Do not look for the term 'reduced direct object' elsewhere. I only invented it to explain the different positions of direct objects.
The direct object is what we get if we ask "What does the subject [verb]?", where [verb] refers to all verbs in the clause. E.g. "He has made an apple pie". The answer to "What has he made?" is the direct object, in this case 'an apple pie'.1
Normally, the direct object is placed in the middle part of the main clause, which we will deal with later. However, if the direct object consists of a single personal pronoun, it occurs in the left part of the main clause.
The personal pronouns that can function as direct objects are _me/mij, je/jou, haar, hem, het, ons, jullie_ and _hen_. See also [personal pronouns](#/lesson/Pronouns.Ps01).
[FF](#/lesson/WordOrder.04) | DIROB' | [TIME](#/lesson/WordOrder.13) | [MANNER](#/lesson/WordOrder.14) | [OV](#/lesson/WordOrder.24)
We hebben | hem | gisteren | nog | gezien
We only saw him yesterday
[FF](#/lesson/WordOrder.04) | DIROB' | [TIME](#/lesson/WordOrder.13) | [PLACE](#/lesson/WordOrder.15) | [OV](#/lesson/WordOrder.24)
Hij gaat | ze | vanavond | op Schiphol | uitzwaaien
He will see them off at Schiphol (Airport) tonight.
An example of a main clause that contains both a reduced direct object and a reflexive pronoun:
[FF](#/lesson/WordOrder.04) | [RP](#/lesson/WordOrder.05) | DIROB' | [not](#/lesson/WordOrder.45) | [OV](#/lesson/WordOrder.24)
Ik kan | me | haar | niet | herinneren
I do not remember her.
An exception is the pronoun 'het': If the reduced direct object is 'het', we place it immediately after the FF. In the following example, the reduced direct object is placed before the reduced indirect object:
[FF](#/lesson/WordOrder.04) | DIROB' | [INDOB'](#/lesson/WordOrder.06) | - | [OV](#/lesson/WordOrder.24)
Jullie hebben | het | hun | - | verteld
Lit: you (plural) have told\* them it
(\*) In English, we rarely use a reduced indirect object if the direct object is already reduced. If we use a reduced direct object (it), the English phrase would be: You have told it to them.
An example of the reduced direct object preceding the reflexive pronoun: _Ik kan het me niet herinneren._
[1] By asking the above question, you sometimes get a component other than the direct object. An example is the undergoing object: _Het kan me niet schelen_ (I do not care, or: It does not hurt me). If we ask " _Wat_ kan het niet schelen?", the answer is " _Me._" So this is an undergoing object. However, since it behaves the precise same way as the reduced direct object, we will not break our heads over it.