This worksheet is to be used in conjunction with “Mosaicos” and “Fuentes” Reviewed September 2012
Provided by the Academic Center for Excellence 1 Spanish: Direct, Indirect, and Reflexive Pronouns
Spanish: Direct, Indirect, and Reflexive Pronouns
You can navigate to specific sections of this handout by clicking the links below.
Direct Object Pronouns: pg. 1
Indirect Object Pronouns: pg. 2
Reflexive Pronouns: pg. 3
R.I.D. (Reflexive, Indirect Object Pronouns, Direct Object Pronoun): pg. 4
Direct Object Pronouns
me me nos us
te you (familiar) os you (familiar plural, Spain)
lo you (formal), him, it los you (familiar and formal), them
masculine masculine
la you (formal), her, it las you (familiar and formal), them
feminine feminine
Direct objects are the receiver of the action and answer the question “who” or “what” in
reference to the verb.
Hilda lee el libro. Los niños comen la fruta. Él compra la cerveza.
If the direct object is a person, a group of persons, or a pet, then the personal a must
precede it. The words a and el together contract to al.
María baña al bebe. Antonio ve a sus niños. Yo oigo a mi madre.
The direct object pronoun replaces the direct object noun to avoid repeating the direct
object and is placed before the verb.
Hilda lo lee. Los niños la comen. Él la compra.
In the case of compound verb forms, the direct object pronoun may go either before the
conjugated verb or attached to the infinitive form of the verb or the present participle. Upon
attaching the reflexive pronoun to the present participle, an accent mark must be added to
the stressed vowel.
Vamos a ver a ella. Alicia quiere ver a él. Estoy limpiando los espejos.
La vamos a ver. Alicia lo quiere ver. Los estoy limpiando.
Vamos a verla. Alicia quiere verlo. Estoy limpiándolos.
Replace the direct object with the direct object pronoun, translating English to Spanish.
1.) Tu primo ve a nosotros. ____________________________________
2.) Mi tío visita a mi. ____________________________________
This worksheet is to be used in conjunction with “Mosaicos” and “Fuentes” Reviewed September 2012
Provided by the Academic Center for Excellence 2 Spanish: Direct, Indirect, and Reflexive Pronouns
3.) Ella visita a su amigo hoy. ____________________________________
4.) Enrique toca la guitarra. ____________________________________
5.) Sus parientes entienden la situación. ___________________________________
6.) Tu sobrino cierra la puerta del microondas. ___________________________________
Indirect Object Pronouns
me to/for me nos to/for us
te to/for you (familiar) os to/for you (familiar, Spain)
le to/for you (formal), him, les to/for you (plural), them
her, it
An indirect object tells “to whom” or “for whom” in relation to the verb.
Mi madrastra compra la ropa para mí. Escribo las cartas a la revista.
Mi madrastra me compra la ropa. Le escribo las cartas a la revista.
In the case of compound verb forms, the indirect object pronoun may go either before
the conjugated verb or attached to the infinitive form of the verb or the present
participle.
Voy a cocinar paella para mi hermano y su esposa.
Les voy a cocinar paella. Estoy cocinando paella para ustedes.
Voy a cocinarles paella. Les estoy cocinando paella.
Estoy cocinándoles paella.
The indirect object pronouns must always be used even if the indirect object is stated.
Use the preposition a to clarify le and les. Also use a mí, a tí, a nosotros/as, a
vosotros/as to place emphasis on the indirect object.
Pepe regala flores a su madre. Tomas da el dinero a mí.
Pepe le regala flores a su madre. Tomas me da el dinero a mí.
Replace the indirect object with the correct indirect object pronoun.
1.) Mi novio da su tarjeta de crédito a mí. ____________________________________
2.) Debo leer más libros a mis niños. ____________________________________
3.) Tiene que limpiar la casa para su madre. ____________________________________
4.) Vende flores a la gente. ________________________________________________
5.) No dice nada a mí. ________________________________________________
This worksheet is to be used in conjunction with “Mosaicos” and “Fuentes”
Provided by the Academic Center for Excellence 3 Spanish: Direct, Indirect, and Reflexive Pronouns
6.) No doy dinero a ella. ________________________________________________
7.) A veces ella escribe una carta a ellos. ____________________________________
8.) Estamos comprando una pulsera y ese arete para nuestra abuela.
__________________________________________________________________
Reflexive Pronouns
me yo nos nosotros/as
te tú (familiar) os vosotros/as
se él, ella, Usted se ellos, ellas, Ustedes
Reflexive verbs state what someone does “to” or “for” herself or himself.
Reflexive verb pronouns refer back to the subject of the sentence; they agree with the
subject of the verb.
When talking about parts of the body or articles of clothing, use definite articles such as el, la,
los, and las.
Reflexive pronouns are equivalent to the English pronouns myself, yourself, himself, herself,
ourselves, yourselves, and themselves.
Se ducha antes de acostarse. Te quitas los zapatos cerca de la puerta.
Infinitive verbs with –se attached are the reflexive form of the verb.
prepararse dormirse darse cuenta de (to realize)
The reflexive pronoun goes before the conjugated verb. In the case of compound verbs and
the present progressive, the reflexive pronoun goes either before the conjugated verb or
attached to the infinitive or the present participle. Upon attaching the reflexive pronoun to
the present participle, an accent mark must be added to the stressed vowel.
Translate the following sentences from English to Spanish using reflexive pronouns.
1.) We comb our hair. ________________________________________________
2.) They wash their hands. _______________________________________________
3.) I wake up early. ________________________________________________
4.) Michael shaves in the morning. ____________________________________
This worksheet is to be used in conjunction with “Mosaicos” and “Fuentes”
Provided by the Academic Center for Excellence 4 Spanish: Direct, Indirect, and Reflexive Pronouns
5.) She sits in the chair near the window. ____________________________________
6.) You take off your shoes. __________________________________________
7.) Pam puts on make-up in the bathroom. ______________________________
8.) José lays down every day at one. ____________________________________
R.I.D.
Reflexive, Indirect Object Pronoun, Direct Object Pronoun
When there are two object pronouns in a sentence, they will appear in the R.I.D. order:
reflexive, indirect, and direct.
Two is the maximum number of pronouns that can occur in a sentence together. The
combinations that may occur are reflexive-indirect (rare), reflexive-direct, or indirect-direct.
Keep in mind that object pronouns are used in referring to previously mentioned
information in paragraphs and conversations.
Reflexive-Direct
Me lo pongo. Tus uñas son bonitas. ¿Te las pintas a menudo?
I put it on. Your fingernails are pretty. Do you paint them often?
Indirect-Direct
Sara me los mandó. Me lo dijo. Te las venden.
Sara sent them to me. She said it to me. They sell them to you.
If both the direct and indirect object pronouns occur together in the third person (lo, la,
los, las – le, les), then change the indirect object pronoun to se.
Manolo le vendió el carro a Gloria. Lucas les regaló las flores a Los Garcia.
Manolo se lo vendió. Él se las regaló.
In sentences using compound verbs, the same order, R.I.D., applies in the placement of
the pronouns. The object pronouns may either be placed before the conjugated verb or
attached to the infinitive.
Translate from English to Spanish using the correct object pronouns.
1.) We bought them for her. ________________________________________________
2.) I wrote it for him. ________________________________________________
This worksheet is to be used in conjunction with “Mosaicos” and “Fuentes”
Provided by the Academic Center for Excellence 5 Spanish: Direct, Indirect, and Reflexive Pronouns
3.) They have to make them for the girls. ____________________________________
4.) He wants to read it to us. ________________________________________________
5.) Mrs. Iglesias loves her dogs. __________________________________________
6.) Why do you give them to me? __________________________________________
