Indirect Object Pronouns

Kurz erklärt

Indirect object pronouns show who receives something or benefits from an action: me, te, le, nos, and les. They often correspond to English “to me,” “for you,” or similar phrases. Spanish commonly uses one even when the recipient is also named with a phrase beginning with a: Le escribo a mi abuela.

Bildung

me = to/for me; te = to/for you (tú); le = to/for him, her, or you (usted); nos = to/for us; les = to/for them or you all (ustedes).

Verwendung

• Use the pronoun for the recipient of an item, message, service, or action.
• Use le for one third-person recipient and les for more than one.
• An a + person phrase can clarify who le or les refers to.
• In Latin American Spanish, les refers to ustedes as well as to ellos or ellas.

Beispiele

• Le escribo a mi abuela todos los domingos. — I write to my grandmother every Sunday.
• ¿Me puedes preparar un café? — Can you make me a coffee?
• Les explicamos el problema a ustedes. — We explain the problem to you all.
• Nos compraron unos boletos. — They bought us some tickets.

Typischer Fehler

❌ Doy el libro a ella.

✅ Le doy el libro a ella.

Unlike English, Spanish normally includes the indirect object pronoun when the recipient is expressed with a + person.

Merke

Ask who receives or benefits from the action. Le and les do not show gender.