Learning the differences between direct objects (D.O.) and indirect objects (I.O.) in Spanish is rather challenging for English speakers. Not only are the words for these objects very similar, but knowing when to use one or the other is tricky. And then to top it off, the objects come before the verbs in Spanish, rather than after them like in English (except in command forms or after infinitives) So much to get used to.
But all it takes is a little practice and you will get the hang of it.
An object of a sentence is the person or thing upon which the action of the verb is acted. It is NOT the subject of the sentence, but rather that which the subject acts on. For example, “Joe hugged Rover”. Rover is the object. In this case Rover is a direct object.
If you can put the would “to” or “for” in front of the object and it makes sense, then this is an indirect object. In English, this “to” or “for” may be silent, or implied, depending on the verb. “Joe told Rover to sit.” Here the “to” is implied in English, but in Spanish it is usually always expressed by using an indirect object.
WHEN TO USE A D.O. OR AN I.O.
Certain verbs always trigger one or the other. And it is just a matter of becoming familiar with which verbs use a D.O., and which use an I.O. Verbs involving communication to another person, like decir, contestar, responder, preguntar, pedir, explicar, contar, always trigger the I.O.
The D.O. in Spanish are
me = me
te = you familiar
lo = him, you formal (male), it (male)
la = her, you formal (female), it (female)
nos = us
os = you familiar plural (only in Spain)
los = you or them (plural and male)
las = you or them (plural and female)
The I.O. are
me = me
te = you familiar
le = him, her, you formal, or it
nos = us
os = you familiar plural (only in Spain)
les = you or them (plural, male or female)
You can see the similarities in that me, te, nos and os are the same for either. The only thing you have to worry about when choosing which to use is differentiating the lo, la, or le, and their plural equivalents. And like I said earlier, you are more likely to remember which verb gets which object just by the frequency you encounter the verb, either in text, or by hearing it. But if you aren’t sure, if “to” or “for” makes sense before the object, use the I.O.
And finally, if you get it wrong, most speakers realize that you are not a native speaker and they will know what you are trying to express. At least though, try to get the gender correct if it’s a D.O. because that could lead to some confusion if you mix those up.
