Question

Escoge el mandato que significa, (you, formal, singular), 'Buy the car for them.'
Cómpreselo.
Se lo cómpre
Cómprelelo.

In the following command, what part of speech is 'la'?
No se la dé.
reflexive pronoun
indirect object pronoun
direct object pronoun

Escoge el mandato que significa 'Let's stay.'
no nos quedemos
quedémonos
no vayamos

thanks so much!

Answer 1

So you're learning about direct and indirect pronouns in Spanish. It can be a tricky lesson. Let me try my best to explain it in a simple way.

In the first example, the answer is "Cómpreselo."
It means "Buy it for them."
(But it can also mean "Buy it for her," or "Buy it for him.")

Let's break down the command "Cómpreselo" into three parts:

1. Compre

2. se

3. lo

These are the three parts that make this command.

1. You know that "compre" is the formal command of "comprar," right?

The él/ella/usted form of "comprar" is "compra."
"Compra" can be an INFORMAL command.
To change it to a FORMAL command, change the last letter.

**If it ends with A, change it to E.**
**If it ends with E, change it to A.**

Change COMPRA to COMPRE. There! Now it's a (singular) formal command.

2. The "se" in the sentence can mean "him," "her," or "them."

It's an INDIRECT pronoun.

3. The "lo" in the sentece means "it."

It's a DIRECT pronoun.

(It can ONLY ever be used as a direct pronoun, and NEVER a subject.)

So, "Cómpreselo" means "Buy IT for THEM."


~~~~~~~~~~~

I want to explain direct and indirect pronouns, in English. Maybe you already know what they are. If you do, then you can skip this section. Knowing them just makes this whole Spanish lesson a lot easier.


Let's use a sentence as an example.

"I am giving her the present tomorrow."

The SUBJECT is "I."
The VERB is "am giving."

Question: What exactly am I giving?
Answer: The present.

So, "present" is the DIRECT object.

Question: Who am I giving the present to?
Answer: Her.

So, "her" is the INDIRECT object.


Let's try another example.

"I am making you a sandwich."

The SUBJECT is "I."
The VERB is "am making."

Question: What am I making?
Answer: Sandwich.

So, "sandwich" is the DIRECT object.

Question: Who am I making the sandwich for?
Answer: You.

So, "you" is the INDIRECT object.


Do you see now what direct and indirect objects are?

The DIRECT object usually answers "WHAT."
The INDIRECT object usually answers "WHO."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Let's move on.

"No se la dé," means
"Don't give it to him."

Look at the English tranlation. "Don't give IT to HIM."

Question: WHAT are we giving?
Answer: It.

Question: WHO are we giving it to?
Answer: Him.

So, IT is the DIRECT object,
and HIM is the INDIRECT object.

Let's now look at the Spanish sentence, "No se la dé."

We're looking at the word LA. It means "IT."

So, LA is a DIRECT object pronoun.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The answer to the third one is "Quedémonos."
It means "Let us stay."

That form of the command, "quedémonos," is rarely used, at least in my experience.

I'm guessing that you haven't learned about the subjunctive, in Spanish yet.
If you have already learned about the subjunctive, then let me know, and I will explain "Quedémonos" to you.
If not, then it would only be confusing at this point.

Let's use a process of elimination, for the third question.

"No nos quedemos" means "Let's not stay."

And "No vayamos," means "Let's not go."

So, it has to be "Quedémonos."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope I've been able to explain direct and indirect objects clearly. If you have any questions, please ask!

Answer 2

One last thing about the indirect pronoun "se."

"Se" is only used when there is also a direct pronoun in the sentence.

Once again, "se" can mean "him," "her," or "them." (Or a formal "you.")

When there IS NO DIRECT pronoun in the same sentence, like "LO" or "LA," then you don't use "se." You would use "LE."

Here's an example:

"Le estoy escribiendo una carta a Maria."

It means, "I am writing a letter to Maria."

But you see how that entire sentence doesn't have "LO" or "LA"?
That's why we use "LE," and not "se."

Answer 3

Okay, thanks! And for the le thing, you use le to take the place of lo or la? or no?

Answer 4

You're welcome.

Le takes the place of "se," and vice versa.

Lo and La are direct object pronouns.

Le and Se are indirect object pronouns.

Answer 5

Ohh okay. Thank you!!