Objeto indirecto vs objeto directo

[babymetal]

De vez en cuando veo oraciones así,

- Lo veo.

- No le he ganado.

La primera usa un objeto directo y la segunda usa un objeto indirecto y no sé por qué. Tiene algo que ver con el tipo de verbo es?

No sé si me he explicado bien. También estoy usando construcciones a las que no estoy acostumbrado mucho. :)

Gracias.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

"Lo"/"la" and "le" are the pronouns to substitute respectively the Direct Object and the Indirect Object in the third person singular. There are pronouns for every other person too.

The Direct Object is the thing or person receiving the action of the verb. It may reply to the question "What?"
In your example: "Lo veo" -> ¿Qué veo? (What/whom do I see?) -> The answer may be: "Veo a Juan", "veo un libro"...


- Llévame a casa.
Take me home. (Whom are you taking home? Me.)

- Te llaman por teléfono.
They're calling you on the phone. (Whom are they calling? You.)

- Abre la caja. -> Ábrela / Abre el libro. -> Ábrelo
Open the box. / Open the book. (What are you opening? The box, the book.)

- ¡No nos asustes!
Do not scare us! (Whom shouldn't you scare? Us.)

- Niños, no se vayan; los necesito aquí. / Niñas, no se vayan; las quiero aquí.
Boys, don't go away; I need you here. / Girls, don't go away; I want you here. (Whom do I need/want here? You, boys and girls.)

- Oigo sus voces. -> Las oigo. / Oigo sus pasos. -> Los oigo.
I hear their voices. -> I hear them. / I hear their steps. -> I hear them. (What do I hear? Their voices, their steps.)


The Indirect Object is the thing or person affected by the verb. It may reply to the question "for whom"? or "to whom?"
In your example: No le he ganado. -> ¿A quién no le he ganado? -> Possible answers may be "No le he ganado al campeón", "no le he ganado a mi amigo".

- ¿Me cantas una canción?
Will you sing me a song? (To whom are you singing a song? To me.)

- ¿Te sirvo sopa?
Do I serve you soup? (To whom should I serve soup? To you.)

- No le digas nada.
Don't tell him/her anything. (To whom shouldn't you tell anything? To him/her.)

- Nos trajeron regalos. / Nos dieron flores.
They brought us presents. / They gave us flowers. (To whom did they bring presents and flowers? To us.)

- Devuélveles sus juguetes.
Give them their toys back. (To whom should you give their toys back? To them.)

[Bobbert]

Wow, Angelica! That was great -- very clear, complete, thorough, and even color-coded. Because I also struggle with direct and indirect objects, this is a great reference item for my study and review files.

Even though I'm not the original person who posed the question, I just wanted you to know how much I got out of your answer and how much I appreciate your taking the time to write such details to babymetal's question.........Bobbert

[babymetal]

"Lo"/"la" and "le" are the pronouns to substitute respectively the Direct Object and the Indirect Object in the third person singular. There are pronouns for every other person too.

The Direct Object is the thing or person receiving the action of the verb. It may reply to the question "What?"
In your example: "Lo veo" -> ¿Qué veo? (What/whom do I see?) -> The answer may be: "Veo a Juan", "veo un libro"...


- Llévame a casa.
Take me home. (Whom are you taking home? Me.)

- Te llaman por teléfono.
They're calling you on the phone. (Whom are they calling? You.)

- Abre la caja. -> Ábrela / Abre el libro. -> Ábrelo
Open the box. / Open the book. (What are you opening? The box, the book.)

- ¡No nos asustes!
Do not scare us! (Whom shouldn't you scare? Us.)

- Niños, no se vayan; los necesito aquí. / Niñas, no se vayan; las quiero aquí.
Boys, don't go away; I need you here. / Girls, don't go away; I want you here. (Whom do I need/want here? You, boys and girls.)

- Oigo sus voces. -> Las oigo. / Oigo sus pasos. -> Los oigo.
I hear their voices. -> I hear them. / I hear their steps. -> I hear them. (What do I hear? Their voices, their steps.)


The Indirect Object is the thing or person affected by the verb. It may reply to the question "for whom"? or "to whom?"
In your example: No le he ganado. -> ¿A quién no le he ganado? -> Possible answers may be "No le he ganado al campeón", "no le he ganado a mi amigo".

- ¿Me cantas una canción?
Will you sing me a song? (To whom are you singing a song? To me.)

- ¿Te sirvo sopa?
Do I serve you soup? (To whom should I serve soup? To you.)

- No le digas nada.
Don't tell him/her anything. (To whom shouldn't you tell anything? To him/her.)

- Nos trajeron regalos. / Nos dieron flores.
They brought us presents. / They gave us flowers. (To whom did they bring presents and flowers? To us.)

- Devuélveles sus juguetes.
Give them their toys back. (To whom should you give their toys back? To them.)


Ya sé la diferencia en la mayor parte pero no estoy seguro de la rázon por la que se usa "le" en vez de "lo" cuando se trate de mi ejemplo.

"Le he ganado."

Es porque es un verbo intransitivo aquí?

[babymetal]

Wow, Angelica! That was great -- very clear, complete, thorough, and even color-coded. Because I also struggle with direct and indirect objects, this is a great reference item for my study and review files.

Even though I'm not the original person who posed the question, I just wanted you to know how much I got out of your answer and how much I appreciate your taking the time to write such details to babymetal's question.........Bobbert

They're not too difficult to understand for the most part, but sometimes I see an indirect object used where I would expect a direct one and vice versa and it confuses me.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

@Babymetal: La respuesta está en mi mensaje anterior. La razón es que se trata de un objeto indirecto, no de un objeto directo. Puedes ganar una competencia o un premio, no una persona. La pregunta es "¿a quién le gané?", no "¿qué gané?"

@Bobbert: I'm glad you found it useful. :)

[jonah]

Puedes ganar una competencia o un premio, no una persona. La pregunta es "¿a quién le gané?", no "¿qué gané?"

@Angelica, but why is "le" needed at all in this phrase? In other words, why wouldn't it work to say "No he ganado al campeon".

For example, in the past I learned if I wanted to say "I can't believe that team beat us," I could say "No puedo creer que ese equipo nos haya ganado."

But that doesn't mean that the team won us as a prize, right?

[wrholt]

@Angelica, but why is "le" needed at all in this phrase? In other words, why wouldn't it work to say "No he ganado al campeon".

For example, in the past I learned if I wanted to say "I can't believe that team beat us," I could say "No puedo creer que ese equipo nos haya ganado."

But that doesn't mean that the team won us as a prize, right?

Because by itself "al campeón" is ambiguous: it could be either a direct object or an indirect object. How do we know which one the speaker intends? By whether the speaker includes "le" (it's an indirect object) or doesn't include "le" (it's a direct object). (Depending on context, the speaker might assume that it's obviously an indirect object and not bother to say "le".)

As for "No puedo creer que ese equipo nos haya ganado.", only third-person pronouns distinguish direct object pronouns (lo/la/los/las), indirect object pronouns (le/les) and reflexive object pronouns (se), while first- and second-person object pronouns (me, te, nos, os) are identical for all uses (direct object, indirect object, and reflexive object). The listener has to figure it out from context, previous experience, and the person & number of the verb form.

[babymetal]

What about the verb seguir? For example. Siguele al hombre. That's indirect, why not direct?

[wrholt]

What about the verb seguir? For example. Siguele al hombre. That's indirect, why not direct?

Because the underlying expression is "seguirle los pasos a alguien". The direct object is the steps/path, and the indirect object indicates the person who shows where the path is.

[babymetal]

Oooh, gracias. So there's an unmentioned object then. Like "ganarle a alguien".

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I agree with Wrholt that there is an expression "seguirle los pasos a alguien", but your example, "síguele al hombre", it's a case of "leísmo". "Síguelo" would be better for speakers away from Spain, since it's a direct object.

[babymetal]

I agree with Wrholt that there is an expression "seguirle los pasos a alguien", but your example, "síguele al hombre", it's a case of "leísmo". "Síguelo" would be better for speakers away from Spain, since it's a direct object.

Mi problema es que en facebook dice que "le sigo a la gente." Eso es leísmo?

[Rusty]

Eso sí que es.

[jonah]

@wrholt Ah, eso tiene sentido. Gracias por la aclaración.