Understanding Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns in Spanish, Exercises of Spanish

Download Understanding Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns in Spanish and more Exercises Spanish in PDF only on Docsity! D rect and Indirect Object Pronouns EQUIVALENTS: me. you, him, her, it, us. them The direct object answers the question What?or Whom?with regard to the verb in a sentence or clause. Consider the sentence, ’3ohn has the book." What does John have? He has the book; thus, the book is the direct object. The direct object pronoun it can there- fore replace the direct object noun in the sentence, ’~John has it." In the sentence, ’~John sees Mary," one can ask, "Whom does John see?"John sees Mary; thus, Mary is the direct object. The direct object pronoun her carl replace Mary in the sentence, ’~ohn sees her." Singular Plural me (me) nos (us) te (you) os (you) lo/la (him/her; you; it) los/las (them; you) Placement in Affirmative Sentences In an affirmative statement (or clause) with one verb, the direct object pronoun will immediately precede the conjugated verb. examples: 5(0 te conozco. I know you. Tfi me areas. You love me. Ella los compra, She buys them. Lo vemos. We see him. La ten~is. You have it. Ustedes lo quierem You want it. 56 No los compras. You don’t buy them. I~l no nos ve jam~. He never sees us. ~ I-9-4 Nunca lo estudi~iis. You never study it. Ellos no me odian. They don’t hate me. Direct Object Pronouns 59 Unless otherwise indicated, you = second-person sinffula~: 1. I don’t have it (m.). 2. She doesn’t see it (f). 3. I don’t know him. 4. You don’t know me. 5. They don’t buy it (f). 6. He doesn’t write it (m.). 7. They don’t read them (m.). 8. She doesn’t earn it (m.).. 9. I don’t wear it (m.). 10. We don’t see you. .... i1: You don’t have it (f). ]2. They don’t see it (m.). 13. He doesn’t know me. 14. They don’t know us. 15. We don’t use it (m.). 16. She doesn’t read it (m.). 17. We don’t sing them (f). 18. You (pl., formal) don’t have it (m.). 19. You never wear them (m.). 20. You never see us. 60 Spanish Pronouns and Prepositions Placement in Affirmative Sentences with Two Verbs In a statement (or clause) that contains two verbs--the first verb is conjugated and the second one remains in the infinitive form--you have two options: 1. Place the direct object pronoun immediately before the first verb (conjugated). 2. Attach the direct object pronoun directly to the second verb (infinitive). Note: Both options are used in wrifmg and in conversation; however, the second option is used more frequendy. examples: Te quiero vet. / Quiero verte. I want to see you. Lo puedes beber. / Puedes beberlo. You can drink it. 1~1 nos debe visitar. / 1~1 debe visltarnos. He should visit us. Lo queremos comprar. / Queremos comprarlo. We want to buy it. La pod~is come1: / Pod$is comerla. You can eat it. Ellos lo deben ver. Ellos deben verlo. They should see it. 1-9-5 Fill in the blank with the direct object pronoun attached to the infinitive. 1. Yo necesito lavar la ropa. Yo necesito 2. Tfi quieres comer la pizza. Tfi quieres 3. Ella tiene que escribir el informe. Ella tiene que 4. Debemos limpiar la casa. Debemos 5. E1 pianista pnede tocar las canciones. E1 pianista pnede 6. Ellos pueden bailar el tango. Ellos pueden 7. Quiero construir los edificios aqul. Quiero 8. E1 gato puede vet el rat6n (mouse). E1 gato puede 9. Ella quiere conocer a tu madre. Ella quiere aqm. 10. Prefiero olr la verdad. Prefiero 11. E1 profesor quiere ver a tu padre ahora. E1 profesor quiere 12. La cocinera va a preparar las tortillas. La cocinera va a 13. Nadie puede oir la mOsica ahora. Nadie puede ahora. ahora, 14. Ellos quieren conocer a mis hermanos. Ellos quieren 15. Queremos visitar el museo. Queremos Direct Object Pronouns 61 I-9-6 For items 1-5, place the direct oO’ect pronoun before the conjugated verb. For items 6-10, attach the direct oO)ct pronoun to the infinitive. 1. He wants to see me. 2. She wants to kiss him. 3. You (s.,fam.) should eat them (m.). 4. They have to do it (f). 5. We want to meet them (f). 6. She has to sing it (f). 7. I should read it (m.). 8. I want to see you (s., faro.) tomorrow. 9. They need to have it (m.) by (para) tomorrow. 10. Juan can see us. Placement in Questions and Negative Sentences with Two Verbs For questions and/or negative statements with two verbs, the direct object pronoun can be placed before the conjugated verb or attached directly to the infmitive. examples: No tengo que leerlo. / No 1o tengo que leen I don’t have to read it. No queremos hacerlo. / No lo queremos hacer. We don’t want to do it. dTienes que estudiado conmigo? / dLo tienes que estudiar conmigo? Do you have to study it with me? dPod$is soportarlo? / dLo pod$is soportar? Can you stand it? Usted no debe ponerlo aquf. You shouldn’t put it here. dPiensan en vender!o? Are you thinking of selling" it ? FU~n2TION: Rep!ace the e(s) of the hdirect object(s) of the yerb in a sentence oi" clause SPANISH PLACEMENT: knmediatelv before the conjugated ~erb or attached directly to the infim’tive ENGLISH EQUIVALENTS: you, ~, her. it. us, them The indirect object answers the question To or for whom? or To or for what?with regard to the verb in a sentence or clause. Another way of looking at it is to say that the indirect object tells us where the direct object is going. Consider the sentence, "I give you the gift (I give the gift toyou)." The direct object is the gift, because this answers the question What (do I give) ? The indirect object, then, is you because I am giving it (the gift) to you. You is where the gift is going. In the sentence "He buys me flowers (He buys flowersforme)," the direct object is flowers (because that is what he buys), and the indi- rect object is me because I am the one for whom he buys the flowers. The indirect object pronouns in Spanish are as follows: Singular Plural me (me) nos (us) te (you) os (you) le (him; her; you; it) les (them; you) In a sentence with an indirect object, there is always a direct object, either stated or implied. In the sentence "My grandmother writes me every week," me is the indirect object because my grandmother is wridng something (a note, a letter, a postcard, an e-mail message) to me. The direct object is understood. 64 Indh’ect Object Pronouns 1-10-1 In the following sentences, identify the direct object and the indirect object, Note that some direct objects are under- stood; please identify them. 1. John tells me a story. 2. She buys him nothing. 3. They send us food. 4. The chef cooks us a meal. Direct Object Indirect Object 5. The cannibal cooks us for his friends. 6. He tells you. 7. I bought you a ring. 8. He buys drinks for everyone. 9. You write me every week. 10. They sold the diamonds to her. Placement in Affirmative Sentences In an affirmative statement (or clause) with one verb, the indirect object pronoun will immedi- ately precede the conjugated verb. Note that each of the following examples has two possible English translations. English allows for two ways to express the indirect object: (a) between the verb and the direct object and (b) in a prepositional phrase following the direct object. examples: juan me compra un libro. John buys me a book. John buys a book for me. Ella nos dijo una mentira. She told us a lie. She told a lie to us. Yo te digo la verdad siempre. I always tell you the truth. I always tell the truth to you. Ella le escribe una carta. She writes him a letter. She writes a letter to him. Os damos el dinero. We give you the money. We give the money to you. I~1 les canta una canci6n. He sings them a song. He sings a song to them. Spanish Pronotms and Prepositions ~ 1-10-2 Fill in each blank with the appropriate indirect object pronoun. 1. Jorge compra flores para mL Jorge 2. Marta cuenta la historia a nosotros. Marta 3. Los padres leen el libro al nifio. Los padres 4. Escribo una carta a mis abuelos. 5. Felipe da un anillo aJuana. Felipe 6. Vendemos la casa a Marta. 7. Traigo el maquillaje (makeup) a Mary Kay. 8, Preparamos la cena para Guillermo. 9, Compras la falda para mL 10. Martin planta un ~trbol para nosotros. Martin 11. Ella escribe una carta a t~stedes. Ella compra flores, cuenta la historia. leen el libro, escribo una carta. da un anillo. vendemos la casa. traigo el maquillaje. preparamos la cena. compras lu falda. planta un firbol. escribe una carta. 12. Enviamos el regalo a vosotros. 13. Sirvo la comida a elias. enviamos el regalo. sirvo la comida. 14. _E! a~quitecto disefia una casa para ti. E1 arquitecto 15. E1 mesero si~we la bebida a Isabel. E1 mesero disefia una casa. sirve la bebida. 1. I tell him the truth. 2. He tells lies to me all the time. 3. We give her the flowers. 4. I write them a letter every week. 5. They write to us every month. 6. She sings him a song. India’ect Object Pronouns 5. Nadie puede decir nada a ti. Nadie puede nada. 6. Prefiero escribir una carta a Marta. Prefiero una carta. 7. Ellos esperan cantar la canci6n a vosotros. Ellos esperan la canci6n, 8. E1 presidente debe decir la verdad a nosotros. E1 presidente debe la verdad. 9. La madre necesita mostrar el arnor a su nifio. La madre necesita el amor. 10. Un c6mico puede contar chistes (johes) a nosotros. Un C61TIico puede chistes. 11. E1 arquitecto va a disefiar una casa para mr. E1 arquitecto va a una casa. paella. mi nombre. 12. Voy a preparar paella para ustedes. Voy a 13. Voy a decir mi nombre a ellos. Voy a 14. Juan s61o puede vender los cigarrillos a los adultos. Juan s61o puede 15. E1 mesero debe servir la cena a nosotros con mils rapidez. E1 mesero debe con m~s rapidez. los cigarrillos. la ceua 1-10-6 ] For items 1-5, place the indirect object pronoun before the conjugated verb. For items 6-10, attach the indirect object pronoun to the infinitive. 1. I want to give him a gift. 2. He needs to tell me the U~uth. 3. We should write her a letter. 4. You (s., fara.) should write to us more often (mds a menudo). 5. You (pl., formal) have to tell them the truth. 6. We should give them olive oil (el aceite de oliva). 7. He wants to buy her a diamond (el diamante). 8. When he comes to our house, he always wants to bring (traer) us something. Spanish Pronouns and Prepositions 9. I can send you (s., fam.) these vases (elflorero) through the mail (pot correo). 10. You (pl., fam.) need to tell him something. Placement in Questions and Negative Sentences Mth Two Verbs For questions and/or negative statements with two verbs, the indirect object pronoun can be placed before the conjugated verb or attached directly to the infinitive. examples: ~QuiSn va a enviarme una cuenta? / ~QuiSn me va a enviar una cuenta? Who is going to send me a bill? ~;1 no necesita darnos la informaci6n. / I~1 no nos necesita dar la informaci6n. He doesn’t need to give us the information. ~Debemos dech’te la verdad? / ~Te debemos decir la verdad? Should we tell you the truth? No quiero venderos estos collares. / No os quiero vender estos collares. I do n’t want to sell you these necklaces. Nunca pod~is comprarle la felicidad. / Nunca le pod~is comprar la felicidad. You can never buy happiness for hen. No tengo que decMes nada. / No les tengo que declr nada. I don’t have to tell them anything. Use both options to express each statement or question. Unless otherwise indicated, you = secondsOerson singular. 1. Do you want to bring me a kitten? 2. We’re not going to show them our new house. 3. Do you want to sell them these paintings? 4. Who is going to pay me the money? 5. Can you send the farniture (los muebles) to us by (para) Tuesday? Inclh’ect Object Pronomxs 6. The artist can’t paint her a picture (el cuadw) by June. 7. I’m not going to wash your clothing for you. 8. We don’t want to tell you (pl., formal) the bad news (las malas noticiaz). 9. X~nen can you (pl.,fam.) build (construir) the building (el edificio) for us? 10. Should you read her such a letter (tal carta)? The Redundant Use of the Indirect Object Pronoun Even though the principal purpose of any pronoun is to replace a noun, there are times when it is clearer or more emphatic to use both the noun or pronoun and a + the pronoun or noun. This is done primarily with the indirect object pronoun and more frequently with some verbs (see the following list). At such times, the indirect object is usually in the third person. The following verbs frequently take both a noun or pronoun and a + the appropriate pronoun: comprar to buy mandar to send dar to give pedlr to ask (a favor); to request (from) dedr to say; to tell preguntar to ask (a question) escribir to write preparar to prepare enviar to send regalar to give (a gift) hacer to make or do tract to bring examples: Yo lc doy a Juan cinco d61ares. I give him (John) five dollars. Les pregunto a el!os si quieren ir. I ask them if they want to go. Manuel les escribe a sus padres cada semana. Manuel writes to them (his parents) every week. Le pido a mljefe un aumento. I ask my boss for a raise. As you can see in the preceding examples, the addition of a + a noun or pronoun neither replaces nor adds necessary information. Thus, technically, it is redundant. Since the redundant prepositional phrase is not necessary, why do we add it.~ One,.reason is that the third-person noun or pronoun helps us clarify the ambiguous, pronoun le. Another reason is that the prepositional phrase adds emphasis to the noun or pronoun. In other words, they help each other. Gustar et al. "itedrevls Indirect O~bject Pronouns with gustar There is a group of Spanish verbs which, to the native English speaker’s notion of syntax, work in reverse. The most commonly used of these verbs is gustar (to be pleasing to), hence the title of this section. While in English, one says "I like the bread," in Spanish, to get this same nlessage across, one says, "Me gusta el pan," which literally means, "The bread is pleasing to me." The bread is now the subject, and !has become the indirect oloject. Because the bread is pleasing to me--remember that the indirect object often contains or implies the preposition to---we will need the indirect object pronoun in this sentence, as well as in all sen- tences that use the verb gustar (and the other verbs that operate in the manner of gustar). The key to the verbs in this section is to remember that they nearly always operate in the third- person singular and plural forms. The things being discussed have their effect on people: Chicago fascinates me; traffic bothers you; autobiographies interest her; money is not important to him. To work with gustar, and verbs like it, you will use the following recipe: indirect object pronoun + third-person (s. or pl.) verb + noun(s) examples: Singular Subject (noun) Plural Subject (noun) Me gusta la pintura. Te gusta el anitlo. Le gusta el zurro. Nos gusta la culebra. Os gusta la hlmpara. Les gusta el reloj. Me gustan las pinturas. Te gustan los anillos. Le gustan los zorros. Nos gustan las culebras. Os gustan las l~nparas. Les gustan los relojes. I like the painting(s). You like the ring(s). He/She likes the fox(es). We like the snake(s). You like the lamp(s). They like tile clock(s). Notes: 1. In discussing actions that one likes to do, substitute an infinitive for the noun. Me gusta correr. No me gusta ni cotter ni nadar. I like to run. I don’t like to run or swim. 2. For clarification in the third person, precede the phrase with the preposition a + the person’s name or the corresponding pronoun. A Madonna le gusta cantar. Madonna likes to sing. A Tom Hanks le gusta actuar. A 61 le gusta dirigir tambifin. Tom Hanks likes to act. He also likes to direct. 3. Otherwise, adding the person’s name or pronoun adds emphasis. A ml me gusta el t& A ti te gust,an los deportes. I (emphasized) like tea. You (emphasized) like sports. 4. When what one likes is simply it (as in, "I like it"), it wil! not translate because t’dchnically the word it is the subject of the sentence ("It pleases me"), and it (or its plural form they) is understood. Me gusta. Me gustan. I like it. I like them. ~ 1-10-9 1 Indh-ect Object Pronouns Use gustar to answer the following questions either affirmatively or negatively--whichever is true for you. Follow the pattern given in item 1 below. 1. ~Te gusta la leche? S~ me gusta la leche. / No, no me gusta la leche. 2. dTe 3. ~Te 4. dTe 5. ~Te 6. dTe 7. ~Te gustan los dramas de Shakespeare? gusta comer en el coche? gusta limpiar la casa? gustan los platos (dishes) ex6ticos? gustan las peliculas de horror? gusta correr? 8. dTe gusta memorizar los verbos espafioles? 9. dTe gustan los mosquitos? 10. dTe gusta conducir en la hora punta (rash hour)? Other Verbs That Take the Indirect Object Pronoun There are several Spanish verbs that operate in the manner of gastar--that is, they take the indi- rect object pronoun and demonstrate the effect that something or someone has on a person. The most common of these verbs include the following: bastar caer bien (mal) disgustar doler (o-~ue) encantar faltar fascinar hnportar interesar molestar parecer sobrar volver (o-~ue) loco/a to be sufficient/enough to; to suffice to like (dislike); to go well (badly) with to be disgusting to; to "hate" (a thing) to be painful to; to hurt to be enchanting to; to "love" (a thing) to be lacking to; to be missing to; to need (a thing) to be fascinating to to be important to to be interesting to to be bothersome to; to bother to seem; to appear to to be left over to; to be in surplus to be crazy about or for (more intense than enc~mtar) Indirect Object Pronouns 5. My eyes hurt. 6. Nothing is important to him and nothing interests him. How (qud) sad! 7. I’m missing a button (el botdn) on my shirt. 8. We love your new house! 9. What’s bothering you? 10. These magazines seem absurd (absurdo) to me. 11. After the holidays (los dias defiesta), they don’t have (any) money left over. 12. He hates coffee, but I love it. 13. I’m crazy about this play (la obra de teatro). 14. I don’t like cookies with raisins. (Cookies with raisins don’t go well with me.) 15. She loves sports, but he hates them. 1-10-11 ] Note: The focus here is on indirect object pronouns; howev~ because these translations are cumulative, there will be direct object pronouns, as well as other types previously covered. I have a new neighbor. He lives next door to me. He seems (to me) very nice. I want to give him something that he tikes. I can make a cake for him or I can write him a note that says (to him), ’~VVelcome to the neighborhood!" I can see him now. These binoculars are great! I can see it all now. I think that I’m going to watch him for a while. No one sees me when I use my binoculars because I turn out all the lights. I love these binoculars. I don’t know what I ought to do. I’m going to ask my aunt what she thinks. She always gives me good advice. D rect and Indirect Object Pronouns EQUIVALENTS: me. you, him, her, it, us. them The direct object answers the question What?or Whom?with regard to the verb in a sentence or clause. Consider the sentence, ’3ohn has the book." What does John have? He has the book; thus, the book is the direct object. The direct object pronoun it can there- fore replace the direct object noun in the sentence, ’~John has it." In the sentence, ’~John sees Mary," one can ask, "Whom does John see?"John sees Mary; thus, Mary is the direct object. The direct object pronoun her carl replace Mary in the sentence, ’~ohn sees her." Singular Plural me (me) nos (us) te (you) os (you) lo/la (him/her; you; it) los/las (them; you) Placement in Affirmative Sentences In an affirmative statement (or clause) with one verb, the direct object pronoun will immediately precede the conjugated verb. examples: 5(0 te conozco. I know you. Tfi me areas. You love me. Ella los compra, She buys them. Lo vemos. We see him. La ten~is. You have it. Ustedes lo quierem You want it. 56 No los compras. You don’t buy them. I~l no nos ve jam~. He never sees us. ~ I-9-4 Nunca lo estudi~iis. You never study it. Ellos no me odian. They don’t hate me. Direct Object Pronouns 59 Unless otherwise indicated, you = second-person sinffula~: 1. I don’t have it (m.). 2. She doesn’t see it (f). 3. I don’t know him. 4. You don’t know me. 5. They don’t buy it (f). 6. He doesn’t write it (m.). 7. They don’t read them (m.). 8. She doesn’t earn it (m.).. 9. I don’t wear it (m.). 10. We don’t see you. .... i1: You don’t have it (f). ]2. They don’t see it (m.). 13. He doesn’t know me. 14. They don’t know us. 15. We don’t use it (m.). 16. She doesn’t read it (m.). 17. We don’t sing them (f). 18. You (pl., formal) don’t have it (m.). 19. You never wear them (m.). 20. You never see us. 60 Spanish Pronouns and Prepositions Placement in Affirmative Sentences with Two Verbs In a statement (or clause) that contains two verbs--the first verb is conjugated and the second one remains in the infinitive form--you have two options: 1. Place the direct object pronoun immediately before the first verb (conjugated). 2. Attach the direct object pronoun directly to the second verb (infinitive). Note: Both options are used in wrifmg and in conversation; however, the second option is used more frequendy. examples: Te quiero vet. / Quiero verte. I want to see you. Lo puedes beber. / Puedes beberlo. You can drink it. 1~1 nos debe visitar. / 1~1 debe visltarnos. He should visit us. Lo queremos comprar. / Queremos comprarlo. We want to buy it. La pod~is come1: / Pod$is comerla. You can eat it. Ellos lo deben ver. Ellos deben verlo. They should see it. 1-9-5 Fill in the blank with the direct object pronoun attached to the infinitive. 1. Yo necesito lavar la ropa. Yo necesito 2. Tfi quieres comer la pizza. Tfi quieres 3. Ella tiene que escribir el informe. Ella tiene que 4. Debemos limpiar la casa. Debemos 5. E1 pianista pnede tocar las canciones. E1 pianista pnede 6. Ellos pueden bailar el tango. Ellos pueden 7. Quiero construir los edificios aqul. Quiero 8. E1 gato puede vet el rat6n (mouse). E1 gato puede 9. Ella quiere conocer a tu madre. Ella quiere aqm. 10. Prefiero olr la verdad. Prefiero 11. E1 profesor quiere ver a tu padre ahora. E1 profesor quiere 12. La cocinera va a preparar las tortillas. La cocinera va a 13. Nadie puede oir la mOsica ahora. Nadie puede ahora. ahora, 14. Ellos quieren conocer a mis hermanos. Ellos quieren 15. Queremos visitar el museo. Queremos Direct Object Pronouns 61 I-9-6 For items 1-5, place the direct oO’ect pronoun before the conjugated verb. For items 6-10, attach the direct oO)ct pronoun to the infinitive. 1. He wants to see me. 2. She wants to kiss him. 3. You (s.,fam.) should eat them (m.). 4. They have to do it (f). 5. We want to meet them (f). 6. She has to sing it (f). 7. I should read it (m.). 8. I want to see you (s., faro.) tomorrow. 9. They need to have it (m.) by (para) tomorrow. 10. Juan can see us. Placement in Questions and Negative Sentences with Two Verbs For questions and/or negative statements with two verbs, the direct object pronoun can be placed before the conjugated verb or attached directly to the infmitive. examples: No tengo que leerlo. / No 1o tengo que leen I don’t have to read it. No queremos hacerlo. / No lo queremos hacer. We don’t want to do it. dTienes que estudiado conmigo? / dLo tienes que estudiar conmigo? Do you have to study it with me? dPod$is soportarlo? / dLo pod$is soportar? Can you stand it? Usted no debe ponerlo aquf. You shouldn’t put it here. dPiensan en vender!o? Are you thinking of selling" it ? FU~n2TION: Rep!ace the e(s) of the hdirect object(s) of the yerb in a sentence oi" clause SPANISH PLACEMENT: knmediatelv before the conjugated ~erb or attached directly to the infim’tive ENGLISH EQUIVALENTS: you, ~, her. it. us, them The indirect object answers the question To or for whom? or To or for what?with regard to the verb in a sentence or clause. Another way of looking at it is to say that the indirect object tells us where the direct object is going. Consider the sentence, "I give you the gift (I give the gift toyou)." The direct object is the gift, because this answers the question What (do I give) ? The indirect object, then, is you because I am giving it (the gift) to you. You is where the gift is going. In the sentence "He buys me flowers (He buys flowersforme)," the direct object is flowers (because that is what he buys), and the indi- rect object is me because I am the one for whom he buys the flowers. The indirect object pronouns in Spanish are as follows: Singular Plural me (me) nos (us) te (you) os (you) le (him; her; you; it) les (them; you) In a sentence with an indirect object, there is always a direct object, either stated or implied. In the sentence "My grandmother writes me every week," me is the indirect object because my grandmother is wridng something (a note, a letter, a postcard, an e-mail message) to me. The direct object is understood. 64 Indh’ect Object Pronouns 1-10-1 In the following sentences, identify the direct object and the indirect object, Note that some direct objects are under- stood; please identify them. 1. John tells me a story. 2. She buys him nothing. 3. They send us food. 4. The chef cooks us a meal. Direct Object Indirect Object 5. The cannibal cooks us for his friends. 6. He tells you. 7. I bought you a ring. 8. He buys drinks for everyone. 9. You write me every week. 10. They sold the diamonds to her. Placement in Affirmative Sentences In an affirmative statement (or clause) with one verb, the indirect object pronoun will immedi- ately precede the conjugated verb. Note that each of the following examples has two possible English translations. English allows for two ways to express the indirect object: (a) between the verb and the direct object and (b) in a prepositional phrase following the direct object. examples: juan me compra un libro. John buys me a book. John buys a book for me. Ella nos dijo una mentira. She told us a lie. She told a lie to us. Yo te digo la verdad siempre. I always tell you the truth. I always tell the truth to you. Ella le escribe una carta. She writes him a letter. She writes a letter to him. Os damos el dinero. We give you the money. We give the money to you. I~1 les canta una canci6n. He sings them a song. He sings a song to them. Spanish Pronotms and Prepositions ~ 1-10-2 Fill in each blank with the appropriate indirect object pronoun. 1. Jorge compra flores para mL Jorge 2. Marta cuenta la historia a nosotros. Marta 3. Los padres leen el libro al nifio. Los padres 4. Escribo una carta a mis abuelos. 5. Felipe da un anillo aJuana. Felipe 6. Vendemos la casa a Marta. 7. Traigo el maquillaje (makeup) a Mary Kay. 8, Preparamos la cena para Guillermo. 9, Compras la falda para mL 10. Martin planta un ~trbol para nosotros. Martin 11. Ella escribe una carta a t~stedes. Ella compra flores, cuenta la historia. leen el libro, escribo una carta. da un anillo. vendemos la casa. traigo el maquillaje. preparamos la cena. compras lu falda. planta un firbol. escribe una carta. 12. Enviamos el regalo a vosotros. 13. Sirvo la comida a elias. enviamos el regalo. sirvo la comida. 14. _E! a~quitecto disefia una casa para ti. E1 arquitecto 15. E1 mesero si~we la bebida a Isabel. E1 mesero disefia una casa. sirve la bebida. 1. I tell him the truth. 2. He tells lies to me all the time. 3. We give her the flowers. 4. I write them a letter every week. 5. They write to us every month. 6. She sings him a song. India’ect Object Pronouns 5. Nadie puede decir nada a ti. Nadie puede nada. 6. Prefiero escribir una carta a Marta. Prefiero una carta. 7. Ellos esperan cantar la canci6n a vosotros. Ellos esperan la canci6n, 8. E1 presidente debe decir la verdad a nosotros. E1 presidente debe la verdad. 9. La madre necesita mostrar el arnor a su nifio. La madre necesita el amor. 10. Un c6mico puede contar chistes (johes) a nosotros. Un C61TIico puede chistes. 11. E1 arquitecto va a disefiar una casa para mr. E1 arquitecto va a una casa. paella. mi nombre. 12. Voy a preparar paella para ustedes. Voy a 13. Voy a decir mi nombre a ellos. Voy a 14. Juan s61o puede vender los cigarrillos a los adultos. Juan s61o puede 15. E1 mesero debe servir la cena a nosotros con mils rapidez. E1 mesero debe con m~s rapidez. los cigarrillos. la ceua 1-10-6 ] For items 1-5, place the indirect object pronoun before the conjugated verb. For items 6-10, attach the indirect object pronoun to the infinitive. 1. I want to give him a gift. 2. He needs to tell me the U~uth. 3. We should write her a letter. 4. You (s., fara.) should write to us more often (mds a menudo). 5. You (pl., formal) have to tell them the truth. 6. We should give them olive oil (el aceite de oliva). 7. He wants to buy her a diamond (el diamante). 8. When he comes to our house, he always wants to bring (traer) us something. Spanish Pronouns and Prepositions 9. I can send you (s., fam.) these vases (elflorero) through the mail (pot correo). 10. You (pl., fam.) need to tell him something. Placement in Questions and Negative Sentences Mth Two Verbs For questions and/or negative statements with two verbs, the indirect object pronoun can be placed before the conjugated verb or attached directly to the infinitive. examples: ~QuiSn va a enviarme una cuenta? / ~QuiSn me va a enviar una cuenta? Who is going to send me a bill? ~;1 no necesita darnos la informaci6n. / I~1 no nos necesita dar la informaci6n. He doesn’t need to give us the information. ~Debemos dech’te la verdad? / ~Te debemos decir la verdad? Should we tell you the truth? No quiero venderos estos collares. / No os quiero vender estos collares. I do n’t want to sell you these necklaces. Nunca pod~is comprarle la felicidad. / Nunca le pod~is comprar la felicidad. You can never buy happiness for hen. No tengo que decMes nada. / No les tengo que declr nada. I don’t have to tell them anything. Use both options to express each statement or question. Unless otherwise indicated, you = secondsOerson singular. 1. Do you want to bring me a kitten? 2. We’re not going to show them our new house. 3. Do you want to sell them these paintings? 4. Who is going to pay me the money? 5. Can you send the farniture (los muebles) to us by (para) Tuesday? Inclh’ect Object Pronomxs 6. The artist can’t paint her a picture (el cuadw) by June. 7. I’m not going to wash your clothing for you. 8. We don’t want to tell you (pl., formal) the bad news (las malas noticiaz). 9. X~nen can you (pl.,fam.) build (construir) the building (el edificio) for us? 10. Should you read her such a letter (tal carta)? The Redundant Use of the Indirect Object Pronoun Even though the principal purpose of any pronoun is to replace a noun, there are times when it is clearer or more emphatic to use both the noun or pronoun and a + the pronoun or noun. This is done primarily with the indirect object pronoun and more frequently with some verbs (see the following list). At such times, the indirect object is usually in the third person. The following verbs frequently take both a noun or pronoun and a + the appropriate pronoun: comprar to buy mandar to send dar to give pedlr to ask (a favor); to request (from) dedr to say; to tell preguntar to ask (a question) escribir to write preparar to prepare enviar to send regalar to give (a gift) hacer to make or do tract to bring examples: Yo lc doy a Juan cinco d61ares. I give him (John) five dollars. Les pregunto a el!os si quieren ir. I ask them if they want to go. Manuel les escribe a sus padres cada semana. Manuel writes to them (his parents) every week. Le pido a mljefe un aumento. I ask my boss for a raise. As you can see in the preceding examples, the addition of a + a noun or pronoun neither replaces nor adds necessary information. Thus, technically, it is redundant. Since the redundant prepositional phrase is not necessary, why do we add it.~ One,.reason is that the third-person noun or pronoun helps us clarify the ambiguous, pronoun le. Another reason is that the prepositional phrase adds emphasis to the noun or pronoun. In other words, they help each other. Gustar et al. "itedrevls Indirect O~bject Pronouns with gustar There is a group of Spanish verbs which, to the native English speaker’s notion of syntax, work in reverse. The most commonly used of these verbs is gustar (to be pleasing to), hence the title of this section. While in English, one says "I like the bread," in Spanish, to get this same nlessage across, one says, "Me gusta el pan," which literally means, "The bread is pleasing to me." The bread is now the subject, and !has become the indirect oloject. Because the bread is pleasing to me--remember that the indirect object often contains or implies the preposition to---we will need the indirect object pronoun in this sentence, as well as in all sen- tences that use the verb gustar (and the other verbs that operate in the manner of gustar). The key to the verbs in this section is to remember that they nearly always operate in the third- person singular and plural forms. The things being discussed have their effect on people: Chicago fascinates me; traffic bothers you; autobiographies interest her; money is not important to him. To work with gustar, and verbs like it, you will use the following recipe: indirect object pronoun + third-person (s. or pl.) verb + noun(s) examples: Singular Subject (noun) Plural Subject (noun) Me gusta la pintura. Te gusta el anitlo. Le gusta el zurro. Nos gusta la culebra. Os gusta la hlmpara. Les gusta el reloj. Me gustan las pinturas. Te gustan los anillos. Le gustan los zorros. Nos gustan las culebras. Os gustan las l~nparas. Les gustan los relojes. I like the painting(s). You like the ring(s). He/She likes the fox(es). We like the snake(s). You like the lamp(s). They like tile clock(s). Notes: 1. In discussing actions that one likes to do, substitute an infinitive for the noun. Me gusta correr. No me gusta ni cotter ni nadar. I like to run. I don’t like to run or swim. 2. For clarification in the third person, precede the phrase with the preposition a + the person’s name or the corresponding pronoun. A Madonna le gusta cantar. Madonna likes to sing. A Tom Hanks le gusta actuar. A 61 le gusta dirigir tambifin. Tom Hanks likes to act. He also likes to direct. 3. Otherwise, adding the person’s name or pronoun adds emphasis. A ml me gusta el t& A ti te gust,an los deportes. I (emphasized) like tea. You (emphasized) like sports. 4. When what one likes is simply it (as in, "I like it"), it wil! not translate because t’dchnically the word it is the subject of the sentence ("It pleases me"), and it (or its plural form they) is understood. Me gusta. Me gustan. I like it. I like them. ~ 1-10-9 1 Indh-ect Object Pronouns Use gustar to answer the following questions either affirmatively or negatively--whichever is true for you. Follow the pattern given in item 1 below. 1. ~Te gusta la leche? S~ me gusta la leche. / No, no me gusta la leche. 2. dTe 3. ~Te 4. dTe 5. ~Te 6. dTe 7. ~Te gustan los dramas de Shakespeare? gusta comer en el coche? gusta limpiar la casa? gustan los platos (dishes) ex6ticos? gustan las peliculas de horror? gusta correr? 8. dTe gusta memorizar los verbos espafioles? 9. dTe gustan los mosquitos? 10. dTe gusta conducir en la hora punta (rash hour)? Other Verbs That Take the Indirect Object Pronoun There are several Spanish verbs that operate in the manner of gastar--that is, they take the indi- rect object pronoun and demonstrate the effect that something or someone has on a person. The most common of these verbs include the following: bastar caer bien (mal) disgustar doler (o-~ue) encantar faltar fascinar hnportar interesar molestar parecer sobrar volver (o-~ue) loco/a to be sufficient/enough to; to suffice to like (dislike); to go well (badly) with to be disgusting to; to "hate" (a thing) to be painful to; to hurt to be enchanting to; to "love" (a thing) to be lacking to; to be missing to; to need (a thing) to be fascinating to to be important to to be interesting to to be bothersome to; to bother to seem; to appear to to be left over to; to be in surplus to be crazy about or for (more intense than enc~mtar) Indirect Object Pronouns 5. My eyes hurt. 6. Nothing is important to him and nothing interests him. How (qud) sad! 7. I’m missing a button (el botdn) on my shirt. 8. We love your new house! 9. What’s bothering you? 10. These magazines seem absurd (absurdo) to me. 11. After the holidays (los dias defiesta), they don’t have (any) money left over. 12. He hates coffee, but I love it. 13. I’m crazy about this play (la obra de teatro). 14. I don’t like cookies with raisins. (Cookies with raisins don’t go well with me.) 15. She loves sports, but he hates them. 1-10-11 ] Note: The focus here is on indirect object pronouns; howev~ because these translations are cumulative, there will be direct object pronouns, as well as other types previously covered. I have a new neighbor. He lives next door to me. He seems (to me) very nice. I want to give him something that he tikes. I can make a cake for him or I can write him a note that says (to him), ’~VVelcome to the neighborhood!" I can see him now. These binoculars are great! I can see it all now. I think that I’m going to watch him for a while. No one sees me when I use my binoculars because I turn out all the lights. I love these binoculars. I don’t know what I ought to do. I’m going to ask my aunt what she thinks. She always gives me good advice. GUSTAR et al. Translate the following 1. I’m crazy about chocolate (volver loco). 2. He’s crazy about chocolate. 3. We’re crazy about chocolate. 4. The dog seems tired to me(parecer canzado). 5. The dog seems tired to us. 6. Spanish class is important to me (importer). 7. Spanish class is important to them. 8. Spanish class is important to him. 9. The movie fascinates me (fascinar). 10. The movie fascinates you. 11. He hates this movie (disgustar). 12. He hates dogs. 13. They love to listen to music. 14. He seems (to me) very nice. 15. I’m missing a book. 16. We’re missing the tickets (los boletos) 17. He’s missing the tickets. 18. I have 5 dollars left over. 19. You’re missing a book. 20. You have 5 dollars left over. GUSTAR ctal. PAST TENSE Translctte the f!~lIowing 1. I was crazy ahont chocolate (volver Ioco). 2. He was crazy aboat chocolate. 3. We were crazy about chocolate. 4. The dog seemed tired to me(parecer canzado). 5. The dog seemed tired to us. 6. Spanish class was important to me (importer). 7. Spaniah class was important to them, 8. Spanish class was important to him. 9. The movie fascinated me (fascina). 10. The movie fascinated you. 11. He lamed this movie (disgustar). 12. lie hated dogs. lB. They loved to listen to music. 14. He seemed (to me) very nice. 1~, i was missing a book. 16, We were missing the tickets (los boleros) 17. He was missing the tickets. 18. I had 5 dollars left over. 19. You were missing a book. 20, You had 5 dollars left over.