Answers:
1) Penélope <u>me</u> muestra sus fotos
2) <u>Les</u> explican el problema
3) ¿Quién <u>le</u> presta el libro de historia?
4) <u>Te</u> compro un suéter bonito
5) <u>Les</u> voy a dar mis composiciones [a mis profesores]
6) ¿<u>Nos</u> vas a traer el documento?
Explanation:
Let’s begin by explaining that the <u>Indirect Object</u> of a sentence is the person, animal or thing that <u>i</u><u>ndirectly receives</u> the action of the verb.
To identify it in a sentence, we must ask to the verb ¿a quién? (to whom?) Or ¿para quién? (for whom?)
For example, if we have the followig sentence:
<em>(Yo) Voy a leer el libro a Juan (I'm going to read the book to Juan)</em>
If we ask ourselves the following question:
¿A quién voy a leer el libro?
(To whom am I going to read the book?)
The answer is:
A Juan
(To Juan)
Being Juan (him) who<u> indirectly receives the action</u>, therefore the <u>indirect object</u> or indirect complement of the sentence.
In this sense, the <u>Indirect Object Pronouns</u> <u>replace a word or phrase, which in the sentence fulfills the function of indirect object</u>. They are <u>written before the verb</u>, when it is conjugated.
These pronouns are listed below:
1st person singular Yo: me
2nd person singular (informal) Tú: te
2nd person singular (formal) Usted: le
3rd person singular Él/Ella/eso/esa: le
1st person plural Nosotros: nos
2nd person plural Ustedes (In latinAmerica): les
2nd person plural Vosotros (In Spain): os
3rd person plural Ellos/Ellas: les
Then, returning to the sentence <em>Voy a leer el libro a Juan</em>, knowing that the <u>indirect object</u> is Juan, who is the <u>3rd person singular</u> Él (he); the <u>indirect object pronoun</u> in Spanish is <u>le</u>.
In that way the initial sentence changes to:
Le voy a leer el libro (a Juan)
I'm going to read the book (to Juan)
<h2><u>Having this clear, let's begin with the answers:</u></h2>
1. Penélope muestra sus fotos a mí (Penelope shows her photos to me).
If we ask:
¿A quién muestra sus fotos Penélope? (To whom Penelope shows her photos?)
The answer is:
A mí (To me)
Being mí (I) the <u>1st person in singular</u>, the corresponding <u>indirect object pronoun</u> is me, and the new changed sentence is:
<h2>Penélope <u>me</u> muestra sus fotos</h2>
(Penelope shows me her photos)
2. A ustedes explican el problema (The problem is explained to you).
If we ask:
¿A quiénes le explican el problema? (To whom is explained the problem?)
The answer is:
A ustedes (To you)
Being ustedes (you) the <u>2nd person in plural</u>, the corresponding <u>indirect object pronoun</u> is les, and the new changed sentence is:
<h2><u>Les</u> explican el problema [a ustedes]</h2>
(The problem is explained to you)
3. ¿Quién presta el libro de historia a José? (Who lends the history book to Joseph?)
If we ask:
¿A quién prestan el libro de historia? (To whom is lend the history book?)
The answer is:
A José (To José)
Being José (he) the <u>3rd person in singular</u>, the corresponding <u>indirect object pronoun</u> is le, and the new changed sentence is:
<h2>¿Quién <u>le</u> presta el libro de historia [a
José]? </h2>
(Who lends the history book [to Jose]?)
4. A ti compro un suéter bonito (I buy a nice sweater for you).
If we ask:
¿A quién compro el suéter bonito? (To whom do I buy the pretty sweater?)
The answer is:
A ti (To you)
Being ti (you) the <u>2nd person in singular</u>, the corresponding <u>indirect object pronoun</u> is te, and the new changed sentence is:
<h2><u>Te</u> compro un suéter bonito</h2>
(I buy you a pretty sweater)
5. Yo voy a dar mis composiciones a mis profesores (I'm going to give my compositions to my teachers).
If we ask:
¿A quién voy a dar mis composiciones? (To whom am I going to give my compositions?)
The answer is:
A mis profesores(To my teachers [To them])
Being profesores (they) the <u>3rd person in plural</u>, the corresponding <u>indirect object pronoun</u> is les, and the new changed sentence is:
<h2>Les voy a dar mis composiciones [a mis profesores]</h2>
(I am going to give the compositions to them [my teachers])
6. ¿Vas a traer el documento a Ramón y a mí? (Are you going to bring the document to Ramón and me?)
If we ask:
¿A quién vas a traer el documento? (To whom are you going to bring the document?)
The answer is:
A Ramón y a mí (To Ramón and me [To us])
Being Ramón and me (nosotros ) the <u>1st person in plural</u>, the corresponding <u>indirect object pronoun</u> is nos, and the new changed sentence is:
<h2>¿<u>Nos</u> vas a traer el documento [a Ramón y a mí]? </h2>
(Are you going to bring us the document [To Ramón and me]?)
