MOD: Gramática Lesson - El Complemento Indirecto
El Complemento Indirecto
An indirect object pronoun tells you to whom or for whom something is done.
| Subject | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| First Person | me - to/for me | nos - to/for us |
| Second Person | te - to/for you (singular, informal) | os - to/for you (plural, informal) |
| Third Person | le - to/for him, her, it, you (singular, formal) | les - to/for them, you (plural, formal) |
Notice that none of the indirect pronouns vary according to gender. Indirect object pronouns do not share the same gender and number rules as direct object pronouns, since there is just one form for third person singular and one form for third person plural.
Finding the Indirect Object Pronoun
You can find the indirect object in a sentence by asking yourself to whom or for whom an action was done. Consider the following example sentence:
- Lucas bought a card for Alicia.
To find the indirect object in the example sentence, you could ask yourself, "For whom did Lucas buy a card?" The answer is for Alicia. Therefore, the indirect object is Alicia, for which the indirect object pronoun would be le.
- Lucas le compró una tarjeta a Alicia.
- Lucas bought a card for Alicia.
- Lucas le compró una tarjeta.
- Lucas bought a card for her.
Translation Note: These sentences can also be written without the preposition for.
- Lucas bought Alicia a card.
- Lucas bought her a card.
Verbs That Take an Indirect Object
Below is a list of verbs that often take a person as an indirect object in Spanish.
| Spanish Verb - English Meaning | Spanish Verb - English Meaning |
|---|---|
| comprar(le) algo - to buy something for someone contar(le) algo - to tell something to someone dar(le) algo - to give something to someone decir(le) algo - to say something to someone escribir(le) algo - to write something to someone mandar(le) algo - to send something to someone |
mostrar(le) algo - to send something to someone pedir(le) algo - to ask something to someone regalar(le) algo - to give (a gift) to someone servir(le) algo - to serve something to someone traer(le) algo - to bring something to someone |
Practice Activity
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