Chinese (Mandarin)

Spanish

English

Hindi

Arabic (Modern Standard)

Portuguese

Bengali

Russian

Japanese

Punjabi

German

Javanese

Malay

Telugu

Vietnamese

Korean

French

Marathi

Tamil

Urdu

Turkish

Italian

Chinese, Yue / Cantonese

Thai

Gujarati

Chinese, Jin

Chinese, Min Nan

Dari

Farsi

Polish

Pashto

Kannada

Chinese, Xiang

Malayalam

Sundanese

Hausa

Odia

Burmese

Chinese, Hakka

Ukrainian

Bihari, Bhojpuri

Tagalog

Yoruba

Bihari, Maithili

Uzbek

Sindhi

Amharic

Fula

Romanian

Oromo

Igbo

Azerbaijani

Chinese, Gan

Dutch

Kurdish, Central

Kurdish, Northern

Kurdish, Southern

Malagasy

Lahnda, Saraiki

Nepali

Sinhalese

Chittagonian

Zhuang

Khmer

Turkmen

Assamese

Madurese

Somali

Marwari

Bihari, Magahi

Haryanvi

Hungarian

Chhattisgarhi

Greek

Chewa

Dakhini

Akan, Twi

Akan, Fante

Kazakh

Chinese, Min Bei

Sylheti

Zulu

Czech

Kinyarwanda

Marwari, Dhundhari

Haitian Creole

Chinese, Min Dong

Ilocano

Quechua

Kirundi

Swedish

Hmong

Shona

Uyghur

Hiligaynon

Mossi

Xhosa

Belarusian

Balochi

Spanish (Spain)

### The Full Paradigm

An indirect object tells us *to whom* or *for whom* an action is done. You already know some of these pronouns; here is the complete list:

| Person | Pronoun | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Singular | **me** | to/for me |
| 2nd Singular | **te** | to/for you |
| 3rd Singular | **le** | to/for him, her, you (formal) |
| 1st Plural | **nos** | to/for us |
| 2nd Plural | **os** | to/for you all |
| 3rd Plural | **les** | to/for them, you all (formal) |

Like other pronouns, indirect object pronouns are placed immediately before the conjugated verb.

{{item:1153604}}

{{item:1153589}}

### Using "le" and "les"

Use **le** when the indirect object is a single person (him, her, or formal you) and **les** for multiple people (them, or formal you all). They are extremely common with verbs of giving and telling, like **dar** (to give) and **regalar** (to give as a gift).

{{item:1153580}}

{{item:1153584}}

{{item:1153590}}

### Clarifying with "a"

Because **le** and **les** can refer to several different people, they can sometimes be ambiguous. To be specific, Spanish speakers often add **a** + [the person] (e.g., *a ella*, *al hombre*).

Crucially, even when you state the person explicitly with **a**, you **still need** to include the pronoun **le** or **les** in the sentence.

{{item:1153588}}

{{item:1153594}}

{{item:1153610}}

### Two-Verb Combinations

When using verbs that deal with transferring information or items, you will often see them in two-verb structures (like the present continuous or an infinitive phrase). Just remember that the pronoun still goes right before the conjugated verb.

{{item:1153587}}

{{item:1153598}}

{{item:1153601}}

Indirect object pronouns (le, les)

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)

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)

Irregular comparatives (mejor, peor, mayor, menor)

Question	Answer
to give	dar
I give him a book.	Le doy un libro.
She is giving them the money.	Ella les está dando el dinero.
to give as a gift	regalar
What are you giving your sister?	¿Qué le regalas a tu hermana?
We are giving them a car.	Les regalamos un coche.
to send	enviar
the package	el paquete
I want to send you a package.	Te quiero enviar un paquete.
He sends her a letter.	Él le envía una carta a ella.
The teacher gives us the exam.	El profesor nos da el examen.
I tell him the truth.	Le digo la verdad.
to tell (a story)	contar
Are you telling them something?	¿Les estás contando algo?
the news	la noticia
The doctor gives the man the news.	La médica le da la noticia al hombre.
We send them the good news.	Les enviamos las buenas noticias.
to explain	explicar
The boss explains the problem to us.	La jefa nos explica el problema.
Can you explain the lesson to him?	¿Le puedes explicar la lección?
to show, to teach	enseñar
She shows them the new house.	Ella les enseña la casa nueva.
I am teaching him Spanish.	Le estoy enseñando español.
the advice	el consejo
His mother gives him some advice.	Su madre le da un consejo.
They explain the reason to me.	Me explican el motivo.
to lend / to pay (attention)	prestar
He lends them his car.	Él les presta su coche.
I never lend him money.	Nunca le presto dinero.
I always lend you my computer.	Siempre os presto mi ordenador.
The actress sends the package to the actor.	La actriz le envía el paquete al actor.
The grandfather gives the advice to the girls and tells them the news.	El abuelo les da el consejo a las niñas y les cuenta la noticia.