ESPAÑOL II

LOS PRONOMBRES DE COMPLEMENTO DIRECTO

A. A direct object of a sentence is the noun that takes the action of the

verb. A direct object answers the question:

Who/What is being ______?

(verb from sentence)

Take a look at these examples:

·  Mary reads the book.

(direct object)

María lee el libro.

(direct object)

·  I invite Ana and Paco.

(direct objects)

Yo invito a Ana y Paco.

(direct objects)

B. In Spanish and in English we often replace direct objects with a

pronoun. We do this because it is awkward to continue repeating

the direct objects.

Take a look at these examples:

·  Did Mary read the book? Yes, she read it.

¿Leyó María el libro? Sí, lo leyó.

Notice that the direct object “the book” has been replaced

with the pronoun “it” in English and “lo” in Spanish. Notice that

the direct object pronoun “lo” goes in front of the verb!

·  Did you invite Ana and Paco? Yes, I invited them.

¿Invitaste a Ana y Paco? Sí, los invité.

Notice that the direct objects “Ana and Paco” have been

replaced with the pronoun “them” in English and “los” in

Spanish. Also notice that the personal “a” was dropped

in Spanish.

C. In Spanish, a direct object can only be replaced with a direct

object pronoun. Take a look at the direct object pronouns below:

LOS PRONOMBRES DE OBJETOS DIRECTOS
SINGULAR / PLURAL
me / me / us / nos
you / te / y’all / os
he
she (it)
you / lo, la / them,
you all / los, las

D. Where do you put them in the sentence?

1. IN FRONT OF VERB: PRESENT, PRETERITE, IMPERFECT,

& NEGATIVE COMMANDS.

2. ATTACH TO: INFINITIVES & AFFIRMATIVE COMMANDS

3. WITH PRESENT PROGRESSIVE: you may ATTACH OR PLACE IN

FRONT.

Rewrite the following sentences replacing the direct objects

with a direct object pronoun.

1. Yo tengo la tarea. = Yo ______tengo.

2. Nosotros compramos los zapatos. = Nosotros _____ compramos.

3. La profesora explica la lección. = La profesora ______explica.

4. Tú comiste el almuerzo. = Tú ______comiste.

5. Él vendió su carro. = Él ______vendió.

6. Yo invité a mis amigas. = Yo ______invité.

7. Anita escribió la tarjeta postal. = Anita _____ escribió.

8. Nosotros gastamos el dinero. = Nosotros _____ gastamos.

9. Ellos compraron los zapatos. = Ellos ______compraron.

10. Tú llevaste el traje de baño. = Tú ______llevaste.