TEXT IN SPANISH. This study contributes to the understanding of synchronic and diachronic aspects of the grammatical relation of the indirect object in Spanish as it appears on the Iberian Peninsula as well as in Latin America. The following aspects have not been investigated until now: Firstly, the grammaticalisation of the cross-reference (from the 21th century to the 21st century) -- the double representation of the indirect object in the light of Henning Andersen's theory of 'drift'. Secondly, an adaptation of the idea of grammatical relations in functional linguistics as it is presented by Simon Dik and Michael Heslund. All kinds of genres are being studied.