Double Object Pronouns in Spanish



Double Object Pronouns in Spanish

We have looked at both Indirect and Direct Object Pronouns used by themselves and learned that we place them either directly before a conjugated verb or attach them to an infinitive, a gerund or a positive command. 

| |Indirect Object Pronoun | |Direct Object Pronoun |

|Yo |me |(to or for me) | |me |me |

|Tú |te |to or for you | |te |you |

|Él, ella, usted (Ud.) |le |to or for him/her/you formal | |lo |him/it |

| | | | |la |her/it |

|Nosotros(as) |nos |to or for us | |nos |us |

|Vosotros |os |to or for y’all (Spain) | |os |y’all (Spain) |

|Ellos, Ellas, Ustedes (Uds.) |les |to or for them/y’all | |los |them, y’all (masc. or mixed) |

| | | | |las |them, y’all (feminine) |

• Before a conjugated verb or a negative command:

Le dije la verdad a él – I told him the truth. (I told the truth to him)

¡No me digas! – Don’t tell me! (You don’t say!)

• Attached to an infinitive:

María va a prestarme un lápiz. – María is going to lend me a pencil.

• Attached to a positive command:

Dame una hoja de papel, por favor. Give me a sheet of paper, please.

But what happens when we have BOTH direct and indirect object pronouns in one sentence?  Which one goes where? Let's take a look at an example:

Yo te doy el dinero

First, let’s identify the different components of this sentence:

|Yo |Doy |El dinero |Te, a Ti (informal you) |

|subject pronoun |our conjugated verb |direct object |Indirect object pronoun, Indirect object |

|I |I'm giving |(who or what receives the action of | |

| | |the verb) |To whom or for whom the action is performed |

| | | | |

| | |it's what I'm giving |(To you) |

Now, we replace el dinero with the pronoun lo because dinero is masculine and singular.  We already have the Indirect Object Pronoun te.

Both object pronouns must come BEFORE the active/conjugated verb.  But which comes first?

• The indirect object pronoun will ALWAYS come first!

• An easy way to remember this is to think of I.D. (Indirect Object, Direct Object).

So, our sentence above can be converted into this three-word sentence using both an indirect and a direct object pronoun:

|IOP |DOP |Verb |

Te lo doy

(To you it I give)

Let's look at another example:

El policía nos lleva las direcciones a nosotros.

First, we'll identify the different components of the sentence:

|El policía |lleva |las direcciones  |nos, a nosostros |

|The subject |the verb |the direct object. We replace it with |1. the indirect object pronoun |

| | |the pronoun las |2. The indirect object |

If we follow the ID rule, our final sentence is:

|SUBJECT      IO   DO   VERB |

|[pic] |

|El policía      nos   las   lleva. |

So far pretty easy! Let’s work through 1-14 on your Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns In the Same Sentence Sheet section C to make sure you understand.

Of course, there are almost always exceptions to the rule when it comes to grammar. Let's look at this sentence:

| Juan le escribe una carta a María. |

When we examine the elements, we have:

|Juan |escribe |una carta |le, a María |

|Subject |verb |Direct object |Indirect object pronoun and indirect |

| | |We replace this with la  since una |object |

| | |carta is singular and feminine | |

So our sentence is:

|*Juan le la escribe.  |

Right?..... NO!

I guess you know from the red asterisk that this isn't what happens.  Unfortunately, we cannot leave this sentence as it is.  We cannot have two "L" object pronouns together.  So our original sentence,

Spanish Speakers would never say le/lo or le la or le las or le los---

Spanish speakers: say se la/las and se lo/los (se la, se las, se lo, se los)

|*Juan le la escribe.  |must change to----> |Juan se la escribe. |

Let's try another example:

Yo le pido los discos a mi hermano

Yo se los pido. le→ se los

• We have the option of retaining or removing the Indirect Object "tag" :

▪ Yo se los pido a mi hermano.

▪ Yo se los pido.

[pic]

With INFIINITIVES OR GERUNDS: Place the double object pronouns on the end of an infinitive or a gerund.

Example # 1

|Yo les estoy explicando las reglas a ustedes. |Yo se las estoy explicando   |

| |-or-   |

| |Yo estoy explicándoselas. |

|                    les-->se                      las |IO-DO |

|                     IO                            DO | |

    

Example # 2

|Tomás nos va a servir el café a nosotros. |Tomás nos lo va a servir.  |

| |--or--      |

| |Tomás va a servírnoslo. |

Example number 3

|El ladrón le está robando el dinero a la víctima. |*El ladrón está robandoselo |

|             le-->se                   lo | |

|1)  robando - [selo] |El ladrón está robándoselo. |

|2)  roBANdo | |

|3)  robándo + [selo] | |

• Notice that we place accent marks on the present participles and infinitives to preserve the normal pronunciation of the verbs.  If you aren't sure where to put the accent, cover up the pronoun/s and say the word naturally.  The stressed syllable is where you put the accent:

***Hints:

• When using present participles (-ando and -iendo forms), the accent will always fall on the a for -ando forms, and on the e  for -iendo forms.

• When using infinitives, the accent will fall on the a for -ar  verbs, on the e  for -er verbs, and on the i  for -ir verbs.

A Practicar:

1. La madre le lee el libro al niño. Ella ___ ___ lee.

2. Marta te enseña las fotos. Marta ___ ___ enseña.

3. Sara les vende la moto a sus amigos. Sara ___ ___ vende.

4. Ella nos sirve unos camarones. Ella ___ ___ sirve.

5. Sofía me compra unos ajos. Sofía ___ ___ _ compra.

6. Lola les pide a Uds. el nombre de la receta. Lola ___ ___ pide.

With COMMANDS

Both single and double object pronouns are attached to an affirmative command but precede a negative command.

Cómpramelo

Buy it for me (it=el libro)

No me lo compres.

Don’t buy it for me.

_Traémelo_____.

Bring it(m) to me.

No _me__ _lo___ _traigas_______.

Don't bring it to me.

__Dímelo_________.

Tell her about it(m).

No _se lo digas_________________.

Don't tell her about it.

Commands:

1. Serve them to me (the tomatoes)___Sírvemelos________________

2. Do not bring it to him! (the broth)_____No se lo traigas____________

3. Add it for them! (the salt)______Añadeselo________________

4. Sell it to me! (the recipe)_____Véndemela_____________________

5. Do not bring it to us! (the oil)__No nos lo traigas_______________

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