5 Differences Between Spanish and English Object Pronouns

5 Differences Between Spanish and English Object Pronouns Because both are Indo-European languages, the grammars of Spanish and English are quite similar. Even so, grammatical differences between the two languages abound. Among them is the way that object pronouns are treated. Here are five ways that Spanish deals with object pronouns in ways that might not seem familiar to English speakers: Direct vs. Indirect Pronouns In the third person, Spanish distinguishes between direct and indirect object pronouns. The English third-person object pronouns are him, her and it in the singular and them in the plural, and the same words are used whether the object is direct or indirect. (In the simplest sense, although the distinctions dont always line up in the two languages, a direct object is one that is acted upon by a verb, while an indirect object is one affected by a verbs action even though the action is directed at someone or something else.) But in standard Spanish (exceptions are explained in our lesson on leà ­smo), the pronouns are distinguished like this: Singular direct objects: lo (masculine), la (feminine).Plural direct object: los (masculine), las (feminine).Singular indirect object: le.Plural indirect object: les. So while the simple English sentences I found her and I sent her a letter use the same pronoun her, a distinction is made in Spanish. The first sentence would be La encontrà ©, where la is a direct object, while the second would be Le mandà © una carta with le being the indirect object. (Letter or carta is the direct object.) Attaching Pronouns to Verbs In Spanish, object pronouns can be attached to some verbs. The pronouns can be attached to three verb forms: infinitives, gerunds and affirmative commands. The pronoun is written as part of the verb, and sometimes a written accent is needed to maintain the correct pronunciation. Here is an example of each of the verb types with an attached pronoun: Infinitive: Voy a amarte por siempre. (Im going to love you forever.)Gerund: Seguà ­an mirndonos. (They kept on looking at us.)Command:  ¡Cllate! (You shut up!) Different Distinctions The distinction between direct and indirect objects is different in the two languages. Taking note of which verbs require the use of le or les would be beyond the scope of this lesson. But it can be said that many Spanish verbs use the indirect-object pronoun where the pronoun in English would be viewed as a direct object. For example, in the sentence Le pidieron su direccià ³n (They asked him for his address), le is an indirect object. But in English, him would be viewed as a direct object because he was the one who was asked. The same is true in Le pegà ³ en la cabeza (They hit him in the head). Using Pronouns Redundantly It is common in Spanish to use an object pronoun even when the noun represented by the pronoun is explicitly stated. Such a redundant use of the pronoun often occurs when the object is named and appears before the verb: A Chris  le gusta escuchar mà ºsica. (Chris likes listening to music. See more in the lesson on gustar.)Toda la ropa la tenemos en descuento. (We have all the clothing on sale.) Note that the redundant pronoun isnt translated to English. The pronoun also is used redundantly in some cases to add emphasis, or often because thats what sounds right to native speakers even if such use isnt mandatory: Lo conocemos bien a este seà ±or. (We know this man well.)Le dieron un regalo a la nià ±a. (They gave a present to the girl.) Using Pronouns Alone Instead of In Phrases Spanish sometimes uses an indirect object pronoun where English would use a phrase. In English we often indicate who or what was affected by a verbs action with phrases such as for me or to him. In Spanish, it may not be necessary to make a phrase. The case where doing so sounds most unfamiliar may be with the verb ser (to be). For example, in Spanish you could say No me es posible for It is not possible for me. But similar constructions are possible with other verbs as well. For example, Le robaron el dinero means They stole the money from him or They stole the money from her.