MozhiLingo
via
Learning
← All lessons
Lesson 31A2

Direct Object Pronouns

Direct Object Pronouns

English keeps its object pronoun after the verb, always. Spanish usually moves it in front of the verb instead — a word-order shift you'll need to make automatic.

Grammar Comparison

Grammar Comparison

The object pronoun comes before the verb

Spanish

lo veo (I see it/him) — literally 'it/him I-see'

English

I see it / I see him — the pronoun follows the verb

With a conjugated verb, Spanish direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las, me, te, nos) attach in front of the verb, not after it the way English does. This reordering has to become automatic — there's no way to place the pronoun after a conjugated Spanish verb and have it sound natural.

Lo/la agree with what they replace

Spanish

veo el libro → lo veo (masc.); veo la casa → la veo (fem.)

English

I see the book → I see it; I see the house → I see it — 'it' never changes

Because Spanish nouns carry gender, the pronoun that replaces them has to match — lo for a masculine thing, la for a feminine one. English 'it' is a single word regardless of what it's replacing, so this gender-tracking is a new habit to build, not a translation of anything English already does.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary

loloh
English
it / him (masc.)
lalah
English
it / her (fem.)
loslohs
English
them (masc.)
laslahs
English
them (fem.)
memeh
English
me
teteh
English
you
nosnohs
English
us
lo veoloh VEH-oh
English
I see it/him
la quierolah kee-EH-roh
English
I love/want her/it
los tengolohs TEN-goh
English
I have them