Direct Objects, Direct Object Pronouns and The –ing Participle

E. Siler

REVIEW: English Direct Objects

• Direct objects in English and Spanish are NOUN phrases.

• In both languages they occur with transitive verbs, but not with intransitive verbs.

Examples

• It’s important to remember that NOUN phrases can get quite long.

• They can involve a noun, a bunch of adjectives, adverbs and even clauses that modify the noun.

• The cat ate the mouse.

• The cat ate the disgusting mouse.

• The cat ate the revoltingly disgusting mouse that had snuck into our kitchen.

Direct Object Pronouns

• Direct objects can be or can be replaced with direct object pronouns.

• He doesn’t like me.

• He doesn’t like you.

• He doesn’t like the woman who is sitting in the window seat. > her.

ENGLISH Direct Object Pronoun Chart

Person Singular Plural

First Me us

Second You You

Third Him/ her/ it Them

Reflexive Pronouns in English

• Reflexives are another type of direct object pronoun.

• We use them only to reflect back to the subject of the verb.

Person Singular Plural

First Myself ourselves

Second Yourself yourselves

Third Himself/herself/itself

themselves

Use

• I wanted to kill myself.

• He killed himself.

• She killed herself.

• They killed themselves.

• You should kill yourselves!

Spanish Direct Objects

• The ideal situation in Spanish is that the direct object is a noun phrase that comes directly after the verb.

• Unfortunately, such is not always the case.

Human Direct Objects

• In Spanish, if a direct object is a human being, the Spanish generally stick a little “a” in between the verb and the direct object.

Examples

• Ex: La madre alimentaba a su hija.

• The mother was feeding her daughter.

• This is not done with non-human direct objects.

• Ex: La mujer alimentaba su perro.

• The woman was feeding her dog.

THE REASON FOR THIS

• If the subject can pretty much move around the sentence with impunity, then imagine how hard it would be to figure out who did/does what to whom if there were no markers to show which noun phrase is the subject and which the direct object.

Contrast

• Which two sentences mean the same thing?

• Ayudó el hombre a la mujer.

• Ayudó la mujer al hombre.

• Ayudó a la mujer el hombre.

Spanish Direct Object Pronouns

• This is the list of direct object pronouns:

PERSON SINGULAR PLURAL

First Me nos

Second Te / lo - la Los/las

Third Lo – la Los/ las

Placement

• Direct object pronouns go before the first verb in a verb phrase. OR

• If the verb phrase has a non-finite verb (usually an infinitive) at the end, the direct object pronoun can be stuck onto the end.

Examples

• El gato quiere comer el ratón.

• El gato lo quiere comer.

• El gato quiere comerlo.

Se as a direct object

• Se can also sometimes be a pure reflexive pronoun, the equivalent of himself, herself, themselves, and even “yourself” and “yourselves” (when it refers back to “usted” and “ustedes”)

Examples

• Note the use of “sí mismo” in this construction to clarify exactly who the “se” refers to.

• El hombre se mató a sí mismo. (The man killed himself). • La mujer se mató a sí misma. (The woman killed herself).• Los hombres se mataron a sí mismos (The men killed

themselves).• Las mujeres se mataron a sí mismas (The women killed

themselves).• Ustedes se deben matar a sí mismos (You all should kill

yourselves). • Usted se debe matar a sí mismo (You should kill youself).

SE so far

• Thus, “se” can do these three things:

• Make a verb in the third person passive.

• Se terminó el trabajo. (The work was finished.)

• Indicate some intransitive verbs.

• Se murió el hombre. (The man died.)

• Indicate what we traditionally think of as reflexives.

• El hombre se mató. (The man killed himself.)

One More Verb Structure

• Although Spanish doesn’t have a gerund form, it does have an –ing participle form, often called the present participle.

-ing Participles in English

• In English, this structure is found in sentences such as:

• Walking down the street, I saw you.

• He continued onwards, walking slowly.

The –ING Participle in Spanish

• In Spanish, this structure is formed by changing the verb according to the infinitive class.

• The –ar verbs, drop “ar” and add “ando.”

• Caminando por la calle, yo te vi. . . (Walking along the street, I saw you).

-ER/IR Participles

• The –er and –ir verbs, drop the “er” or “ir” and add “iendo.”

• Comiendo con sus amigos, el hombre la vio. (Eating with his friends, the man saw her.)

• If there is a “three vowel stack up” in the participle, the form will be –yendo.

• Creyendo en el dios, el hombre rezó la oración. (Believing in God, the man said the prayer.)

Uses of the -Ing Participle

• The –ing participle in Spanish is used in much the same way as in English --- to indicate one of two actions done by the subject at the same time.

• Caminando por la calle, yo te vi. (I was doing two things: walking and seeing you).

Other Uses

• The –ing participle can also be used after other verbs to create verb phrases.

• One common one is “seguir + ing participle” which means “to keep on doing something.”

• Ex: Yo sigo explicando la gramatica peronadie me entiende. (I keep on explaining grammar but nobody understands me!).

Another Verb Phrase w/Participle

• Another is “ir + ing participle” which means “to do something steadily.” Ellos fueronpreparando las lecciones (They steadily went on preparing the lessons).

Direct Object Pronouns and Participles

• In Spanish a direct object pronoun can be attached to the end of the present participle.

• Yo fui haciéndolo. (I went on doing it steadily).