Lesson 5.6 Direct Object Pronouns and the word HER

In the flashcards, you have these two cards:

1. 1) We are going to see her = La vamos a verla.

2) I am going to bring her  = La voy a traer.

Both sentences use the word HER in English as a direct object:

WE (subject) are going to see HER (direct object)

I (subject) am going to bring HER (direct object)

So, why are the answers different?  Why is the pronoun stated twice in the first flashcard and only once in the second when the construction of the sentences in English are identical?

Could the answers also be switched like this:

1. 1) We are going to see her = La vamos a ver.
2. 2) I am going to bring her = La voy a traerlo.

Are those also correct answers???

1. I get really frustrated with these Flashcards! 
   IF there is more than 1 correct answer to how to say the statement in English, then I would find it really helpful if both answers were listed on the flashcard. And they could note that on the English side so you know to provide more than one answer. Otherwise, I don't know if MY answer is actually wrong.
   
   Does anyone else feel this way?
   If so, please let Rocket Spanish know so they can “fix” this.
2. 
   
    

I agree, that first example could either be La vamos a ver OR Vamos a verla.  I don't know why it is the way it is. Several times I have thought to myself, “Aha, I found a mistake." But Liss always comes in and explains a complexity that makes it correct.  That said, the lesson examples don't show La vamos a verla, so perhaps it is a mistake. I am sure we will hear soon.

Lesson 5.6 (plus 5.7 and 5.8) has come up in the forum a number of times as these topics are challenging. I would tell you that I tried hard to get it perfect for a while and really got frustrated. So I moved on and that is what I should have done to start with. You will have many lessons after this with pronouns in them that drive home the lessons over and over again (indirectly) and, at least in my experince - I am finishing up Lesson 8 now, you start to grasp it fairly well. 

Regarding multiple correct answers, about Module 5 is when I realized I wasn't making a lot of mistakes, I was just giving different correct answers. The problem with trying to list them all is there would be so many. Like Alme, I now celebrate when I get what is a correct answer, but not a perfect match to the flashcards. Of course, if I am not 99% I was correct, I go check it with other online resources, but I have definitely reached a level where I am comfortable with that issue. In fact, sometimes I will say, “There are at least two ways to say this” and then say them both.

If you have made it to Module 5, you are doing very well. Congratulations!  Soon you will be an A2 Spanish speaker!

¡Hola a todos!

The topic of direct and indirect object pronouns is indeed always a tricky one, since Spanish just works so differently from English! 

To say “(We) are going to see her,” there are three main options in Spanish:

La vamos a ver.

Vamos a verla.

La vamos a ver a ella.

In the first and second options, we're using the direct object pronoun la “her” in each of its possible positions in this sentence: before the conjugated verb (La vamos a ver) and attached to the end of the infinitive (Vamos a verla). It isn't actually possible for us to repeat la “her” twice in one sentence and say "La vamos a verla" - Spanish doesn't allow this. We can only use la once, and we have to choose one of the possible positions for direct object pronouns.

There is also the third option, though, which I think may be the one that you had trouble with in the flashcards: La vamos a ver a ella. In this sentence, we're using both the direct object pronoun la “her” and the prepositional pronoun ella “her” to refer to the same person - which is both perfectly correct and very common in Spanish, and can seem just bizarre to native English speakers! The reason why Spanish speakers use these two pronouns in one sentence is for clarity or for emphasis - essentially, it's like saying “We are going to see her, specifically.” It might help to revisit the section on this in Lesson 5.6 titled “Using Prepositional Pronouns With A,” where there's a full explanation on how this works. 

Now, because there can be so many ways of saying the same thing in Spanish, this can indeed make things tricky when you're doing the Reinforcement activities! That's why we provide hints through the literal translations - you'll notice that literal translations are always included for sentences where pronouns are attached to the ends of infinitives (like in the sentence Quiero enviarla “(I) want to send it” (literally: “… to send+it”)), where pronouns are attached to the ends of present participles (like in the sentence Estoy comprándolos “(I) am buying them” (literally: “… buying+them”)) and where both direct object and prepositional pronouns are used in one sentence (like in the sentence La vamos a ver a ella “(We) are going to see her” (literally: “We her are going to see her”)). So these little hints can help you see which version the activity has in mind. And if you happen to go through an activity and realize that the answer you gave is just another correct way of saying the sentence, you can always choose to give that question an “easy” rating so that you don't get quizzed on it again.

I hope that this is helpful! These kinds of pronouns are indeed complicated, and as Scott_C says, sometimes simply moving on to the next lesson can help if you're feeling frustrated - it can give you a bit of a brain break, and you will see more examples that can help the principles start to click. Or, you can always come on here with your questions, and we'll help you out! 

Do let me know if any of this is unclear or if you'd like more explanation on anything!

Saludos,

Liss

Oh, my apologies, Daniel-rF, I realized I did miss one sentence that you had asked about: "La voy a traerlo". 

This sentence doesn't work in Spanish because it contains two direct object pronouns: la “her” and lo “him” and we can't use two direct object pronouns in one sentence. So, essentially, this is a mash-up of two sentences: La voy a traer “(I) am going to bring her” (which could also be said as Voy a traerla or (if we wanted to be emphatic) as La voy a traer a ella) and Voy a traerlo “(I) am going to bring him" (which could also be said as Lo voy a traer or (if we wanted to be emphatic) as Lo voy a traer a él).

I hope this is helping to clear things up! Again, don't hesitate to ask if you have questions! 

Hasta la próxima,

Liss