2. REVIEW: English Direct Objects
• Direct objects in English and Spanish are
NOUN phrases.
• In both languages they occur with transitive
verbs, but not with intransitive verbs.
3. Examples
• It’s important to remember that NOUN
phrases can get quite long.
• They can involve a noun, a bunch of
adjectives, adverbs and even clauses that
modify the noun.
• The cat ate the mouse.
• The cat ate the disgusting mouse.
• The cat ate the revoltingly disgusting mouse
that had snuck into our kitchen.
4. Direct Object Pronouns
• Direct objects can be or can be replaced with
direct object pronouns.
• He doesn’t like me.
• He doesn’t like you.
• He doesn’t like the woman who is sitting in
the window seat. > her.
5. ENGLISH Direct Object Pronoun Chart
Person Singular Plural
First Me us
Second You You
Third Him/ her/ it Them
6. Reflexive Pronouns in English
• Reflexives are another type of direct object
pronoun.
• We use them only to reflect back to the
subject of the verb.
Person Singular Plural
First Myself ourselves
Second Yourself yourselves
Third Himself/herself/its themselves
elf
7. Use
• I wanted to kill myself.
• He killed himself.
• She killed herself.
• They killed themselves.
• You should kill yourselves!
8. Spanish Direct Objects
• The ideal situation in Spanish is that the direct
object is a noun phrase that comes directly
after the verb.
• Unfortunately, such is not always the case.
9. Human Direct Objects
• In Spanish, if a direct object is a human being,
the Spanish generally stick a little “a” in
between the verb and the direct object.
10. Examples
• Ex: La madre alimentaba a su hija.
• The mother was feeding her daughter.
• This is not done with non-human direct
objects.
• Ex: La mujer alimentaba su perro.
• The woman was feeding her dog.
11. THE REASON FOR THIS
• If the subject can pretty much move around
the sentence with impunity, then imagine how
hard it would be to figure out who did/does
what to whom if there were no markers to
show which noun phrase is the subject and
which the direct object.
12. Contrast
• Which two sentences mean the same thing?
• Ayudó el hombre a la mujer.
• Ayudó la mujer al hombre.
• Ayudó a la mujer el hombre.
13. Spanish Direct Object Pronouns
• This is the list of direct object pronouns:
PERSON SINGULAR PLURAL
First Me nos
Second Te / lo - la Los/las
Third Lo – la Los/ las
14. Placement
• Direct object pronouns go before the first verb
in a verb phrase. OR
• If the verb phrase has a non-finite verb
(usually an infinitive) at the end, the direct
object pronoun can be stuck onto the end.
15. Examples
• El gato quiere comer el ratón.
• El gato lo quiere comer.
• El gato quiere comerlo.
16. Se as a direct object
• Se can also sometimes be a pure reflexive
pronoun, the equivalent of himself, herself,
themselves, and even “yourself” and
“yourselves” (when it refers back to “usted”
and “ustedes”)
17. Examples
• Note the use of “sí mismo” in this construction to clarify
exactly who the “se” refers to.
• El hombre se mató a sí mismo. (The man killed himself).
• La mujer se mató a sí misma. (The woman killed herself).
• Los hombres se mataron a sí mismos (The men killed
themselves).
• Las mujeres se mataron a sí mismas (The women killed
themselves).
• Ustedes se deben matar a sí mismos (You all should kill
yourselves).
• Usted se debe matar a sí mismo (You should kill youself).
18. SE so far
• Thus, “se” can do these three things:
• Make a verb in the third person passive.
• Se terminó el trabajo. (The work was finished.)
• Indicate some intransitive verbs.
• Se murió el hombre. (The man died.)
• Indicate what we traditionally think of as
reflexives.
• El hombre se mató. (The man killed himself.)
19. One More Verb Structure
• Although Spanish doesn’t have a gerund
form, it does have an –ing participle
form, often called the present participle.
20. -ing Participles in English
• In English, this structure is found in sentences
such as:
• Walking down the street, I saw you.
• He continued onwards, walking slowly.
21. The –ING Participle in Spanish
• In Spanish, this structure is formed by
changing the verb according to the infinitive
class.
• The –ar verbs, drop “ar” and add “ando.”
• Caminando por la calle, yo te vi. . . (Walking
along the street, I saw you).
22. -ER/IR Participles
• The –er and –ir verbs, drop the “er” or “ir”
and add “iendo.”
• Comiendo con sus amigos, el hombre la vio.
(Eating with his friends, the man saw her.)
• If there is a “three vowel stack up” in the
participle, the form will be –yendo.
• Creyendo en el dios, el hombre rezó la
oración. (Believing in God, the man said the
prayer.)
23. Uses of the -Ing Participle
• The –ing participle in Spanish is used in much
the same way as in English --- to indicate one
of two actions done by the subject at the
same time.
• Caminando por la calle, yo te vi. (I was doing
two things: walking and seeing you).
24. Other Uses
• The –ing participle can also be used after
other verbs to create verb phrases.
• One common one is “seguir + ing participle”
which means “to keep on doing something.”
• Ex: Yo sigo explicando la gramatica pero
nadie me entiende. (I keep on explaining
grammar but nobody understands me!).
25. Another Verb Phrase w/Participle
• Another is “ir + ing participle” which means
“to do something steadily.” Ellos fueron
preparando las lecciones (They steadily went
on preparing the lessons).
26. Direct Object Pronouns and Participles
• In Spanish a direct object pronoun can be
attached to the end of the present participle.
• Yo fui haciéndolo. (I went on doing it
steadily).