Combining & placing object pronouns
A2 La combinación y colocación de pronombres 23 / 49
In short
When a verb has two object pronouns, the indirect comes before the direct (me lo da), le/les turns into se before lo/la/los/las (se lo doy, never “le lo”), and the pair moves as one unit - before the verb or attached (with a written accent) to an infinitive, gerund, or affirmative command.
The rule
Often a sentence has both an indirect and a direct object, and you replace both with pronouns. Three rules govern the result.
Rule 1 - Indirect before Direct. The indirect pronoun always comes first, the direct second: Me lo da (he gives it to me), Te la enseño (I show it to you). Mantra: ID = indirect, then direct.
Rule 2 - le/les becomes se before lo/la/los/las. You can never say “le lo” or “les las”. When the 3rd-person indirect (le/les) meets a 3rd-person direct (lo/la/los/las), the le/les changes to se:
Le doy el libro -> Se lo doy. · Les mando las fotos -> Se las mando.
This se is not reflexive - it is just le/les in disguise. Because se hides who the person is, add a él / a ella / a usted / a ellos to clarify: Se lo doy a ella.
Rule 3 - Place the pair together. The two pronouns never split up. They go either:
- before a conjugated verb: Me lo da. / Se lo di.
- attached to an infinitive, gerund, or affirmative command, as one word: va a dármelo / dándomelo / dámelo.
With an infinitive or gerund you may also front the pair: me lo va a dar = va a dármelo. But with a negative command the pair goes before the verb: No me lo digas. In a compound tense (Lesson 25) the pair goes before haber and never attaches to the participle: me lo ha dado, never “ha dádomelo”.
The command forms themselves come later - Lesson 28 (affirmative tú/vosotros) and Lesson 41 (usted, ustedes, and all negatives); take them ready-made here: dámelo -> no me lo des (tú) · dádmelo -> no me lo deis (vosotros) · démelo -> no me lo dé (usted) · dénmelo -> no me lo den (ustedes).
Written accent when attaching. Sticking two pronouns onto a verb adds syllables, so the verb almost always needs a written accent to keep its original stress: da -> dámelo, dar -> dártelo, diciendo -> diciéndomelo, trae -> tráemela.
Forms & patterns
Combining the pronouns (indirect + direct):
| Full form | Combined | English |
|---|---|---|
| Me da el libro | Me lo da | He gives it to me |
| Te da la carta | Te la da | He gives it to you |
| Le da el libro (a él) | Se lo da | He gives it to him |
| Nos da los libros | Nos los da | He gives them to us |
| Les da las cartas | Se las da | He gives them to them |
Where the pair goes:
| Verb form | Position | Example |
|---|---|---|
| conjugated verb | before | Se lo digo. |
| compound tense (haber + participle) | before the auxiliary, never attached | Se lo he dado. |
| infinitive | attach (or before) | Voy a decírselo. / Se lo voy a decir. |
| gerund | attach (or before) | Estoy diciéndoselo. / Se lo estoy diciendo. |
| affirmative command | attach (required) | Dígaselo. / Dámelo. |
| negative command | before | No se lo diga. |
Examples
| Español | English |
|---|---|
| ¿El libro? Te lo doy mañana. | The book? I’ll give it to you tomorrow. |
| ¿Las llaves? Se las devuelvo a Ana hoy. | The keys? I’ll give them back to Ana today. |
| Quiero comprárselo a mi hijo. | I want to buy it for my son. |
| ¿Me lo puedes explicar? | Can you explain it to me? |
| ¡Dámelo, por favor! | Give it to me, please! |
| No se lo digas a nadie. | Don’t tell it to anyone. |
| Estoy enviándoselo ahora. | I’m sending it to him now. |
| Se lo conté todo a ella. | I told her everything. |
Common mistakes
- Le lo doy -> Se lo doy - le/les turns into se before lo/la/los/las; “le lo” is impossible.
- Lo me da -> Me lo da - indirect (me) comes before direct (lo), never the reverse.
- Damelo -> Dámelo - attaching two pronouns to a command needs a written accent to hold the stress.
- No díselo -> No se lo digas - with a negative command the pair goes before the verb, not attached.
- Se doy el libro (as a full sentence) -> Se lo doy - se only replaces le when a direct-object lo/la/los/las follows it.
Tips
- Order mantra: ID - indirect then direct (me lo, te la, se los).
- “Two l-words can’t touch”: le/les + lo/la/los/las -> se lo / se la / se los / se las.
- The pair is inseparable - move both together, never one before the verb and one after.
- Attach and accent: any time you stick the pair onto an infinitive, gerund, or affirmative command, write the accent (dar -> dármelo, di -> dímelo).
- The negative command flips the pair back to before the verb: dímelo -> no me lo digas.