Using Direct and Indirect Object pronouns in a sentence Together

Direct Object (DO) pronouns are: me, te, lo, la, nos, los, las
Indirect Object (IO) pronouns are: me, te, le, nos, les

Oversimplified but:
DO = him, her
IO = to him, to her

Using ‘dar’ (to give) in the preterite to learn DOP and IOP

  • yo di
  • ellos dieron
  • tu diste
  • él dio
  • nosotros dimos
  • ellos dieron

Using Direct and Indirect Object pronouns in a sentence

Juan gave ME the book – (to me) IO

The Indirect Object Pronoun – IOP – (to me, to you, to him, etc) – goes before the conjugated verb.
The Indirect Object Pronoun – IOP – (me, te, le, nos, les) – goes before the conjugated verb.

I gave the book to Juan

(Yo) Le di el libro a Juan
I / to him / I gave / the book / to Juan 

The ‘le’ in this sentence is redundant because it’s repetitive by referring to Juan who is already named in the sentence. It’s called the ‘redundant le’ in sentences that also include the person’s name.

Not every verb in Spanish is going to need a redundant pronoun but you learn these as you go.
It’s going to occur in sentences where the verb means to a person, like gustar, encantar and dar.

No matter the variation of this sentence in English – THIS IS THE PATTERN IN SPANISH:
(YO) LE DI EL LIBRO A JUAN

I gave the flowers to Maria. (or I gave Maria the flowers)
(Yo) Le di las flores a Maria. – USE THE PATTERN

I gave Juan the information.
(Yo) Le di la información a Juan.

Maria gave the money to Juan.
MARIA le DIO el dinero a Juan. (Conjugated for Maria doing the action)

Introducing the DO pronoun:

Direct Object (DO) pronouns are: me, te, lo, la, nos, los, las
Using la and lo to replace feminine and masculine nouns.

I gave the information to Juan.
(Yo) Le di la información a Juan.

I gave the information to him.
(Yo) Le di la información.
(Yo) Le di la información a él. (if we don’t know ‘his’ name)

Taking these sentences to the next level:

I gave the flowers to Maria. -> I gave them to her. (las flores)

I gave Juan the information. -> I gave it to him. (la información)

Maria gave the money to Juan. -> Maria gave it to him. (el dinero)

This is going to require us to use both direct and indirect object pronouns.

Word order: SUBJECT + IO Pronoun + DO Pronoun + Conjugated Verb 

I gave them to her. (las flores)
(Yo) Le las di.
(Subject) / IOP / DOP / Conjugated Verb

Spanish DOES NOT LIKE ‘LE LAS’ – CHANGE LE TO SE

I gave them to her. (las flores)
(Yo) Le Se las di.
I / to her / them / I gave

I gave it to him. (la información)
(Yo) Le Se la di.
I / to him / it / I gave

Maria gave it to him. (el dinero)
Maria le se lo di.

The DO pronouns we are using here are:

  • LA for la información (feminine articles) and
  • LO for el dinero (masculine articles)

Maria gave the computer to Juan.
Subject + to him + it + conjugated verb
Maria le dio la computadora a Juan.
Maria / to him / she gave / the computer / to Juan

Maria gave it to him. (la computadora)
Subject + TO HIM + it + conjugated verb
Maria LE SE la dio.
Maria / to him / it / she gave.

I gave Maria the book.
(Yo) Le di el libro a Maria.
(I) / to her / I gave / the book / to Maria

I gave it to her. (el libro)
(Yo) Le Se lo di.
(I) / to her / it / I gave.

Dropping the ‘yo’:
I gave Maria the coat.
Le di el abrigo a Maria.
To her / I gave / the coat / to Maria.

Dropping the le:
I gave it to her. (el abrigo)
Se lo di.
To her / it / I gave

Juan gave the keys to Maria.
Juan le dio las llaves a Maria.
Juan / to her / he gave / the keys / to Maria.

Juan gave them to her. (las llaves)
Juan se las dio.
Juan / to her / them / he gave.

They gave the house to Pedro.
(Ellos) Le dieron la casa a Pedro.
(They) / to him / they gave / the house / to Pedro.

They gave it to him. (la casa)
(Ellos) Se la dieron.
(They) / to him / it / they gave.

We gave the tickets to Luis.
(Nosotros) Le dimos los boletos a Luis.
(We) / to him / we gave / the tickets / to Luis.

We gave them to him. (los boletos)
Se los dimos.
To him / them / we gave.

Ana gave the coat to Carla.
Ana le dio el abrigo a Carla.
Ana / to her / she gave / the coat / to Carla.

Ana gave it to her. (el abrigo)
Ana se lo dio.
Ana / to her / it / she gave.

The professor gave the exam to the students.
El profesor les dio el examen a los estudiantes.
The professor / to them / he gave / the exam / to the students.

The professor gave it to them. (el examen)
El profesor les se lo dio.
EVEN THE PLURAL FORM OF LES GETS CONVERTED TO JUST ‘SE’

They gave the car to Rosa.
(Ellos) Le dieron el carro a Rosa.
They / to her / they gave / the car / to Rosa.

They gave it to her. (el carro)
Se lo dieron.
To her / it / they gave.

Paid Qroo Paul: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUolHDSLCVU

  1. I sent the package to my cousin. (el paquete)
    I sent it to her.
  2. They explained the rules to us. (las reglas)
    They explained them to us.
  3. He showed the apartment to his friend. (el apartamento)
    He showed it to him.
  4. I lent my car to my neighbor. (mi coche)
    I lent it to him.
  5. She brought the flowers to her mother. (las flores)
    She brought them to her.
  6. We returned the keys to the landlord. (las llaves)
    We returned them to him.
  7. They sold the house to a young couple. (la casa)
    They sold it to them.
  8. I recommended the restaurant to you. (el restaurante)
    I recommended it to you.
  9. She read the story to the children. (el cuento)
    She read it to them.
  10. I explained the project to my boss. (el proyecto)
    I explained it to him.
  11. He promised the promotion to his assistant. (el ascenso)
    He promised it to her.
  12. They delivered the documents to the office. (los documentos)
    They delivered them there.
  13. I showed the photos to my friends. (las fotos)
    I showed them to them.
  14. She wrote a letter to her grandmother. (una carta)
    She wrote it to her.
  15. We prepared the food for the guests. (la comida)
    We prepared it for them.
  16. He offered the job to his cousin. (el trabajo)
    He offered it to him.
  17. I described the landscape to my mother. (el paisaje)
    I described it to her.
  18. They sent the invitations to their clients. (las invitaciones)
    They sent them to them.
  19. She explained the situation to her friend. (la situación)
    She explained it to her.
  20. I brought the drinks to the party. (las bebidas)
    I brought them there.
  1. I sent the package to my cousin. (el paquete)
    👉 Le envié el paquete a mi prima.
    I sent it to her. → Se lo envié.
  2. They explained the rules to us. (las reglas)
    👉 Nos explicaron las reglas.
    They explained them to us. → Nos las explicaron.
  3. He showed the apartment to his friend. (el apartamento)
    👉 Le mostró el apartamento a su amigo.
    He showed it to him. → Se lo mostró.
  4. I lent my car to my neighbor. (mi coche)
    👉 Le presté mi coche a mi vecino.
    I lent it to him. → Se lo presté.
  5. She brought the flowers to her mother. (las flores)
    👉 Le trajo las flores a su madre.
    She brought them to her. → Se las trajo.
  6. We returned the keys to the landlord. (las llaves)
    👉 Le devolvimos las llaves al propietario.
    We returned them to him. → Se las devolvimos.
  7. They sold the house to a young couple. (la casa)
    👉 Le vendieron la casa a una pareja joven.
    They sold it to them. → Se la vendieron.
  8. I recommended the restaurant to you. (el restaurante)
    👉 Te recomendé el restaurante.
    I recommended it to you. → Te lo recomendé.
  9. She read the story to the children. (el cuento)
    👉 Les leyó el cuento a los niños.
    She read it to them. → Se lo leyó.
  10. I explained the project to my boss. (el proyecto)
    👉 Le expliqué el proyecto a mi jefe.
    I explained it to him. → Se lo expliqué.
  11. He promised the promotion to his assistant. (el ascenso)
    👉 Le prometió el ascenso a su asistente.
    He promised it to her. → Se lo prometió.
  12. They delivered the documents to the office. (los documentos)
    👉 Entregaron los documentos a la oficina.
    They delivered them there. → Los entregaron allí.
  13. I showed the photos to my friends. (las fotos)
    👉 Les mostré las fotos a mis amigos.
    I showed them to them. → Se las mostré.
  14. She wrote a letter to her grandmother. (una carta)
    👉 Le escribió una carta a su abuela.
    She wrote it to her. → Se la escribió.
  15. We prepared the food for the guests. (la comida)
    👉 Les preparamos la comida a los invitados.
    We prepared it for them. → Se la preparamos.
  16. He offered the job to his cousin. (el trabajo)
    👉 Le ofreció el trabajo a su primo.
    He offered it to him. → Se lo ofreció.
  17. I described the landscape to my mother. (el paisaje)
    👉 Le describí el paisaje a mi madre.
    I described it to her. → Se lo describí.
  18. They sent the invitations to their clients. (las invitaciones)
    👉 Les enviaron las invitaciones a sus clientes.
    They sent them to them. → Se las enviaron.
  19. She explained the situation to her friend. (la situación)
    👉 Le explicó la situación a su amiga.
    She explained it to her. → Se la explicó.
  20. I brought the drinks to the party. (las bebidas)
    👉 Llevé las bebidas a la fiesta.
    I brought them there. → Las llevé allí.