#objetos directos

Oh that’s totally not a problem. When I say I don’t want to do people’s homework I usually mean I don’t want to write their essays for them.

So, what you’re seeing with decírtelo is a combination of three things: the infinitive form decir, plus te, and then a direct object lo

Or in other words, combining direct and indirect objects with a verb in some way.

But I will say before beginning that the accent marks appear because of something extremely complicated known as esdrújula which is not really a beginner topic. It’s really: “Why does that word have an accent mark?”

Basically that whole thing is how you decide if and where to put in accent marks.

Saying decirte “telling you” would have no accent, but then you add decírtelo and it does because you added a new particle to the word but the emphasis was always on the “cir” and without the accent mark people might put it on the “te” instead. 

Again, it’s very complicated especially for beginners so just be aware of it but don’t worry if you don’t know it.

There are three ways that you see this:

Infinitive form [which is often optional]

Gerund or progressive form

Affirmative commands

#1 - Infinitive form

The infinitive form is the textbook dictionary form a verb. It’s just unconjugated.

You would use this either because you have a conjugated verb + an unconjugated verb, usually with a helping verb that’s already conjugated like poder, querer, or debe… or when you’re using the verb as a noun like “the action or result of a verb”

When you have two verbs together, one is conjugated and the one that follows (or sometimes the multiple ones that follow) are in infinitive form. And when you add direct or indirect objects, you normally have the option to put them all in front of the conjugated verb… OR you can attach them all to the verb in the infintiive

Te lo digo. = I’m telling you. [one conjugated verb]

Tengo que decírtelo. = I have to tell you (it). [one conjugated verb + unconjugated verb]

Te lo tengo que decir. = I have to tell you (it). [alternative form]

And since you might be in a position where you could use multiple verbs here’s one:

Quiero poder decírtelo. = I want to be able to tell you (it).

It would sound really strange adding all of that in front. I’m not sure if it’s possible. Like, it would make sense but it would sound very strange.

Most people put the things at the end, particularly English speakers since in English we tend to put our objects at the end and it feels more natural.

Since infinitive can sometimes be used by itself I’ll show you sort of what that looks like:

Decírtelo es difícil. = Telling you (it) is hard.

Querer decírtelo y poder decírtelo son cosas muy distintas. = Wanting to tell you (it) and being able to tell you are very different things.

#2 - Gerund/Progressive form

The gerund is the “-ing” form of a verb. It’s a verbal form, not exactly conjugated, but it’s not the same as the infinitive.

These normally come in with estar, or a verb of motion like ir, seguir, or andar.

Me lo sigues diciendo. = You keep telling me (it). / You continue telling me (it).

Sigues diciéndomelo. = You keep telling me (it). / You continue telling me (it).

Again, sometimes you might see a helping verb in there somewhere:

Tienes que seguir diciéndomelo. = You have to keep telling me (it).

Puedes seguir diciéndomelo. = You can kee telling me (it).

#3 - Affirmative Commands

Negative commands are worded differently, but this is somewhat more complicated.

First you need to know how to conjugate commands. With commands, there’s tú command for informal, usted command for formal, and a plural command if you’re talking to multiple people.

Second you need to get the indirect object right because it could be different.

And then you need to get the direct object right because what you’re talking about might be masculine or feminine depending on context.

So for example, say that the lo in this is el regalo “gift”, while the la here is la carta “letter”:

Dámelo. = Give it to me. [informal]

Démelo. = Give it to me. [formal]Dénmelo. = Give it to me. [plural]

Dámela. = Give it to me. [informal]Démela. = Give it to me. [formal]Dénmela. = Give it to me. [plural]

There’s a lot of weirdness to unpack in all of that but it has to do with esdrújula and that’s also weird.

Side Note: When an indirect object is 3rd person [him/her/usted or them/you all] + direct object, the indirect object turns to se so that you don’t have to use le and les and trip yourself up

pedir un favor = to ask for a favorpedirte un favor = to ask a favor of you / to ask you a favorpedirle un favor = to ask a favor of him/her/Youpedirles un favor = to ask a favor of them/you all

pedírtelo = to ask you for (it) [lit. “to request it of you”]

pedírselo (a él) = to ask him for itpedírselo (a ella) = to ask her for itpedírselo (a usted) = to ask you for it [formal]pedírselo (a ellos / ellas) = to ask them for itpedírselo (a ustedes) = to ask you all for it

Spain also has vosotros which is like “you all” but informal… so like “y’all”

That would be pediros un favor and then pedíroslo

Commands can sometimes be reflexive so you might see them with accent marks too: levántate [tú], levántese [usted], and levántense [plural] which all mean “get up!” in different levels of formality.

There are cases where a command might have a direct object and also be reflexive:

ponerse la ropa = to put on clothes

Ponte el abrigo. = Put your coat on.Ponte la chaqueta. = Put your jacket on.Ponte los zapatos. = Put your shoes on.Ponte las medias. = Put your socks on. [la media is a regional word for “sock”, you’re probably used to el calcetín for “sock” and los calcetines for plural]

Póntelo. = Put it on.Póntela. = Put it on.Póntelos. = Put them on.Póntelas. = Put them on.

Again, poner is an irregular verb.

You’d get the same kind of construction with quitarse la ropa “to take off clothes”:

Quítatelo. = Take it off.Quítatela. = Take it off.Quítatelos. = Take them off.Quítatelas. = Take them off.

That depends on whether the noun in question is masculine or feminine. For direct objects, it’s about gender and singularity/plurality. In translations, the direct object is normally understood as “it”

So...

Masculine

Tengo un paraguas. = I have an umbrella.Lo tengo. = I have it.

Tengo dinero. = I have money.Lo tengo. = I have it.

Tengo los zapatos. = I have the shoes.Los tengo. = I have them.

Tengo los libros. = I have the books.Los tengo. = I have them.

Feminine

Tengo una bufanda. = I have a scarf.La tengo. = I have it.

Tengo la respuesta. = I have the answer.La tengo. = I have it.

Tengo ideas. = I have ideas.Las tengo. = I have them.

I have a big post on that which should be helpful:

Anatomy of Spanish - Direct Objects

You use direct objects as stand-ins for nouns.

In other words:

I see the book. => I see it.

I see the man. => I see him.

I see the woman. => I see her.

I see the people. => I see them.

I see you guys. => I see you all.

I see our family. => I see us.

It’s that kind of thing.

Rather than stating the object over and over again, you use the direct object pronoun to shorten it.

For example:

Prefiero las rosas. Las compro. = I prefer roses. I’m buying them.

In that sense the las for feminine 3rd person plural is shortened for the noun.

As for position, direct objects always go in front of the first conjugated verb.

If you have two verbs, one conjugated and one not, you can put it all in front, or attach the direct object pronoun to the verb that’s in the infinitive.

Quiero comprar las flores. = I want to buy the flowers.

Las compro. = I buy them. / I’m buying them.

Las quiero comprar. = I want to buy them.Quiero comprarlas. = I want to buy them.

Both are correct, though I think quiero comprarlas is a little more common in everyday Spanish.

The same rules apply for indirect objects. When you have indirect and direct objects together, indirect objects go first.

I always think of it as ID… indirect + direct.

I’ll include the post I did on indirect objects too just in case you want to look at it, because they’re different but can be used together.

Anatomy of Spanish: Indirect Objects

Some additional links

http://www.bowdoin.edu/hispanic-studies/tools/newgr/ats/38.htm

https://conjuguemos.com/activities/spanish/grammar/1 [look for Pronouns: Direct, it should be #40]

The lo is technically gender neutral in Spanish (if we’re talking about nouns/adjectives)

They don’t talk about it too much but there’s el masculine, la feminine, and lo neuter

You don’t usually see lo used with nouns; it’s what you use to make an adjective a noun. Technically this is called “substantive adjective”… which makes no sense unless you know el sustantivo is “noun”

You would normally see lo translated as “what’s”:

importante = importantlo importante = what’s important / the important thingLo importante es que tenemos salud. = What’s important is we have our health.

genial = great/awesomelo genial = what’s great / the great thingManeras en la que tu perro piensa lo genial que eres = Ways in which your dog thinks about how awesome you are [this is an actual clickbait article I saw]

nuevo/a = newlo nuevo = what’s new / the new thingNo todo lo nuevo es mejor. = Not everything that’s new is better. / “Newer doesn’t mean better”.

Here we move onto lo que which is commonly a “what” that connects sentences. By that I mean a lo que connects two conjugated verbs in a compound sentence.

More literally it’s “that which” or “the thing that”…

Eso no es lo que quiero. = That’s not what I want.

No es lo que quise decir. = That’s not what I meant (to say).

No todo lo que brilla es de oro. = Not everything that glitters is gold.

Lo que no entiendo es… = What I don’t understand is…

Y lo que más me enfada es que… = And what really makes me angry is…

Haz lo que quieras. = Do whatever you want. [this is subjunctive]Haz lo que yo diga, no lo que yo haga. = Do as I say, not as I do. [subjunctive]Pueden decir lo que quieran decir. = They can say whatever they want (to say). [again subjunctive]Sea lo que sea… = Be that as it may… [subjunctive; “if it is indeed what it is” is more literal]

Lo que la vida me robó. = What Life Took From Me. [Name of a telenovela]

Lo que el viento se llevó. = Gone With the Wind. [book and movie title; literally it’s “what was taken away with/by the wind”]

In all cases with lo / lo que you’re using something in place of the actual noun. That’s what neuter/neutral gender means; the absence of gender.

While there is masculine or feminine, when it’s ambiguous or a general concept, you go for neuter gender:

La cosa importante… = The important thing…

El detalle importante… = The important detail…

Lo importante… = What’s important…

Using lo here says that you’re not using the noun at all, it’s a stand-in. And because you’re not using the noun, you can’t tell what gender it is, so it’s the absence of gender.

With mismo/a there is something I just want to make a bit clearer:

el mismo (algo) = the same (something)Quiero el mismo coche. = I want the same car.Tengo el mismo problema. = I have the same problem.No es el mismo caso. = It’s not the same case.Tienen el mismo apellido. = They have the same last name.

la misma (algo) = the same (something; feminine)Hemos visto la misma película. = We’ve seen the same movie.Es la misma ropa de siempre. = It’s the same old clothes. [the same clothes as always]Quiero la misma camisa. = I want the same shirt.No debes usar la misma contraseña. = You shouldn’t use the same password.

With lo mismo it’s “the same (one)”… saying quiero lo mismo is “I want the same (thing)”, or quiero tomar lo mismo “I’d like the same (thing) to drink”

You wouldn’t normally be using el mismo without a noun.

What you do sometimes see is something that’s a particular function of mismo/a which is “himself/herself/itself”:

Y él mismo dijo que… = He himself said that…

Está hablando de ella misma. = She’s referring to herself.Habla consigo mismo. = He’s talking to himself. [lit. “he speaks with himself”]Habla consigo misma. = She’s talking to herself.Hablas contigo mismo/a. = You’re talking to yourself.Hablo conmigo mismo/a. = I’m talking to myself.

Puedo hacerlo yo mismo/a. = I can do it myself.

…

The other time you would see a lo is when you’re dealing with direct objects.

Here, lo and los take the place of a 3rd person masculine noun; the lo is singular, but the los is plural.

Direct objects take the place of a noun in a sentence to mean “it”, and can be masculine or feminine, or can even be people:

escribir el mensaje = to write the messageLo escribo. = I’m writing it.Los escribo. = I’m writing them.

escribir la carta = to write the letterLa escribo. = I’m writing it.Las escribo. = I’m writing them.

They’re not really contractions (at least not that I know of, my understand is that the Spanish contractions are al which is a+el and del which is de+el)

The lo with the direct object is an “it”, and it can go in front of a conjugated verb or can be attached to a verb in the infinitive.

It reads as something like…

Lo hago. = I’m doing it.Tengo que hacerlo. / Lo tengo que hacer. = I have to do it.

Lo digo. = I’m saying it.Quiero decirlo. / Lo quiero decir. = I want to say it.

A direct object may be la depending on the context, if the noun is feminine.

hacer la cama = to make the bed, so la hago would be “I am making it”… where “it” is implied to be la cama.

Direct objects could also be people depending on the verb. Saying lo conozco is “I know him” or la conozco “I know her”, same with los conozco “I know them” or las conozco “I know them”.

Similarly you can say quiero conocerla / la quiero conocer… etc.

Anatomy of Spanish - Direct Objects

Direct Objects Tag

In general, the lo is an “it”.

When it comes to (yo) no sé or (yo) no lo sé it’s a bit more situational, but neither is wrong.

In general circumstances, no sé is either “I don’t know” by itself or you have a verb that follows, or you’re opening the conversation.

With no lo sé “I don’t know (it)” this is more when someone asks you a question or asks you about something, or if you know the answer to something. This implies that an “it” has been stated or at least implied:

¿Sabes dónde está María? = Do you know where María is?

Spanish Direct and Indirect Objects