Direct Object Pronouns in Spanish: A Beginner's Guide

Direct object pronouns in Spanish can be a little confusing. But with some attention and practice, they get easier to understand, and easier to use. 

Direct object pronouns are used to replace the direct object, which is the noun to which the action is applied to.

The Spanish direct-object pronouns are as follows: 

Person	Singular	Plural
First person	Me	Nos
Second person	Te	Os
Third person	Lo/la	Los/las

Let’s look at some more direct object pronouns. The following examples are intended to clarify when you might use a direct object pronoun in Spanish.

Direct Object Pronoun Examples

English	Spanish
John can see me	Juan puede verme
He doesn’t know you (singular familiar)	No te conoce
I can’t see you/him/it (singular masculine formal)	No puedo verlo
I can’t see you/her/it (singular feminine formal)	No puedo verla
They know us	Nos conocen
I will help you (plural familiar)	Os ayudaré
I hear you/them (plural formal, masculine, or mixed masculine and feminine)	Los oigo
I hear you/them (plural feminine formal)	Las oigo

Note that the location of the direct-object pronoun varies. In most cases, it can be placed before the verb. Alternatively, it can be attached to an infinitive (the form of the verb that ends in -ar, -er, or -ir) or a present participle (the form of the verb that ends in “-ndo”, often the equivalent of English verbs that end in “-ing”).

The Following Sentences Can Be Expressed Either Way, With the Same Meaning.

English	Spanish
I can’t see him	No puedo verlo No lo puedo ver
I am helping you	Te estoy ayudando Estoy ayudándote

Note that when the direct-object pronoun is added to a present participle, it is necessary to add an accent mark to the last syllable of the stem so that the stress is on the proper syllable.

Direct-object pronouns follow affirmative commands (telling someone to do something) but precede negative commands (telling someone not to do something), as can be seen in the following examples.

English	Spanish
Study it	Estúdialo
Don’t study it	No lo estudies

Note again that an accent mark needs to be added when adding the direct-object pronoun to the end of positive commands.

In some parts of Spain, le can substitute for lo as a direct-object pronoun when it means “him” but not “it”. Less commonly in some areas, les can substitute for los when referring to people.

A Few Other Examples

English	Spanish
I am interested in buying it, but much later	Me interesa comprarlo, pero más tarde
You can see us in episode 14	Puedes vernos en el episodio 14 Nos puedes ver en el episodio 14
I love you a lot	Te quiero mucho

So, direct-object pronouns replace the direct-object noun, which can be a person, thing, noun phrase, or nominalized clause. Let us consider the following examples to clarify. 

Further Examples of Direct Object Pronouns Replacing a Direct Object Noun

English	Spanish
They called my mother They called her	Llamaron a mi mamá Lo llamaron
Sandra threw the ball Sandra threw it	Sandra tiró la pelota Sandra la tiró
The boys read lots of books The boys read them	Los niños leen muchos libros Los niños los leen
Pedro buys the cakes Pedro buys them	Pedro compra las tortas Pedro las compra
They read a book They read it	Ellos leen un libro Ellos lo leen
Mum throws the rubbish Mum throws it	Mamá tira la basura Mamá la tira
They wash the girl They wash her	Ellos bañan a la niña Ellos la bañan
The professor sees us	El profesor ve a nosotros El profesor nos ve
The grandma visits you	La abuela visita a ti La abuela te visita
The parents don’t understand you	Los padres no entienden a vosotros Los padres no os entienden
I have lost my keys, have you seen them?	He perdido mis llaves, ¿las has visto?
I haven’t heard from Carmen. Have you seen her recently?	No sé nada de Carmen. ¿La has visto?
The keys are there, don’t you see them?	Las llaves están ahí, ¿no las ves?
Your daughter doesn’t know us	Tu hija no nos conoce
Help me!	¡Ayúdame!
Follow us!	¡Síguenos!
Don’t help me!	¡No me ayudes!
Don’t follow us!	¡No nos sigas!
Don’t touch them!	¡No los toques!
He left after fixing it	Se fue después de arreglarlo
You will learn by listening to it	Escuchándolo, aprenderás
They are coming to see us	Vienen a vernos Nos vienen a ver
I am eating it	Estoy comiéndolo Lo estoy comiento
I want to open it	Quiero abrirla
I am not opening it	No estoy abriéndola
Open it	Ábrela
I want you to open it	Quiero que la abra
Don’t open it	No la abras

Hopefully this guide will help you gain a deeper understanding of direct-object pronouns in Spanish. This way, you can start implementing these pronouns into your Spanish language practice, and even use them in your Spanish conversations.