C HAPTER 10

Object of the Verb

CHAPTER 5 INCLUDED AN OVERVIEW of object and reflexive pronouns: what they are and their English translation. In this chapter, you’ll begin learning how pronouns are used together with Spanish verbs.

Object pronouns work a bit differently in Spanish, and many students get confused by all those small words that seem to be sprinkled around a Spanish sentence in abundance. So let’s get things straight once and for all. A verb may come with a direct object and/or indirect object, or it may be reflexive and require a reflexive object. Verbs that may use or require one or more of these objects are covered in this chapter.

What Is an Object?

The basic structure of a simple sentence is subject + verb + object. Both the subject and object may be nouns, pronouns, or noun phrases. The difference between the subject and object is that the subject is who or what performs the action, whereas the object is the receiver of the action, whether directly or indirectly.

Prepositional Objects

One common group of objects is prepositional phrases, made up of a preposition, noun (or pronoun), and possibly articles and/or adjectives. Here are a few examples:

Ella suele bailar en la calle.

She usually dances in the street.

Trabajamos desde las siete de la mañana hasta las cuatro de la tarde.

We work from seven in the morning until four in the afternoon.

In these sentences, bailar en la calle, desde las siete de la mañana, and hasta las cuatro de la tarde are prepositional objects. Simply speaking, they are objects of the verb suele bailar and trabajamos and happen to include a preposition.

Direct and Indirect Objects

Other objects are not mitigated by the preposition. These are direct and indirect objects. What’s the difference between the two? The direct object takes on the action of the verb directly; the indirect object is the person or thing for whom the action is performed. That is, direct object answers the question “whom or what?” whereas the indirect object answers the question “to/for whom or what?” Compare the following two examples:

Limpio la casa.

I clean the house.

Los ayudo a mis padres a limpiar la casa.

I help my parents clean the house.

In the first example, la casa is the direct object of the verb limpio:

¿Limpio qué? Limpio la casa.

I clean what? I clean the house.

In the second example, la casa is still the direct object; the indirect object of the verb phrase ayudo a limpiar is a mis padres, reinforced by the pronoun los (more on this later). Here’s how you can check if you’re right:

¿Ayudo a limpiar la casa a quién? Los ayudo limpiar la casa a mis padres.

Whom do I help clean the house? I help my parents clean the house.

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

Verbs that require the presence of a direct object are known as transitive verbs. Some verbs can never appear without a direct object: The phrase yo miro (I watch) can’t form a complete sentence, because it’s necessary to specify the direct object—whom or what I watch. Verbs that need a direct object are called transitive because they form a transition between the subject and the object of the sentence.

FACT

In Spanish, a verb that takes on an indirect object without having a direct object is also considered intransitive. Some verbs may function transitively or intransitively, while others always stay in one category.

If a verb functions without a direct object, it is called an intransitive verb: yo camino doesn’t require a direct object. In fact, it can’t. If you want to add more information about the verb, you’ll have to add a prepositional phrase:

Yo camino por la orilla del río.

I walk along the banks of the river.

Direct Objects

The direct object is direct because it receives the action “directly”— that is, it follows the verb and is not mediated by a preposition. The direct object may be a part of a phrase, but the rest of the phrase simply modifies the direct object. Here are a few examples of direct objects in a basic Spanish sentence:

Ellos miran la television los domingos.

They watch television on Sundays.

Ellas toman café en el patio.

They are drinking coffee on the patio.

The direct objects here are la television and café: Television receives the action of being watched, and coffee receives the action of being drunk. As you may remember, direct objects may be represented by direct object pronouns:

Direct Object Pronouns

singular	plural
me (me)	nos (us)
te (you, informal)	os (you, informal in Spain)
lo, la (you, formal)	los, las (you)
lo, la (him, her, it)	los, las (them)

Ellos la miran los domingos.

They watch it on Sundays.

Ellas lo toman en el patio.

They are drinking it on the patio.

As you can see from these examples, when the direct object is a pronoun, it moves up to precede the verb.

ALERT

In Spanish, as a general rule, any direct object that represents a person must be introduced with a personal a. Compare the two following: Miro la televisión. (I watch television.) Miro a Pablo y Juanita. (I watch Pablo and Juanita.)

If you’ve got a compound verb, the direct object pronoun will come before the conjugated form of haber:

Ya lo he aprendido.

I have learned it already.

Indirect Objects

The indirect object represents the person (or, less often, object) to whom or for whom the action of the verb is performed. Some indirect objects appear alongside direct objects, while others appear on their own:

Le regalo flores a mi novia cada cumpleaños.

I give flowers to my girlfriend every birthday.

Les pido perdón a Yolanda y su hija.

I ask Yolanda and her daughter for their forgiveness.

Te pregunto. (no direct object)

I am asking you.

Even if the indirect object is represented by a noun, the indirect object pronoun should be added before the verb for emphasis. To review, the following are the indirect object pronouns:

Indirect Object Pronouns

singular	plural
me (me)	nos (us)
te (you, informal)	os (you, informal in Spain)
le (you, formal)	les (you)
le (him, her, it)	les (them)

As you may remember, direct and indirect object pronouns are identical in the first and second persons.

ESSENTIAL

If your verb is made up of two parts, an active verb and an infinitive, the object pronoun may come before the verb pair or attached to the infinitive: Lo necesito llamar. Necesito llamarlo. (I need to call him.) The same applies to direct, indirect, and reflexive pronouns.

Double Pronouns

If both the direct and indirect object in the sentence are pronouns, they are placed before the verb, and the indirect object pronoun always comes first. Here’s the correct order of the sentence:

subject + indirect object pronoun + direct object pronoun + verb

It may take a while for you to get used to this order, but it’s not difficult to understand. Here are a few other examples to help you get the hang of it:

Me manda cartas cada semana. Me las manda.

He sends me letters every week. He sends them to me. (To me them he sends.)

Te explico las respuestas mañana. Te las explico.

I’ll explain you the answers tomorrow. I’ll explain them to you. (To you them I’ll explain.)

If both pronouns are in third person, the indirect object pronoun undergoes a change from le/les to se. The reason for the change is to avoid the awkward combinations like le lo or les la.

Here are a few examples:

Le pago la cuenta al camarero. Se la pago.

I pay the bill (to the waiter). I pay it (to him).

Les doy una sonrisa. Se la doy.

I give them a smile. I give it to them.

A Different Kind of Construction

In Spanish, the indirect object allows us to create a construction that is best exemplified with the verb gustar (to like). Compare the Spanish and the English:

Me gustan los dulces.

I like sweets.

In English, the sentence is a standard subject + verb + direct object. In Spanish, though, the role of each word differs:

me (indirect object pronoun) + gustan (verb) + dulces (subject)

In Spanish, the subject of the sentence is dulces, which are liked by me. This is why the verb gustar is conjugated in the third person plural. In fact, because the subject is always what is being liked, the verb gustar is limited to third-person singular (one thing) or third-person plural (more than one thing). The following table outlines the possible combinations:

singular subject	plural subject	English
me gusta	me gustan	I like
te gusta	te gustan	you like
le gusta	le gustan	he, she, it likes; you like
nos gusta	nos gustan	we like
os gusta	os gustan	you like
les gusta	les gustan	they like; you like

The verb gustar isn’t the only one to be used in this manner. Other verbs that commonly appear in this fashion are presented in the following table. The example given is in the present indicative, third-person singular subject, with me as the indirect object:

infinitive	example	translation
convenir	me conviene	it suits me
encantar	me encanta	I love it
faltar	me falta	I lack it
fascinar	me fascina	it fascinates me
importar	me importa	it’s important to me
interesar	me interesa	it interests me
quedar	me queda	I have (it) left
tocar	me toca	it’s my turn

Reflexive Verbs

If the verb’s direct object refers to the same person as the subject, the verb is said to be reflexive—you might say that the object reflects back to the subject. You can recognize a reflexive verb by the reflexive pronoun that comes with it. In the infinitive, reflexive verbs end in –se. For example, limpiar means “to clean (something),” but limpiarse is translated as “to clean (yourself).” When a reflexive verb is conjugated, it is joined by the reflexive pronoun, which serves as the verb’s object and follows the same rules as far as placement.

Reflexive Pronouns

singular	plural
me (myself)	nos (ourselves)
te (yourself, informal)	os (yourselves, informal)
se (yourself, formal)	se (yourselves)
se (himself, herself, itself)	se (themselves)

ESSENTIAL

Choosing the correct reflexive pronoun is easy—it should match the subject and the verb’s conjugation in person and number: él se afeita (he shaves himself), nosotros nos lavamos (we wash ourselves).

Reflexives aren’t common in English. You could say “I know myself,” but there’s no need to say “I dress myself”—we generally use “I get dressed” instead. In Spanish, reflexives are much more common.

Reflexive Verbs

aburrirse	to be bored
acordarse	to remember
acostarse	to go to bed
afeitarse	to shave
alegrarse	to be happy
bañarse	to take a bath
cepillarse (los dientes, el cabello)	to brush (teeth, hair)
enojarse	to get angry
enterarse	to find out
fiarse de	to trust
lavarse	to wash
maquillarse	to put on makeup
molestarse	to get annoyed
mudarse	to move (change residence)
negarse a	to refuse
parecerse	to resemble
ponerse	to put on
quebrarse	to break (a bone)
quedarse	to remain
quemarse	to burn (oneself)
quitarse	to take off
romperse (la ropa)	to tear (clothes)
vestirse	to get dressed

Me ducho por las noches.

I take showers at night.

¿Usted se sorprende por las noticias?

Are you surprised by the news?

Some verbs are always used reflexively, but many more are reflexive only some of the time. In some cases, their meaning changes significantly. Here are some examples:

acercar (to move something closer)	acercarse (to approach)
arreglar (to arrange)	arreglarse (to get ready)
colocar (to put)	colocarse (to get a job, to find one’s place)
despedir (to fire)	despedirse (to say goodbye)
detener (to bring to a halt)	deternerse (to come to a halt)
dormir (to sleep)	dormirse (to go to sleep)
lastimar (to hurt)	lastimarse (to bother oneself)
levantar (to raise, pick up)	levantarse (to get up)
reunir (to join, gather)	reunirse (to get together)

It’s Reciprocal

Reflexive constructions are also used to indicate reciprocity. In English, this is done with the phrase “each other.” A good example is the verb casarse (to get married):

Nos casamos hoy.

We are getting married today. (We are marrying each other today.)

In this case, nos is used reciprocally, rather than reflexively. Otherwise the sentence would mean “We are marrying ourselves today.”

FACT

Reflexive verbs are most often used to talk about what is done to one’s body, about one’s emotions, and actions of motion: getting dressed (vestirse ), to get angry (enfadarse ), to jump (tirarse ).

Make It Impersonal

Third-person reflexive pronoun se may be used in an impersonal construction se + verb. This is another alternative to using the passive voice, when you prefer not to specify who performs the action of the verb. Here is how you can change a sentence to make it impersonal:

La gente en Brasil habla portugués.

People in Brazil speak Portuguese.

En Brasil se habla portugués.

Portuguese is spoken in Brazil.

In the second sentence, se refers to Brazilians and habla is conjugated in third-person singular to agree with portugués. This constructions allows us to avoid having to refer specifically to Brazilian people as the subject of the verb hablar .

Here are other examples of this construction:

Se buscan empleados.

Employees are being looked for.

Se ven los problemas.

The problems are obvious.

Impersonal se constructions are often used in public signs: No se fuma. (No smoking.)

Practice Makes Perfect

Fill in the direct object pronoun:

1. No tengo dinero. ____________________ dejé en casa.

2. ____________________ dijeron (a mí) que llegará más tarde.

3. El taxista ____________________ llevará (a ti) a casa.

4. Aquí tienes la revista. ____________________ puedes leer más tarde.

5. Tengo muchas novelas. ____________________ prefiero a la literatura no novelesca.

Fill in the direct and indirect object pronoun:

1. La enfermera trae las pastillas a nosotros.
____________________trae.

2. Ellos necesitan ayuda.
¿ ____________________das?

3. Quieres conducir el coche.
Yo ____________________presto.

4. Ellos dicen la verdad a vosotros.
Ellos ____________________dicen.

5. Explico el cuento a Marta y Pedro.
____________________explico.

Translate into Spanish:

1. I like to dance.

____________________________________________

2. She loves flowers.

____________________________________________

3. You (informal) have five dollars left.

____________________________________________

4. They lack money.

____________________________________________

5. We are interested in your stories.

____________________________________________

Fill in the correct reflexive verb and reflexive pronoun:

1. Ustedes ____________________(cepillarse) los dientes dos veces por día.

2. Nosotros ____________________(mudarse) a Nueva York el próximo junio.

3. Ramón ____________________(afeitarse) cada mañana.

4. Ellos ____________________(enterarse) de todos mis secretos.

5. Nuestro jefe ____________________(vestirse) bien, aún los fines de semana.

To check your answers, refer to the answer key in Appendix D.