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Clitics ("object pronouns") in Spanish
In simple terms, a clitic is a special kind of "semi-word": something that grammatically behaves as a word, but is always "glued on to" the beginning or end of another word1. An example in English is -n't, as in don't, won't etc.
Like related languages such as French, Spanish uses a system of clitics for the object of a verb when that object is a pronoun. For many speakers, the overall system of clitics looks as follows:
| Corresponding subject person | Direct object | Indirect object | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo I | me (to) me, (to) myself | él me preguntó si... he asked me if... | |
| tú you | te (to) you, (to) yourself | te veo I (can) see you te doy un libro I'm giving you a book, I'll give you a book | |
| él he; (it)2 | lo him, it | le to him/her/it | lo vi I saw him le di un libro I gave him a book |
| ella she; (it)2 | la her, it | la vi I saw her le di un libro I gave her a book | |
| él, la, ellos, ellas he/she/it/they | se himself, herself, themself, itself, themselves | se levantó tarde he got up late (lit "he got himself up") | |
| nosotros, -as we | nos (to) us, (to) ourselves | nos cree he/she believes us nos dio un libro he gave us a book | |
| vosotros, -as you (all) | os (to) you, (to) yourselves | os cree he/she believes you | |
| ellos they | los them | les to them | los vi ayer I saw them yesterday les di un libro I gave them a book |
| ellas they | las them | las veo mañana I('ll) see them tomorrow | |
1. In technical terms, we might say they are syntactically independent but phonologically
dependent constituents.
2. 'it' appears in brackets here because it's actually rare to use these subject pronouns to refer to something inanimate.
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