us.

Indirect Object Pronouns Singular Plural 1st person Me Nos 2nd person Te Os 3rd person Le les

Yo le compro el lonche (a mi amigo). Ella me lava la ropa (a mi). We place the indirect object pronoun directly before the verb. When there are two verbs, we can put it before the first verb or on the end of the infinitive. Yo le compro el lonche (a mi amigo). I buy lunch for him. Ella me lava la ropa (a mi). She washes the clothes for me. No le picamos la nariz (a él). We don’t pick the nose for him. No quiero comprarte una soda (a ti). I don’t want to buy a soda for you.

Le tiro tomates (al Sr. Burroughs). Whenever there is an indirect object present in the sentence, we must use the pronoun. The actual name of the indirect object is optional—it can be included to clarify the pronoun. Le tiro tomates (al Sr. Burroughs). Les gritamos insultos (a los Lakers).

It is easy to confuse the direct object and the indirect object. Subject Verb Direct Object Indirect Object Yo digo secretos a Juan Ellos tiran tomates a mi. Juan compra dulces a uds.