Indirect objects and their pronouns

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Indirect Objects and Indirect Object Pronouns
(Los complementos indirectos y los pronombres de
complemento indirecto)
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• An indirect object is almost always a person
  (occasionally a thing) that is indirectly
  affected by the action of the verb.

What did Paco give? The book. Thats our direct
object.
Paco gave the book to me.
To whom did Paco give the book? To me. Thats
our indirect object.
Paco me dio el libro.
It is important to distinguish direct objects
from indirect objects.
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• The indirect object pronouns in Spanish are as
  follows

These are used
me
nos
te
os
These are used
le
les
Notice that the forms of the indirect object
pronouns are identical to the direct object
pronouns, except for the third-person singular
and plural forms.
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• The prepositional forms that often accompany the
  object pronouns are as follows

(a mí)
(a nosotros)
me
nos
(a vosotros)
(a ti)
te
os
(a ustedes)
le
les
(a usted)
(a él)
(a ellos)
(a Juan)
(a ellas)
(a ella)
(a Marta)
etc.
(for clarification or emphasis)
(More about this shortly)
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An indirect object indicates to or for whom an
action is carried out. An indirect object can
also be used to indicate from whom something is
bought, borrowed, or taken away. In English
these relationships are simply expressed with
prepositions.
Ill send the book to Alfredo.
Ill buy the book for Alfredo.
Ill take the book from Alfredo.
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In Spanish, the to, for, and from relationships
are all expressed with an indirect object pronoun
and the single preposition a. The verb, then, or
the situational context will clarify whether a
represents to, for, or from.
Le voy a mandar el libro a Alfredo.
to send
to
Le voy a comprar el libro a Alfredo.
to buy
for (or from, depending on context)
Le voy a quitar el libro a Alfredo.
to take away
from
The repetition of Le with a Alfredo may seem
redundant, but Spanish grammar requires the
co-occurrence of the indirect object pronoun and
the indirect object itself, unless the latter has
already been established in the conversation or
is understood.
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Notice the following example
Alfredo quiere leer los cuentos?
Does Alfredo want to read the stories?
Sí, le voy a mandar el libro.
Yes, Im going to send the book to him.
Since the question establishes that Alfredo is
the one being referred to, a Alfredo is omitted
in the answer.
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Clarification and Emphasis
The pronouns le and les are ambiguous since they
can refer to many different individuals or
groups, respectively thus, the prepositional
forms are used to clarify. Notice the following
exchange
A quién le vas a mandar el libro?
To whom are you going to send the book?
Le voy a mandar el libro a Alfredo.
Im going to send the book to Alfredo.
An answer such as Le voy a mandar el libro would
obviously not be sufficient.
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Clarification and Emphasis
Some might then logically ask Why not just say
Voy a mandar el libro a Alfredo. But . . .
. . . proper Spanish requires the use of the
indirect object pronoun.
Le voy a mandar el libro a Alfredo.
In this case, for instance, le must co-occur with
a Alfredo.
Voy a mandar el libro a Alfredo.
. . . is considered ungrammatical.
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Clarification and Emphasis
Prepositional forms are also used to emphasize.
Notice the following exchange.
Tanto Alfredo como Isabel quieren leer el libro.
A quién le vas a mandar el libro primero?
Both Alfredo and Isabel want to read the book.
Who are you going to send it to first?
Primero le voy a mandar el libro a él (a Alfredo).
First Im going to send the book to him (to
Alfredo).
Again, an answer such as Primero le voy a mandar
el libro would not be sufficient.
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Omission of the indirect object pronoun
The indirect object pronoun is normally not used,
however, when the indirect object is considered
corporate, as opposed to personal.
Voy a mandar el libro a la biblioteca.
Im going to send the book to the library.
Donamos dinero a la Cruz Roja.
We donate money to the Red Cross.
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Indirect object pronouns, like all object
pronouns, come in front of the conjugated verb .
. .
Le voy a mandar el libro a Alfredo.
. . . or after and attached to an infinitive . .
.
Voy a mandarle el libro a Alfredo.
. . . or a gerund.
Estoy mandándole el libro a Alfredo.
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• As mentioned, occasionally a thing can be
  expressed as an indirect object.

Van a ponerle un motor nuevo al coche.
Theyre going to put a new engine in the car.
Think of the installation of the new engine as an
action that is being carried out on the car.
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• Remember that the indirect object pronoun in
  Spanish can represent (at least) three different
  relationships.

Paco gave the book to me.
All threeto, from and for are represented by
the single preposition a in Spanish.
Paco me dio el libro (a mí).
Paco took the book from me.
Paco me quitó el libro (a mí).
Paco bought the book for me.
Paco me compró el libro (a mí).
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