Learn Spanish (Spain): El profesor nos da el examen.

El profesor nos da el examen.

The teacher gives us the exam.

Breakdown of El profesor nos da el examen.

el profesor

the teacher

nos

to us / ourselves / us (direct object)

Questions & Answers about El profesor nos da el examen.

Why does nos come before the verb da?

In Spanish, object pronouns like nos (to us) must go immediately before a conjugated verb. Unlike in English where we say 'gives us' after the action, in Spanish you literally put the pronoun first: nos da.

Is nos a direct or indirect object pronoun in this sentence?

It is an indirect object pronoun here because it tells us to whom the exam is given. The pronoun nos looks exactly the same whether it is direct ('us') or indirect ('to us'), but you can tell it is indirect in this case because the direct object (the physical thing being handed over) is el examen.

How would this sentence change if the teacher gave the exam to him or her?

You would replace nos with the third-person indirect object pronoun le, making the sentence El profesor le da el examen. This is where Spanish differs from the 'nos' or 'me' forms, which stay the same; you must use le for 'to him', 'to her', or 'to you (formal)'.

What is the dictionary form of the verb da?

The infinitive is dar (to give). It is a very common verb used with indirect object pronouns because you usually give something to someone. It is irregular in the 'I' form (yo doy), but here it uses the regular 'he/she' form da to match El profesor.