In previous lessons, you learned how to use indirect object pronouns with verbs of communication to express to whom something is said, asked, or explained. Likewise, you learned direct object pronouns. In this lesson, you will see how to use both of these types of pronouns together in the same sentence. Let’s first quickly review the differences between the two. (You might also want to go back to to review the more detailed explanations of each.)
complementos de objeto indirecto
|
singular |
plural |
| 1a |
me |
nos |
| 2a |
te |
os |
| 3a |
le |
les |
Remember that the indirect object pronouns indicate to or for whom something is done, said, given, etc.
pronombres de complemento directo
|
singular |
plural |
| 1a |
me |
nos |
| 2a |
te |
os |
| 3a |
lo/la |
los/las |
The direct object pronoun takes the place of what or who has been given, written, seen, etc.
In all of the above examples, you have seen how you use the indirect and direct object pronouns separately. You can also use them both in the same sentence. In order to do this correctly, there a couple of things that you must remember. First of all, the indirect object pronoun always goes before the direct object pronoun.
When the indirect object pronouns le or les are used with the direct object pronouns, they will change to se. Let’s go step by step through a few examples. If we take the question ¿Quién dio las rosas a María?, we know that we are asking who gave the roses to María. First, we can answer the question just using the indirect object pronoun—substituting for “to her:” Pedro le dio las rosas. Now, if we answer that question using both the indirect and direct object pronouns, we will change that le to se, and then use las as the correct direct object pronoun, since it is taking the place of the roses (feminine plural): Pedro se las dio.
¿A quién escribe cartas Marisol?