Direct object introduced by the preposition "a"
The direct object is not introduced by the preposition "a" when it refers to things or objects.
No vio
el coche y fue atropellado.
He didn't see the car and got hit.
However, it is introduced by the preposition “a” when it refers to people.
Vi
a Lorena en el cine la semana pasada.
I saw Lorena at the movies last week.
There's a phenomenon called "la personificación" which consists
on viewing an inanimate object as an alive body. Animals can also fall into this category. In this situation, the direct object is introduced by the preposition “a”. al perro con champú. Wash the dog with shampoo. esclavos desde Africa al Nuevo Mundo. Colonists transported slaves from Africa to the New World. Direct object - Pronoun Form
The direct object can be substituted for its pronoun form. This phenomenon is called "pronominalización".un neumático del coche el otro día. Lo cambié y lo puse en el maletero. My car's tire burst the other day. I changed it and put it in the trunk.
Singular Plural Masculine lo los Feminine la las
un perro = Mi hermano lo tiene. My brother has a dog = My brother has one. tres latas de refrescos = Sonia las compró. Sonia bought three cans of soda = Sonia bought them. The direct object pronoun can be placed before or after the verb:
- in sentences with Subject+Verb+Predicate structures, the pronoun is usually placed before the verb:
Nosotros veremos a nuestros amigos el viernes – Nosotros los veremos el viernes – Nosotros veremoslos el viernes (INCORRECT) - in the negative imperative form of a verb the pronoun is always placed before the verb:
No comas más hamburguesas - No las comas - No comaslas (INCORRECT) - in the afirmative imperative form of a verb the pronoun is always placed after the verb:
Dime la verdad – Dímela – La dime (INCORRECT) - in sentences with two verbs, and the second verb being in the infinitive or gerund form, the pronoun can be placed after the verb in infinitive or gerund or placed before the two verbs:
Quiero conocer a tu novia – Quiero conocerla – La quiero conocer.
...{end of free content}
