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Originally Posted by Tyrn
Thanks again!
So I can describe one of my real problems: I am not really good at distinguishing between direct and indirect object. If you could give me a couple of good examples " direct as opposed to indirect", so I could memorize them and apply them when in doubt  |
The range of possible meanings for direct object and for indirect objects in Spanish is rather broad, and it is different from the range of possible meanings in English. I do not know enough about Russian grammar to know how much similarity or difference there is between direct and indirect in Russian compared to direct and indirect objects in either English or Spanish.
However, one rule that works a lot of the time is to consider how the subject relates to the object.
If the subject acts directly on the object in some way, such as sensing/perceiving it (see, hear, smell, taste, feel), or manipulating/moving it, or changing it in some way, then usually it is a direct object.
However, if the subject does not directly interact with the object in some way, but the object has some type of interest or experiences some type of gain or loss as a result of the action, then usually it is an indirect object.
For example: "(le) escribí una carta a María" = "I wrote Maria a letter" OR "I wrote a letter to Maria". The direct object is the thing that I wrote, "una carta" = "a letter", and the indirect object is the recipient, "(le) ... a María" = "(to) Maria".
And another example: "(le) quité un lápiz a José" = "I took a pencil from Jose". The direct object is the thing that I took, "un lápiz" = "a pencil". The indirect object in Spanish is the person who lost the direct object, "(le) ... a José" = "from Jose".
It is important to note that "(le) ... a José" is an indirect object in Spanish, but "from Jose" is NOT an indirect object in English. In English only 2 prepositions can introduce an indirect object: "to" when the indirect object receives the direct object, and "for" when the indirect object benefits from the action on the direct object. This is an example of one of the differences between the range of possible meanings of indirect objects in Spanish and the range of possible meanings of indirect objects in English.