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Spanish (Spain)

In English, if we want to emphasize the object of a sentence, we often rely on tone of voice ("I've just set up the *tripod*"). In Spanish, you emphasize a direct object by moving it to the very beginning of the sentence.

However, when you move a direct object to the front, Spanish requires a special grammar tag: you must "double" the object by adding a direct object pronoun (**lo** for masculine, **la** for feminine) right before the verb.

### Moving the object to the front

This structure looks like this: **[Direct Object] + [lo/la] + [Verb]**. Notice how the pronoun perfectly matches the gender of the noun you are emphasizing.

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This emphasizing structure is incredibly common in spoken Spanish. It is perfect for giving instructions on a busy photography set where you want to highlight the exact piece of equipment you are handling.

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### Long phrases and subject placement

The doubling rule applies no matter how long or descriptive the direct object phrase is.

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Additionally, if you explicitly mention the subject (the person doing the action), it naturally falls *after* the verb in this structure, keeping the focus entirely on the fronted object.

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Emphasizing direct objects (lo, la)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular subjects and 'ser' (yo soy, esto es)

Plural nouns and definite articles (los, las)

Plural pronouns and 'ser' (somos, sois, son)

Adjective agreement (-o, -a, -os, -as)

Indefinite articles (un, una, unos, unas)

Simple negation (no)

Yes/no questions

Regular '-ar' verbs (-o, -as, -a...)

Regular '-er' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Regular '-ir' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Locative adverbs (aquí, allí)

Question words (quién, cómo)

The verb estar (estoy, estás)

The preposition en (en)

Ser vs. estar

The verb tener (tengo, tienes)

Possessive determiners (mi, tu, su)

Origin and possession (de, del)

The verb ir (voy, vas)

Destination (a, al)

The personal 'a' (a)

Stem-changing verbs: e to ie

Stem-changing verbs: o to ue

Irregular first-person verbs

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, dos, tres)

Numbers 11 to 20 (once, doce, trece)

Counting by tens to 100 (treinta, cuarenta, cien)

Compound numbers up to 99 (veintiuno, treinta y uno)

Days of the week (el lunes, el martes)

The family and the personal 'a' (a mi tío, a mi prima)

Months of the year

Telling time (es la, son las)

Verbs of liking (me gusta)

Plural agreement with verbs of liking (gustan)

Degree modifiers (muy, mucho)

Formal address (usted, ustedes)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

Obligation (tener que)

Present continuous (-ando, -iendo)

Affirmative commands (tú, vosotros)

Basic Food and Drink

The Human Body: Head and Arms

The Human Body: Legs and Health

Wardrobe Essentials

Fresh Produce

Meals and Proteins

Public Transport

Hello and goodbye (hola, ¿qué tal?)

Thank you, sorry, OK (gracias, vale)

There is, there are (hay)

My building (la escalera, el ascensor)

Describing people (moreno, rubio, tímido)

Land and sea (el mar, el río, el norte)

Sightseeing (la plaza, la catedral)

Asking the way (cerca, a la derecha, todo recto)

In class (¿puedes repetir?)

Verb + infinitive (quiero comer, sé leer)

What's your name? (me llamo, encantado)

Phone, computer and email

Hundreds and thousands (doscientos, mil)

What do you do? (¿a qué te dedicas?)

Personal details (la edad, la fecha de nacimiento)

Me neither (también, tampoco, ni)

How much is it? (el precio, la vuelta)

What's the weather like? (hace sol, nieva)

Free time (el concierto, el tenis)

At the bar (¿qué vas a tomar?)

The Natural World

Demonstratives (este, ese, aquel)

Prepositions of place (encima de, debajo de)

Prepositional pronouns (para mí, contigo)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero to décimo)

Adverbs of frequency (a veces, nunca)

Exclamations (¡qué...!)

Indefinite pronouns (algo, alguien)

Indefinite determiners (algún, ningún)

Indirect object pronouns (le, les)

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

Double object pronouns (se lo, se la)

Verbs of preference (encantar, interesar)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Starting and finishing actions (empezar a, terminar de)

Adjective comparatives (más que, menos que)

Comparatives of equality (tan como)

Noun comparatives (tanto como)

Question	Answer
the tripod	el trípode
The tripod, I've just set it up.	El trípode, lo acabo de montar.
The old tripod, we use it outside.	El trípode viejo, lo usamos fuera.
the lens	la lente
The lens, I clean it with great care.	La lente, la limpio con mucho cuidado.
This lens, the photographer has just bought it.	Esta lente, la acaba de comprar el fotógrafo.
the diffuser	el difusor
The diffuser, we place it in front of the light.	El difusor, lo colocamos delante de la luz.
Without the diffuser, the light is too harsh.	Sin el difusor, la luz es demasiado dura.
to dazzle	deslumbrar
That small spotlight, we turn it off because it dazzles.	Ese foco pequeño, lo apagamos porque deslumbra.
The light dazzles the model.	La luz deslumbra al modelo.
the flash	el flash
The flash, we use it only in the dark.	El flash, lo usamos solo en la oscuridad.
The flash that you have, I need it for the photo.	El flash que tienes, lo necesito para la foto.
the reflector	el reflector
The white reflector, the girl grabs it.	El reflector blanco, lo coge la chica.
The reflector, we put it next to the window.	El reflector, lo ponemos al lado de la ventana.
the framing	el encuadre
The framing, the director chooses it.	El encuadre, lo elige el director.
The framing, the boss has just checked it.	El encuadre, lo acaba de revisar la jefa.
to focus	enfocar
The camera, I focus it on your face.	La cámara, la enfoco en tu cara.
I've just focused on the landscape.	Acabo de enfocar el paisaje.
out of focus	desenfocado
The landscape, we leave it out of focus.	El paisaje, lo dejamos desenfocado.
This photo is very out of focus.	Esta foto está muy desenfocada.
the sharpness	la nitidez
The sharpness, we achieve it with that camera.	La nitidez, la conseguimos con esa cámara.
The photo that we took has a lot of sharpness.	La foto que hicimos tiene mucha nitidez.