Spanish Direct Object Pronouns

Q: Where do direct object pronouns go in Spanish?

Right before the conjugated verb: La veo ("I see her"). With an infinitive or an -ando form, they can also go on the end: Voy a comprarlo or Lo voy a comprar. With a positive command, they always go on the end: Cómpralo.

Q: Does lo mean "it" in Spanish?

Yes, when "it" is masculine: el libro → lo. For a feminine noun, "it" is la: la pizza → la. Lo also stands for ideas and whole sentences: No lo sé ("I don't know").

Adapted from The Animated Book of Spanish, an interactive Spanish grammar book.

Direct object pronouns replace the thing or person that receives the action: I see her, we buy it. In Spanish, they usually go before the verb.

The Spanish direct object pronouns, singular and plural
masculinefeminine	Singular	Plural
1st person	me me	nos us
2nd personinformal	te you	os you all (Spain)
3rd personand usted, ustedes	lohim, it, you laher, it, you	losthem, you all lasthem, you all

On this page

What is a direct object?

The direct object is the thing or person that receives the action. To find it, ask what? or whom? after the verb. The pronoun replaces it, so you don't have to repeat the noun. (The person something is given to is a different kind of object, covered in indirect object pronouns.)

With the nounWith a pronoun
With the noun
Compro el pan.
I buy the bread.
With a pronoun
Lo compro.
I buy it.
With the noun
¿Ves a Marta?
Do you see Marta?
With a pronoun
¿La ves?
Do you see her?
With the noun
Tenemos las entradas.
We have the tickets.
With a pronoun
Las tenemos.
We have them.

Lo, la, los, las: matching the noun

In the third person, the pronoun matches the gender and number of the noun it replaces. That goes for things as well as people, so it can be lo or la.

el librothe book
,
loit
la camisathe shirt
,
lait
los billetesthe tickets
,
losthem
las llavesthe keys
,
lasthem

The nounThe pronoun
The noun
¿Dónde está el libro?
Where’s the book?
The pronoun
No lo encuentro.
I can’t find it.
The noun
¿Te gusta la camisa?
Do you like the shirt?
The pronoun
Sí, la compré ayer.
Yes, I bought it yesterday.
The noun
¿Tienes los billetes?
Do you have the tickets?
The pronoun
Sí, los tengo aquí.
Yes, I have them here.
The noun
¿Y las llaves?
And the keys?
The pronoun
Las dejé en casa.
I left them at home.

Where they go

English puts the pronoun after the verb. Spanish puts it right before the conjugated verb.

EnglishI see her.
SpanishLa veo.
EnglishI know you.
SpanishTe conozco.
EnglishThey call us every week.
SpanishNos llaman cada semana.

In a negative sentence, no (or nunca, ya no…) comes first, then the pronoun, then the verb. Nothing goes between the pronoun and the verb.

No la veo.
I don’t see her.
No te entiendo.
I don’t understand you.
Mi hermano nunca lo usa.
My brother never uses it.

With an infinitive or an -ando form, as in the near future (voy a…) or the progressive (estoy…), the pronoun can also go on the end. Both are correct and mean the same thing.

Before the verbAttached to the end
Before the verb
Lo voy a comprar.
Attached to the end
Voy a comprarlo.
I’m going to buy it.
Before the verb
La estoy leyendo.
Attached to the end
Estoy leyéndola.
I’m reading it.

¿Puedes ayudarme?
Can you help me?
Quiero invitarte a cenar.
I want to invite you to dinner.
Estamos esperándolos.
We’re waiting for them.

With a positive command, the pronoun always goes on the end. With a negative one, it goes before the verb.

Positive commandNegative command
Positive command
Cómpralo.
Buy it.
Negative command
No lo compres.
Don’t buy it.
Positive command
Llámame.
Call me.
Negative command
No me llames.
Don’t call me.

People and the personal a

When the direct object is a specific person, Spanish puts a in front of it: Veo a María. This is the personal a. When you replace the person with a pronoun, the a goes away along with them.

With the personWith a pronoun
With the person
Conozco a tu hermano.
I know your brother.
With a pronoun
Lo conozco.
I know him.
With the person
Llamo a mis padres los domingos.
I call my parents on Sundays.
With a pronoun
Los llamo los domingos.
I call them on Sundays.
With the person
Buscamos a la profesora.
We’re looking for the teacher.
With a pronoun
La buscamos.
We’re looking for her.

Lo and la for usted

Since usted works like él and ella, the formal you is lo for a man and la for a woman. For ustedes, it's los or las.

Señor García, lo llamo mañana.
Mr. García, I’ll call you tomorrow.
Encantado de conocerla, señora.
Nice to meet you, ma’am.
Señores, los esperamos en la entrada.
Gentlemen, we’ll wait for you at the entrance.

Lo for ideas

Lo can also stand for an idea or a whole sentence, not just a noun. English often leaves it out, but Spanish usually keeps it.

¿Dónde está Ana? —No lo sé.
Where’s Ana? —I don’t know.
Ya lo entiendo.
Now I get it.
¿Van a cerrar la tienda? —Sí, lo dijeron en las noticias.
Are they closing the store? —Yes, they said so on the news.

Common mistakes English speakers make

Putting the pronoun after the verb
Incorrect:Veo la.
Correct:La veo.
With a conjugated verb, the pronoun goes right before it.
Using a subject pronoun as the object
Incorrect:Veo ella.
Correct:La veo.
Ella is she. For her as a direct object, use la.
Using lo for every “it”
Incorrect:¿La pizza? Lo compré ayer.
Correct:¿La pizza? La compré ayer.
It matches the noun it replaces. Pizza is feminine, so it's la.
Putting the pronoun in the middle
Incorrect:Voy a lo comprar.
Correct:Voy a comprarlo.
The pronoun goes before the whole verb phrase (Lo voy a comprar) or on the end of the infinitive, never in between.
Forgetting the personal a
Incorrect:Visito mi abuela los sábados.
Correct:Visito a mi abuela los sábados.
When the direct object is a specific person, it needs the personal a.
Using the personal a with things
Incorrect:Veo a la película.
Correct:Veo la película.
The personal a is only for people and pets.

Questions about direct object pronouns

What are the direct object pronouns in Spanish?

Me (me), te (you), lo (him, it, you formal), la (her, it, you formal), nos (us), os (you all, in Spain), los and las (them, you all).

Where do direct object pronouns go in Spanish?

Right before the conjugated verb: La veo ("I see her"). With an infinitive or an -ando form, they can also go on the end: Voy a comprarlo or Lo voy a comprar. With a positive command, they always go on the end: Cómpralo.

How do you know if an object is direct or indirect?

The direct object receives the action directly. It answers "what?" or "whom?" after the verb: Compro el pan (what do I buy? the bread). An indirect object is who the action is done to or for, usually with "to" or "for" in English: Le compro el pan a mi madre ("I buy the bread for my mom").

Does lo mean "it" in Spanish?

Yes, when "it" is masculine: el libro → lo. For a feminine noun, "it" is la: la pizza → la. Lo also stands for ideas and whole sentences: No lo sé ("I don't know").

What is the difference between lo and le?

Lo is a direct object pronoun (him, it). Le is an indirect object pronoun (to him, to her). In much of Spain, though, people also use le for "him" as a direct object: Le vi ayer ("I saw him yesterday"). This is called leísmo.

Why do you say "no lo sé" instead of "no sé"?

Both are correct. Lo refers back to what you don't know, like English "I don't know that." It's very common in Spanish, where English would usually leave it out.

Next upThe personal aVeo a María: when to put a before a person, pets, alguien and nadie, and when not to.

What is a direct object?

Lo, la, los, las: matching the noun

Where they go

People and the personal a

Lo and la for usted

Lo for ideas

Common mistakes English speakers make

Putting the pronoun after the verb

Using a subject pronoun as the object

Using lo for every “it”

Putting the pronoun in the middle

Forgetting the personal a

Using the personal a with things

Questions about direct object pronouns

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