139. The subject, direct object,
and indirect object forms of the personal pronouns are:
Singular |
| |
Subject |
|
Direct Object |
Indirect Object |
| 1 |
|
yo, I |
me, me |
me, me, to me |
| 2 |
tú,
thou, you |
te, thee, you |
te, thee, you, to thee,
to you |
| |
|
| 3 |
{ |
él, he, it |
le, lo, him, it |
le, him, to him, it, to it
|
| ella, she, it |
la, her, it |
le, her, to her, it, to it |
| usted, you |
{ |
le, lo (masc.),
la (fem.),you |
le, you, to you |
Plural |
| |
Subject |
|
Direct Object |
Indirect Object |
| 1 |
|
nosotros, -as, we |
nos, us |
nos, us, to us |
| 2 |
vosotros, -as, you, ye |
os, you, ye |
os, you, to you |
| |
|
| 3 |
{ |
ellos, they (masc.) |
los, them |
les, them, to them |
ellas,
they (fem.) |
las, them |
les, them, to them |
| ustedes, you |
{ |
los (masc.),
las (fem.), you |
les, you, to you |
a. For the use of the subject pronouns see Lesson IV.
b. The direct object pronoun of the third person of the
masculine singular has two forms, le and lo.
According to some grammarians le is
used for persons and lo for things, but this
rule is not generally observed. Either le or
lo may be correctly used, whether referring to
persons or to things.
c. In addition to the above forms there are found also
the form les for los and the
forms la, las for le, les (fem.),
but these are all rare and condemned by the grammar of the Spanish
Academy (edition of 1913).
d. Since usted, ustedes may be masculine
or feminine, their object pronoun forms are (dir. obj.)
le, lo, los, (indir. obj.)
le, les, like the object forms of él,
ellos; or (dir. obj.) la, las, (indir.
obj.) le, les, like the object forms of
ella, ellas:
Usted (Carlos)
está alli; le
or lo
veo y le hablo. |
You are there; I see you
and
I speak to you. |
Usted (María) está
allí;
la veo y le hablo. |
You are there; I see you and
I speak to you. |
| Ustedes (Manuel y Carlos) están
allí; los vemos y les hablamos. |
You are there; we see you and we speak
to you. |
| Ustedes (María y Mercedes)
están allí; las vemos y les hablamos. |
You are there; we see you and we speak
to you. |
e. A neuter form ello, objective case
lo, is used to refer to a general idea or phrase.
| Ello es que llegó. |
The fact is that he arrived. |
| No lo creo. |
I do not believe it. |
| Convengo en ello. |
I agree to it. |
| ¿Es bueno? Lo es. |
Is it good? It is. |
140. Position of Object Pronouns.
a. The personal object pronouns regularly precede the
verb forms.
| Él me da el libro. |
He gives me the book. |
| Nos vieron. |
They saw us. |
| ¿Los compró él? |
Did he buy them? |
b. With the infinitive, the present participle, and
the positive imperative, however, the pronouns follow the verb
forms and are attached to them. Examples:
| Vino sin verios. |
He came without seeing them. |
| Comprándolos, |
buying them. |
| Dame el libro. |
Give me the book. (Pos. impv.) |
| Déme el libro. |
Give me the book.
(Subj. used for pos. impv.) |
c. When the infinitive or present participle is used
with an auxiliary verb, the position of the pronoun is optional,
both rules applying.
Quiero verla.
La quiero ver. |
} |
I wish to see her. |
| |
Está hablándome.
Me está hablando. |
} |
He is speaking to me. |
d. In literary style the object pronouns may follow
the verb, even in case (a), above.
e. When the sentence is negative, no always
precedes the object pronoun.
| No quiero verla. |
I do not want to see her. |
| No me ve. |
He does not see me. |
|
