Indirect Object Pronouns (Me, Te, Le, Nos, Les) | Spanish (Latin America) Grammar

If the direct object answers "what?" or "whom?" after the verb, the indirect object answers "to whom?" or "for whom?". In "I gave the book to María," the book is direct and María is indirect. Spanish uses a special pronoun set — me, te, le, nos, les — to mark these indirect objects.

The full set

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	me (to/for me)	nos (to/for us)
2nd informal	te (to/for you)	les (to/for you all) — os in Spain
3rd / formal	le (to/for him/her/you)	les (to/for them/you all)

The first and second person forms (me, te, nos) are exactly the same as direct object pronouns. Only the third person differs: direct uses lo/la; indirect uses le.

The "recipient" of the action

The indirect object is the person (or thing) to whom or for whom the action is done.

Le doy el libro a María.

I give the book to María. (María is the indirect object — 'to whom'.)

Te traigo café.

I'm bringing you coffee. (You are the recipient.)

Nos escribió una carta.

She wrote us a letter.

Les mandé el correo ayer.

I sent them the email yesterday.

Le is gender-neutral

Unlike lo/la, the pronoun le does not change for gender. The same le refers to "him," "her," or "you" (formal).

Le di el regalo a Juan.

I gave the gift to Juan.

Le di el regalo a María.

I gave the gift to María.

Le di el regalo a usted.

I gave the gift to you (formal).

All three use the same le. If you need to clarify who, you add a prepositional phrase: a él, a ella, a usted.

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Since le can mean "to him," "to her," or "to you," Spanish speakers often add a él, a ella, or a usted for clarity, even when the full noun was already mentioned. This is called indirect object doubling — see Indirect Object Doubling.

Common indirect-object verbs

Some verbs almost always take an indirect object. These are the ones where you ask "to whom?" or "for whom?":

Verb	Meaning	Example
dar	to give	Le doy el libro.
decir	to say / tell	Te lo digo.
mandar	to send	Les mandé una carta.
traer	to bring	Me trae agua.
prestar	to lend	Nos prestaron el carro.
pedir	to ask for	Le pido un favor.
regalar	to gift	Les regalé flores.
explicar	to explain	Te explico todo.

Gustar-type verbs: the subject and object flip

Many everyday Spanish verbs — including gustar, encantar, importar, doler — work "backwards" compared to English. The person who experiences the feeling is the indirect object, and the thing causing the feeling is the subject.

Me gusta el libro.

I like the book. Literally: 'The book pleases me.'

A Juan le duele la cabeza.

Juan's head hurts. Literally: 'To Juan, the head hurts him.'

For a full treatment, see Gustar and Similar Verbs.

Placement: before the conjugated verb

Just like direct object pronouns, indirect object pronouns go before the conjugated verb in most cases.

Te llamo mañana.

I'll call you tomorrow.

No les gusta el frío.

They don't like the cold.

With infinitives, gerunds, and affirmative commands, they can attach to the end — same rules as direct object pronouns. See Placement of Indirect Object Pronouns.

Direct and indirect together

When a sentence has both, the indirect pronoun comes first and the direct pronoun comes second. The order is ID ("indirect-direct").

Me lo dio.

He gave it to me. (me = indirect, lo = direct.)

Te la traigo mañana.

I'll bring it to you tomorrow.

Nos los mandaron por correo.

They sent them to us by mail.

See Combined Object Pronouns for the complete ordering rules.

Le becomes se before lo/la/los/las

When le or les is followed by lo/la/los/las, it changes to se (for euphony — Spanish avoids le lo).

Le doy el libro. → Se lo doy.

I give him the book. → I give it to him. (le + lo → se lo.)

Les digo la verdad. → Se la digo.

I tell them the truth. → I tell it to them.

See Le/Les → Se for the rule and examples.

Quick test: direct or indirect?

Ask: does the verb act on the person (direct) or does it reach the person via the main action (indirect)?

Verb action	Person is...	Pronoun
I see Juan.	direct — I act on him	lo
I speak to Juan.	indirect — speaking goes toward him	le
I call Juan.	direct — I call him (not "to him")	lo
I write Juan.	indirect — I write to him	le

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If you can say "to him" or "for him" in English and it sounds natural, use le. If you can only say "him" without a preposition, use lo.

Summary

Indirect object pronouns: me, te, le, nos, les.
First and second person forms are the same as direct object.
Le is gender-neutral: him, her, or you (formal).
Le becomes se before lo/la/los/las.
Gustar-type verbs flip the usual subject/object order.

Next: Indirect Object Doubling.