Direct, Indirect Objects, and Other Complements in Spanish

Direct Object (CD)

The direct object (CD) is the complete, direct object of a transitive verb. It indicates the thing or person that receives the action of the verb. It is a Noun Phrase (NP) that can be preceded by the preposition a (SPREP). It can be expressed with a pronoun or a personal substantive subordinate clause. It joins the verb in two ways:

• Without a preposition when it refers to a thing.
• With the preposition a when it refers to a person or a personified being.

It takes the lead when it comes to personal names with a generic sense. It can be replaced with unstressed personal pronouns: lo, la, los, las. When the CD comes before the verb, it must be repeated later as an unstressed personal pronoun (redundancy). Another way to recognize the CD is by transforming the active voice to passive voice; the CD becomes the subject in the passive sentence. There are verbs that carry the CD, but you cannot make the transformation from active to passive, even if they admit pronominal substitution.

Indirect Object (CI)

The indirect object (CI) is a prepositional phrase with the preposition a that designates the recipient of the action of the verb. It can also be expressed with a pronoun or a prepositional substantive subject. It can be replaced with unstressed personal pronouns le, les. The pronouns le, les take the form of se when the CD is also a pronoun to avoid cacophony. It supports a dual form when it is nominal and pronominal and precedes the verb (redundant).

Regime Complement (C. Reg)

The regime complement (C. Reg) is a prepositional phrase that some verbs require to complete their meaning. It differs from the CD in that it is not replaced by an unstressed pronoun, but by a tonic pronoun predicted by the preposition. It should not be confused with the Circumstantial Complement (CC). By removing the CD, the sentence still makes sense, while the C. Reg is necessary for the sentence to be meaningful. The C. Reg can also be expressed by a substantive subordinate clause.

Predicative Complement (C. Pred)

The predicative complement (C. Pred) is usually an adjectival phrase that relates to both a predicative verb and the subject, with which it agrees in gender and number. Sometimes, it is an adjectival phrase or a noun phrase that matches the CD. Do not confuse the C. Pred, which always accompanies a predicate verb, with an attribute. If you remove the C. Pred, information is lost, but the meaning is preserved. If you remove the attribute, the sentence loses its meaning. It should also not be confused with a CC because, while it depends on the verb, it agrees with the subject or the CD, unlike the CC.

Agent Complement

The agent complement is a prepositional phrase with the preposition por that appears only in the passive voice, indicating the author or agent performing the action of the passive verb. It can be recognized because it is the subject in the active construction.

Circumstantial Complement (CC)

Semantically, the circumstantial complement (CC) expresses the varied circumstances in which the verbal action is done. They can be: time, place, manner, purpose, cause, instrument, and company. Several circumstantial complements may be included in a verb phrase. We can move or delete them. The role can be played by: a Noun Phrase (SN), an Adverbial Phrase (PADV), a Prepositional Phrase (SPREP), or an adverbial subordinate clause. The adverbials of place, time, and mode are the most common and can be replaced by adverbs.