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Work Unit 24: Un hombre moral |
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Indirect Object Pronouns
If you studied the previous lesson, you already know something about objects. In that lesson we looked at direct objects; this time we take a look at indirect objects, which function very similarly.
Assignment
Complete the lesson on pages 263-71 of the textbook. Be sure also to listen to the
audio supplement, which again this week will provide some examples of how accents are used with
verbs that have objects attached to them. And if you haven't looked at it lately, review the previous lesson, as this one builds on its concepts.
Be sure to complete the exercises. Although copyright rules and fairness
to other students using this book prevent me from publishing all the answers,
you can check the answer page to see an answer
to the first question in each section to help get you started. If you have
any questions, feel free to ask them on the bulletin
board.
Background
Distinguishing between a direct object and an indirect object isn't always easy. Fortunately, it isn't always important, because the indirect object pronouns and the direct object pronouns are often identical. For example, the me in me escribe ("he writes me") is an indirect object, while the me in me ve ("he sees me") is a direct object. In this case, the form of the indirect and direct objects is the same.
But there are many cases where it is important to know the difference. Topping the list is when the third person is used, and le or les is used as the indirect object. Also, while examples aren't given in this lesson, it is common to use both direct and indirect objects in the same sentence.
The important distinction is that (as their names imply) the direct objects are those nouns or pronouns that are directly acted upon by the verb, while the indirect object is the noun that is affected but not directly acted upon by the verb. For example, look at the sentence Le escribo una carta ("I am writing him a letter." The letter (carta) is what is being written, so it is the direct object. But the pronoun in this case ("him" or le) is the indirect recipient of the verb's action. When translating to English, in nearly all cases indirect objects can be translated by using the object following the preposition "to" or "for." Thus in this case, valid translations of le escribo una carta include not only "I am writing him a letter" but also "I am writing a letter to him" or "I am writing a letter for him."
Although you don't need to learn all these rules now, here are some other facts about indirect objects that you may find useful:
- Indirect objects are frequently used in Spanish where in English we would use a prepositional phrase. Te hablo, I am talking to you.
- When both indirect and direct objects are used in a sentence, the indirect object comes first. Te los hago, I am making them for you.
- When both indirect and direct object pronouns are used in a sentence, se is substituted for le or les. Se la escribo, I am writing it (la) for him (se, not le).
- As indicated in the text, indirect objects are often used redundantly. Le doy la muñeca a
mi hija, I am giving the doll to my daughter. The indirect object pronoun isn't essential in this case, but it is very commonly used. This is discussed briefly in the audio lesson.
Coming up
In the next lesson we'll study the use of a very common verb, gustar, which means "to please" but is often translated as "to like." It uses indirect object pronouns.
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