lo, la, los, las: the first object pronouns

Not repeating the noun

In I buy the bread, the bread is the direct object: the thing that receives the action directly. To avoid repeating it, English says I buy it. Spanish uses lo, la, los, las, chosen by the gender and number of the noun they replace:

English “it” can be lo or la in Spanish: it depends on the noun. La puerta (the door) becomes la; el coche (the car) becomes lo.

Position: before the conjugated verb

A conjugated verb is a verb with an ending that shows who does it (compro, tienes, vemos). The pronoun goes in front of it, the opposite of English:

• Compro el pan y lo pongo en la mesa.I buy the bread and put it on the table.
• ¿Tienes las llaves? Sí, las tengo.Do you have the keys? Yes, I have them.
• ¿Dónde está mi móvil? No lo veo.Where's my phone? I can't see it.
• Esta canción es muy bonita, la escucho todos los días.This song is very nice, I listen to it every day.
• Los zapatos son caros, pero los quiero.The shoes are expensive, but I want them.

In a negative sentence the order is no + pronoun + verb:

• No lo entiendo.I don't understand it.

With an infinitive: two correct positions

With querer, poder, tener que, ir a + infinitive (Querer, poder, necesitar + infinitive), the pronoun can go before the conjugated verb or be attached to the end of the infinitive. Both are correct and equally common:

• Lo quiero comprar.I want to buy it.
• Quiero comprarlo.I want to buy it.

It can never go between the two verbs: Quiero lo comprar.

Lo for an idea

Lo also stands for a whole idea or situation, like English “it” or “so”. Two fixed phrases you'll use every day: No lo sé (I don't know) and Lo siento (I'm sorry, literally “I feel it”).

People too

Lo, la, los, las also mean him, her, them for people. People as direct objects take the personal a (The personal a: Veo a María):

• ¿Ves a Marta? Sí, la veo.Can you see Marta? Yes, I can see her.

In much of Spain, many speakers say le instead of lo for a man or boy: Le veo (I see him). This use, called leísmo, is accepted by the Real Academia Española for a male person in the singular. Lo is correct everywhere and is the form practised here. Using le for things (le compro for “I buy it”) is not accepted. The full story is in Leísmo, laísmo, loísmo: Spain's variation and the norm.

The complete system comes in Direct object pronouns in full.

Common mistakes

• Tengo lo → Lo tengo. The pronoun goes before the conjugated verb.
• La puerta, lo abro → La abro. Match the noun's gender, not English “it”.
• Quiero lo comprar → Lo quiero comprar or Quiero comprarlo.
• Lo compro el pan → Compro el pan or Lo compro. Use the noun or the pronoun, not both.
• Le compro (the bread) → Lo compro. Le is not used for things.