Every verb can have an object, the thing or person the action lands on. Learn to spot it, then swap it for a pronoun so you're not repeating the same noun over and over.
START HERE
What is a verb object?
A complemento tells you who or what receives the action of the verb. First find the verb, then ask one of the questions below to find its complement.
CD · DIRECTO
Receives the action directly
Answers ¿Qué? or ¿Quién? Can be a person, a place, or a thing.
Susana escribe un texto a su novio.
Susana writes a text to her boyfriend.
CI · INDIRECTO
Receives the action indirectly
Answers ¿A quién? or ¿Para quién? Usually the person affected by the action.
Susana escribe un texto a su novio.
Susana writes a text to her boyfriend.
The personal a: when the direct object is a specific person, add a right before it. This rule doesn't apply after the verb tener. Veo a mi tío, but Tengo un hijo (no a).
REFERENCE
The pronouns
Notice me, te, nos, os are the same for both. Only the third person forms are different, lo/la/los/las for direct, le/les for indirect.
DIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS · CD
¿Qué? ¿Quién?
meme
teyou
lo / lahim, it (m) / her, it (f)
nosus
osyou all (Spain)
los / lasthem (m) / them (f)
INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS · CI
¿A quién? ¿Para quién?
meto/for me
teto/for you
leto/for him, her, you (formal)
nosto/for us
osto/for you all (Spain)
lesto/for them, you all
OJO: object pronouns go before the conjugated verb in Spanish. Cindy me compró una gorra, not Cindy compró me una gorra.
GOOD TO KNOW
The pieces that trip people up
LO / LA VS. LE
CD pronouns show gender, CI doesn't
Lo/la change to match the noun's gender. Le stays the same either way.
Veo a Juan. → Lo veo.
I see Juan. I see him.
Le doy el libro a Juan.
I give the book to him.
WHY BOTHER WITH PRONOUNS?
To avoid repetition
Once you've said the noun once, swap it for a pronoun instead of repeating it.
¿Ves a mis amigos? — Sí, los veo.
Do you see my friends? Yes, I see them.
TWO VERBS IN A ROW
The pronoun can move to the end
With an infinitive right after the conjugated verb, the pronoun can go before the first verb or attach to the end of the second. Both mean the same thing.
Cindy compró una gorra para ti. → La compró para ti. / Va a comprarla para ti. / Te la va a comprar.
Cindy bought a hat for you. She bought it for you.
THE PERSONAL A
A or nothing?
Tap a if the sentence needs the personal a, or x if it doesn't.
REPLACE THE NOUN
Swap it for a CD pronoun
Type the direct object pronoun that would replace the bracketed noun.
CD OR CI?
Identify the complement
The highlighted phrase, is it a direct object or an indirect object?