Double Object Pronouns Rules and Examples Property of Ashley E. Wood All PowerPoints are meant to be used in conjunction with personal instruction and self-practice. They are not meant to be self-sufficient explanations of the grammar topics. For more instruction, please contact Profesora Madera directly. www.profesoramadera.com
Double Object Pronouns When you have to replace both the indirect and direct objects in the sentence. In English, an example would be: ORIGINAL: I give the book to my cousin. Replacing direct object: I give it to my cousin. Replacing indirect object: I give the book to him. Replacing both objects: I give it to him. www.profesoramadera.com
The Pronouns Direct Object Pronouns (DOP) me te lo/la nos los/las Indirect Object Pronouns (IOP) me te le nos les When we combine IOP and DOP in the same sentence, “le” and “les” become “se” se se We normally combine any IOP with a third-person DOP (“lo”, “la”, “los”, or “las”). www.profesoramadera.com
Where to place pronouns Direct Object Pronouns, Indirect Object Pronouns and Reflexive Pronouns must be placed in one of five places: Before the conjugated verb Juan lo compra. Attached to the infinitive Juan va a comprarlo. Attached to the present participle (don’t forget the accent mark!) Juan está comprándolo. Attached to the end of an affirmative command ¡Cómpralo! Before a negative command ¡No lo compres! www.profesoramadera.com
Rules and Examples When we have ONE verb in the sentence, The order of the words in the sentence is: (S)-IOP-DOP-V Remember that Indirect Objects can be redundant in a sentence, that is, we can have the pronoun and the whole thing written out. However, the pronoun must always be in the sentence. So, “su esposo” is the optional part in this example, not “le”. Direct Obj. Indirect Obj. ¿Ana le trae regalos a su esposo? Sí, se los trae siempre. Yes, she always brings them to him Indirect Obj. Direct Obj. Ustedes nunca me dicen la verdad. You never tell it to me. Ustedes nunca me la dicen. www.profesoramadera.com
Examples of “le → se” Mi madre le dio un hueso al perro. Mi madre se lo dio. (NOT: “mi madre le lo dio”) Mi primo le compra una mochila a mi hermana. Mi primo se la compra. Yo le plancho la camisa a mi mamá. Yo se la plancho. One way to remember to change “le” and “les” to “se” is to know that the word “lelo (a/os/as)” means ‘dumb’. www.profesoramadera.com
Examples with Other Pronouns La profesora Madera nos da la tarea. La profesora nos la da. Mi amigo me dice sus secretos. Mi amigo me los dice. Tu yerno te compra un carro. Tu yerno te lo compra. www.profesoramadera.com
When we have two verbs… We can have both pronouns before the conjugated verb like we learned before, or we can attach them to the non-conjugated one. In both cases the IOP always precedes de DOP. Jorge me quiere mandar unas flores Jorge me las quiere mandar. Jorge quiere mandármelas. www.profesoramadera.com