Direct Object Pronouns in Spanish | Use & Examples

The direct object pronouns in Spanish are “me,” “te,” “lo,” “la,” “nos,” “os,” “los, and “las.”

Like in English, a direct object in Spanish is a noun that receives the action of the verb. It’s usually an object or person and answers the question “what?” or “whom?”

For example, in “John buys a car,” “car” is the direct object, as it receives the action of “buying.” We could also rephrase this as “John buys it,” where “it” is a pronoun.

We can replace direct object nouns with direct object pronouns in Spanish, too.

Direct object pronouns in Spanish examples
Example with direct object noun  Example with direct object pronoun
Spanish  English  Spanish  English 
María compra una falda. María buys a skirt. María la compra. María buys it.
Yo leo un libro. I read a book. Yo lo leo. I read it.
Ella invita a sus amigos. She invites her friends. Ella los invita. She invites them.

Spanish direct object pronouns

Spanish direct object pronouns differ from subject pronouns, like in English. Think of the difference between “I” and “me.” The same difference exists in Spanish between “yo” and “me.”

Spanish direct object pronouns
Direct object pronoun English translation Example of direct object pronoun in a sentence English translation
Me Me me pagas. You pay me.
Te You (singular, informal) Yo te veo. I see you.
Lo, la Him, her, it

You (singular, formal)

Andrés lo compra. Andrés buys it.
Nos Us Ellos nos invitaron. They invited us.
Os You (plural, informal) Nosotros os llamamos. We call you.
Los, las Them

You (plural, informal or formal)

Marcos los vende. Marcos sells them.

Spanish direct object pronouns must agree with the nouns they replace in number and gender. To do this correctly, ask yourself these questions:

  1. Is the direct object in the first, second, or third person?
  2. Is the direct object singular or plural?
  3. Is the direct object feminine or masculine?
  4. If addressing someone as “you,” am I speaking formally or informally?

For example:

  • “Yo como el pan” [“I eat the bread”] would become “Yo lo como” [“I eat it”] because “el pan” is masculine and singular.
  •  “Nosotros comemos las pizzas” [“We eat the pizzas”] would become “Nosotros las comemos” [“We eat them”] because “las pizzas” is feminine and plural.

Direct object pronouns in Spanish examples

Using the Spanish direct object pronouns takes some getting used to. Reviewing example sentences can help you get the feel for where and when to use them.

Me

“Me” is used when “me” is the direct object of the sentence.

Direct object pronoun “me” examples
Ellos me ven. [They see me.]

No me ven. [They don’t see me.]

¿Puedes verme? [Can you see me?]

Te

“Te” is used when “you” in the singular informal is the direct object of the sentence.

Direct object pronoun “te” examplesTe quiero. [I love you.]No te quiero. [I don’t love you.]¿Sabes que te quiero? [Do you know that I love you?]

Lo, la

“Lo” is used when “him” is the direct object of the sentence, and “la” when “she” is the object. When “it” is the object, use “lo” for masculine nouns and “la” for feminine ones.

“Lo” or “la” are also used when the direct object is “you” in the singular formal.

Direct object pronoun “lo” and “la” examples
Necesito una mochila. [I need a backpack]. → La necesito [I need it.]

No necesito a Max. [I don’t need Max.] → No lo necesito. [I don’t need him.]

¿Necesitas una carpeta? [Do you need a folder?] → ¿La necesitas? [Do you need it?]

Nos

“Nos” is used when “us” or “each other” is the direct object of the sentence.

Direct object pronoun “nos” examples
Nos conocemos. [We know each other.]

No nos conocemos. [We don’t know each other.]

¿Nos conocemos? [Do we know each other?]

Os

“Os” is used when “you” in the plural informal is the object of the sentence. “Os” comes from the “vosotros” form, which is only used in Spain. In Latin America, use “ustedes”—and its direct object pronoun “los” or “las”—instead.

Direct object pronouns “os” examples
Paco os llamará luego. [Paco will call you (plural) later.]

Paco no os llamará luego. [Paco won’t call you (plural) later.]

¿Paco puede llamaros luego? [Can Paco call you (plural) later?]

Los, las

“Los” is used when “them” is the direct object of the sentence and the group is composed of masculine nouns or a mixed-gender group. “Las” is used when “them” is the direct object and the group it refers to is feminine.

Direct object pronoun “los” and “las” examples
Susana lee las cartas. [Susana reads the letters.] → Susana las lee. [Susana reads them.]

Susana no lee los libros. [Susana doesn’t read the books.] → Susana no los lee. [Susana doesn’t read them.]

¿Susana quiere leer este libro? [Does Susana want to read this book?] → ¿Susana quiere leerlo? [Does Susana want to read it?]

A QuillBot Grammar Check can also make sure you use Spanish direct object pronouns correctly.

When to use direct object pronouns in Spanish

Direct object pronouns in Spanish are used to replace the noun or noun phrase working as the direct object (people, places, things, ideas, etc.).

To avoid repetition

While you aren’t obliged to use direct object pronouns, doing so helps avoid repetition when it’s already clear what the pronoun refers to.

If someone asks you “¿Tienes la llave del coche?” [“Do you have the car key?”], how would you respond?

You could reply, “Sí, tengo la llave del coche” [“Yes, I have the car key”], but this is quite repetitive. Instead, you could use “Sí, la tengo” [“Yes, I have it”].

As personal pronouns

Direct object pronouns are also used any time the direct object is “you” (“te”), “me” (“me”), or “us” (“nos”) since there is no other grammatical equivalent. For example, “te quiero” means I love you in Spanish.

In the third person, you can use direct object nouns (e.g., “Veo a Marina”) or direct object pronouns (e.g., “La veo”).

Note
Spanish has a rule called the personal “a.” Whenever the direct object is a person or pet, you must place an “a” before that noun (e.g., “Ayudamos a los niños”).

When using direct object pronouns in Spanish, the personal “a” is not needed, as it is implicitly included in the pronoun (e.g., “Los ayudamos”).

How to use direct object pronouns in Spanish

In Spanish, direct object pronouns can go in a few different places, depending on the sentence. This is different from English, where the direct object pronoun must go after the verb.

How to use direct object pronouns in Spanish sentences
Context Where to place the pronoun Spanish example English translation
Conjugated verb Before the conjugated verb Lo compré. I bought it.
Conjugated verb + infinitive Before the conjugated verb Lo quiero comprar. I want to buy it.
Attached to the infinitive Quiero comprarlo. I want to buy it.
Progressive verb tense (e.g., present progressive) Before the conjugated verb Lo estoy comprando. I am buying it.
Attached to the conjugated verb Estoy comprándolo. I am buying it.
Affirmative commands Attached to the command Cómpralo. Buy it.
Negative command Before the command No lo compres. Don’t buy it.
Note
Except when using the imperative mood (commands), these placement rules are the same for affirmative and negative statements and questions. For example, “Yo no lo compré” would be the negative version of the first example in the table.

Direct object pronouns in Spanish quiz

Check your understanding of the Spanish direct object pronouns with these practice questions.


Frequently asked questions about direct object pronouns in Spanish

What is a direct object in Spanish?

A direct object in Spanish is the same as a direct object in English: a noun or pronoun that receives the action of a verb.

For example, take the sentence “Raquel escribe una carta,” or “Raquel writes a letter.” “Carta” is the direct object because it receives the action of “escribe” from Raquel.

Like in English, the direct object pronouns in Spanish are different from the subject pronouns. They are “me,” “te,” “lo,” “la,” “nos,” “os,” “los,” and “las.”

A QuillBot Grammar Check can make sure you use direct objects and their pronouns correctly, even in Spanish.

What’s the difference between direct and indirect object pronouns in Spanish?

Direct object pronouns receive the action of the verb. Indirect object pronouns replace nouns indirectly affected by the verb.

Indirect object pronouns differ slightly from direct object pronouns in Spanish.

Direct vs indirect object pronouns in Spanish
Direct object pronouns Indirect object pronouns
Me [me] Me [to/for me]
Te [you] Te [to/for you]
Lo, la [him, her, it, you formal] Le [to/for him, her, you formal]
Nos [we] Nos [to/for us]
Os [you all informal] Os [to/for you all informal]
Los, las [them, you all formal] Les [to/for them, you all formal]

A QuillBot Grammar Check can make sure you use direct and indirect object pronouns in Spanish correctly.

What’s a direct object vs indirect object in Spanish?

In Spanish, a direct object is a noun or pronoun that receives the action of a verb. It usually explains “what?” or “whom?”

An indirect object is indirectly affected by the action, often as a recipient. It usually explains “to whom?” or “for whom?”

Take the sentence “Damos un regalo a Juan” [“We give a gift to Juan”]. What do we give? A gift. To whom do we give it? To Juan.

Indirect object pronouns differ from direct object pronouns in Spanish in the third person forms; instead of “lo/la” and “los,” use “le” and “les.

A QuillBot Grammar Check can make sure you use direct objects and indirect objects in Spanish correctly.

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Kate Santoro, BS

Kate has a BS in journalism. She has taught English as a second language in Spain to students of all ages for a decade. She also has experience in content management and marketing.