Accusative pronouns

No lo veo

Pronouns are needed to make sentences shorter. They replace nouns. That’s where the name pronoun comes from.

There have been many types of pronouns throughout this course, but no comments have been given on accusative pronouns.

Now our task is to reveal Spanish accusative pronouns and understand what they are.

First of all, let’s take a look at how accusative pronouns can replace nouns.

Leo un libro – Lo leo

I read a book – I read it

Escribimos una carta – La escribimos

We write a letter – We write it

Vendo coches – Los vendo

I sell cars – I sell them

Ana compra frutas – Ana las compra

Ana buys fruits – Ana buys them

As you can see, in each example a different accusative pronoun is used: lo, la, los, las. The form depends on whether the replaced noun is masculine or feminine, singular or plural.

This is the list of accusative pronouns with a reference to their nominative (basic) counterparts.

yo – me

tú – te

él – lo

ella – la

usted – lo, la

nosotros – nos

vosotros – os

ellos – los

ellas – las

ustedes – los, las

Te amo – I love you

¿Me ayudas? – Will you help me?

¿Entiendes el tema? – Do you understand the subject?

Sí, lo entiendo – Yes, I understand it

¿Nos oyes? – Do you hear us?

Sí, os oigo – Yes, I hear you

Try it yourself:

Tengo un plan – …

Mi papá ve la tele – …

Javier llama a los amigos – …

El camarero trae las gambas – …

The word order is important. Accusative pronouns should be placed before the verbs.

Te amo

Lo entiendo

Don’t say: Amo te or Entiendo lo

Try it yourself:

Do you understand me?

Yes, I understand you

Does Elena have a car?

Yes, she has it

Do you see us?

No, I don’t see you

Direct object

Accusative pronouns don’t replace all nouns in a sentence. They only replace those nouns, that play the role of a direct object.

To avoid confusion in the future, it’s important to know what the direct object is.

In simple words, the direct object is what an action is directed to.

I read a book

You write a message

Jack sells his car

You cheat me

Our parents call us

Accusative pronouns are needed to replace direct object nouns. In other words, the direct object can be expressed either by a noun, or by an accusative pronoun.

Llamo a Laura – La llamo

Llamo a Raúl – Lo llamo

Pido dos pizzas – Las pido

Veo a ti – Te veo

Invitas a mí – Me invitas

Elvira conoce a nosotros – Elvira nos conoce

The last three sentences have prepositional pronouns a ti, a mí, a nosotros.

Veo a ti

Invitas a mí

Elvira conoce a nosotros

These sentences are not very correct. You can’t just take prepositional pronouns and use them like this. These sentences are written here only as an example to be transformed. You should use accusative pronouns instead.

Incorrect: Veo a ti

Correct: Te veo

Incorrect: Invitas a mí

Correct: Me invitas

Incorrect: Conoce a nosotros

Correct: Nos conoce

Try it yourself:

¿Ayudas a mí? – …

Respeto a vosotros – …

Buscamos trabajo – …

La gente mira a nosotros – …

Amo a ella – …

lo vs. le

In addition to the list of accusative pronouns represented above, it’s important to clarify one tricky moment.

Let’s take this sentence as an example.

Escucho a Roberto

As you have learned, the right way to reduce this sentence is by using the lo pronoun.

Escucho a Roberto – Lo escucho

However, sometimes you might hear Spanish say:

Le escucho

This is considered to be the second right option.

It’s possible to use le instead of lo, only when the direct object refers to a person of masculine gender.

Look at these examples for comparison:

a.

Saludamos al profesor

Lo saludamos = Le saludamos

But:

Saludamos a la profesora

La saludamos

b.

Escucho a mi padre

Lo escucho = Le escucho

But:

Escucho el audio

Lo escucho

Try it yourself:

Llamo a Luis

Llamo a Natalia

¿Conoces a Catalina?

¿Conoces a mi jefe?

¿Conoces este lugar?

Señora, no veo a usted

Señor, no veo a usted

Señor, no veo el autobús

The same is possible with direct objects in plural.

a.

Saludo a mis amigos

Los saludo = Les saludo

But:

Saludo a mis amigas

Las saludo

b.

Cuidamos a los abuelos

Los cuidamos = Les cuidamos

But:

Cuidamos los coches

Los cuidamos

Try it yourself:

Oigo a mis niños

Oigo a mis niñas

Oigo canciones

Oigo sonidos

Respeto a ustedes, señoras

Respeto a ustedes, señores

Invitamos a unos compañeros

Invitamos a unas compañeras

Susana ama a Carmelo

Susana ama a su madre

Susana ama a sus padres

Susana ama español

Lo is more universal, while le is more specific.

There is much to keep in mind and control when building sentences with accusative pronouns. It’s better to avoid using le in the beginning. Start using it when you become more confident in this grammar.