Direct Objects, the Personal a , and Direct Object Pronouns

1. Direct Objects, the Personal a, and Direct Object Pronouns (Los complementos directos, la a personal, y los pronombres de complemento directo)

2. I eatthe tamales. Yo comolos tamales. Óscar kisseshis wife. A direct object is a thing or person that receives the direct action of the verb. Óscar besa a su esposa.

3. Óscar kisseshis wife. Óscar besaasu esposa. I walk my dog every morning. Paseo amiperro todas las mañanas. Notice that direct objects that are people or domesticated animals (and sometimes personified things) are signaled by the personala. Patriots love their country. Los patriotas aman asu patria. More information about the personal a follows on the next slide.

4. More on the personal a Generally, the personal a is not used after the verb tener. Óscar tiene una esposa muy bonita. Óscar has a very pretty wife. Nor is it used with a direct object that is an unspecified or indefinite person. Buscamos una secretaria eficiente. We’re looking for an efficient secretary.

5. More on the personal a The personal a followed by the definite article el contracts to form al. Alicia visita al médico. Alicia visits the doctor. When the interrogative quién(es) requests information about the direct object, the personal a precedes it. ¿A quién llama Elisa? Whom is Elisa calling? The personal a must be repeated before each human direct object in a series. Visito a Emilio y a Lola. I visit Emilio and Lola.

6. Identifying a direct object SUBJECT + VERB + WHAT (WHOM) Adirect object is a thing or person that answers what or whom, respectively, in the following equation: DIRECT OBJECT Yo como los tamales

7. Did you buy ? the piano Yes, I bought . the piano Did you pay a lot for ? the piano Well, wasn’t cheap. the piano Can you play ? the piano Yes, and my brother plays too. the piano Pronouns are particles (little words) that take the place of the object itself, so that the object does not have to be repeated ad nauseum . . .

8. the piano the piano the piano Pronouns are particles (little words) that take the place of the object itself, so that the object does not have to be repeated ad nauseum . . . the piano the piano the piano Notice how many times “the piano” was repeated.

9. Did you buy ? the piano Yes, I bought . it Did you pay a lot for ? it Well, wasn’t cheap. it Can you play ? it Yes, and my brother plays too. it A better, more concise way is to use pronouns instead of repeating the noun over and over. Pronouns are particles (little words) that take the place of the object itself, so that the object does not have to be repeated ad nauseum . . .

10. ¿Compraste ? el piano Sí, compré. lo ¿Puedes tocar ? lo Sí, y mi hermano sabe tocar también. lo Direct object pronouns in Spanish, just as in English, take the place of the direct object itself, so that the direct object does not have to be repeated, and repeated, and repeated . . .

11. for people for people andthings (lo, la) (los, las) These are used exclusively me nos te os These are used The direct object pronouns in Spanish are as follows: lo, la los, las

12. Now let’s see how pronouns replace things or people that are direct objects. I eatthe tamales. Yo comolos tamales. Yo los como. Notice that third-person direct object pronouns agree in gender and number with the noun they replace.

13. Now let’s see how pronouns replace things or people that are direct objects. Óscar kisseshis wife. Óscar besa a su esposa. Óscar la besa. Notice that third-person direct object pronouns agree in gender and number with the noun they replace.

14. a Notice that the personal a goes away when the direct object noun is replaced by a direct object pronoun. Óscar besa a su esposa. Óscar la besa.

15. PLACEMENT OF PRONOUNS ALL object pronouns are placed either before a conjugated verb (except for affirmative command forms) (Óscar, bésala.) or after an infinitive or gerund (present participle). Óscar la va a besar. Óscar labesa. Óscar va a besarla. Óscar la está besando. Óscar está besándola.

16. Direct object pronouns are commonly used in conversation when the object is established or known. Again, this avoids needless repetition. ¿Dónde ves a Jorge y a Sarita? Where do you see Jorge and Sarita? I see them in class. Los veo en clase. ¿Visitas a tu abuela con frecuencia? Do you visit your grandmother often? Yes, I visit her a lot. Sí, la visito mucho. Do not be misled into thinking that los and la in the above answers are the subjects of the sentences just because they appear in subject position. The subject of both answers, which is of course yo, is simply not expressed in these instances.

17. Be aware that object pronouns, just like verbs, must make a flip-flop transition when first and second persons are involved in the conversation. ¿Me vas a invitar a tu fiesta? Sí, te voy a invitar. ¿Nos puedes ayudar mañana? No, no los puedo ayudar.

18. In negative sentences, the direct object pronoun is placed between no and the conjugated verb. Adolfo no la va a llamar. Adolfo is not going to call her. But, again, as in affirmative sentences, the object pronoun may be attached to the end of the infinitive or present participle. Adolfo no va a llamarla.

19. El Pretéritode los verbos

20. El Pretérito: • is a past tense (“-ed”) • talks about what happened • is a completed action I went to the store. I bought a shirt. I paid in cash.

21. The stem for regular verbs in the pretérito is the infinitive stem. Tomar tom- Hablar habl- Comer com- Beber beb- Abrir abr- Salir sal-

22. -é -aste -ó -amos -asteis -aron Pretérito endings for -ar verbs are:

23. -í -iste -ió -imos -isteis -ieron Pretérito endings for –er / -ir verbs are:

24. REMEMBER: • accents on the “yo” form and the “él / ella / Ud.” form • -ar / -ir “nosotros” form is the same in present and pretérito

25. tomé tomaste tomó tomamos tomasteis tomaron tomar (-ar verbs) Por ejemplo:

26. hablé hablaste habló hablamos hablasteis hablaron hablar (-ar verbs) Por ejemplo:

27. comí comiste comió comimos comisteis comieron comer (-er / -irverbs) Por ejemplo:

28. trabajé trabajaste trabajó trabajamos trabajasteis trabajaron trabajar (-ar verbs) Por ejemplo:

29. volví volviste volvió volvimos volvisteis volvieron volver (-er / -irverbs) Por ejemplo:

30. abrí abriste abrió abrimos abristeis abrieron abrir (-er / -irverbs) Por ejemplo:

31. escribí escribiste escribió escribimos escribisteis escribieron escribir (-er / -irverbs) Por ejemplo:

32. Verbs ending in -car, -gar, and-zar have a spelling change in the “yo” form of the pretérito. Unos Irregulares: buscar tocar practicar pagar jugar llegar almorzar empezar comenzar

33. The “yo” form of the pretérito changes to conserve the sound of the infinitive: -car -gar -zar “-qué” “-gué” “-cé” “tocé” “jugé” “rezé”

34. busqué buscaste buscó buscamos buscasteis buscaron buscar (-carverbs) Por ejemplo:

35. practiqué practicaste practicó practicamos practicasteis practicaron practicar (-carverbs) Por ejemplo:

36. pagué pagaste pagó pagamos pagasteis pagaron pagar (-garverbs) Por ejemplo:

37. jugué jugaste jugó jugamos jugasteis jugaron jugar (-garverbs) Por ejemplo:

38. almorcé almorzaste almorzó almorzamos almorzasteis almorzaron almorzar (-zarverbs) Por ejemplo:

39. empecé empezaste empezó empezamos empezasteis empezaron empezar (-zarverbs) Por ejemplo:

40. There are several Spanish adjectives that have a shortened form when they precede certain nouns.

41. The most common shortened adjectives are those that drop the final -o in front of a masculine singular noun. normalshortenedmeaning algunoalgún some buenobuen good malomal bad ningunoningún no, none postreropostrer last, final primeroprimer first tercerotercer third unoun one, a Note that algún and ningún require the addition of an accent in order to maintain the proper word stress.

42. The adjective Santo is shortened to San when it precedes most masculine saints' names. San Diego San José San Juan San Luís San Miguel San Tobías exceptions: Santo Domingo, Santo Tomás, Santo Toribio

43. There are two adjectives which are shortened before a noun of either gender: grande gran big cualquiera cualquier any

44. Ciento is shortened to cien when it precedes a plural noun of either gender or when it multiplies a number. ciento veinte 120 cien euros 100 euros cien mil 100,000

45. Los Números en Español Spanish4Teachers.org

46. Del 0 al 100 • 0-19 • 20 = veinte • 30 = treinta • 40 = cuarenta • 50 = cincuenta • 60 = sesenta • 70 = setenta • 80 = ochenta • 90 = noventa • 100 = cien Spanish4Teachers.org

47. Del 20 al 99 Notice: the numbers that only form one word are… Spanish4Teachers.org

48. Recuerda!!! • Los números del 0 al 99 are very important because they make part of all the other numbers that follow… Spanish4Teachers.org

49. 100, 200, 300, 400, …, 900 • To learn the numbers from 100- 999, we must first learn the ones ending in two CEROS. Like which ones??? Spanish4Teachers.org

50. 200, 300, 400, …, 900 • 200 = doscientos • 300 = trescientos • 400 = cuatrocientos • 500 = quinientos • 600 = seiscientos • 700 = setecientos • 800 = ochocientos • 900 = novecientos Trick: Number + cientos Be careful with these because they are exceptions!!! Spanish4Teachers.org