Where pronouns go
Type the missing word in each sentence. You hear each sentence read by a native voice.
un vistazo a la mesa.
Take a look at the table.
The rule
The position changes depending on whether the verb is conjugated, an infinitive, an -ndo form like hablando, or a command. The -ndo form has its own lesson later; affirmative commands appeared in the everyday-commands lesson and the full system comes later; what matters here is only where the pronoun sits. Getting the placement wrong produces sentences that sound broken, even when every word is correct on its own.
The pattern
Before a conjugated verb: Lo veo. Me dijo. Se lo di.
With an infinitive or -ndo form, you have two options. Put the pronoun before the conjugated helper, or attach it to the infinitive or -ndo form:
- Lo quiero hacer. / Quiero hacerlo.
- Lo estoy leyendo. / Estoy leyéndolo.
With affirmative commands, the ones telling someone to do something, attach the pronoun: Dímelo. Hazlo. Siéntate.
With negative commands, put the pronoun before the verb: No me lo digas. No lo hagas. No te sientes.
When two pronouns appear together, the indirect one comes first: Me lo dio. Te la compré. If le or les comes before lo/la/los/las, change it to se: Se lo dije.
Attaching a pronoun does not move the spoken stress, but it can make a written accent necessary. Decir + le stays decirle (no accent needed). Diga + me becomes dígame. Leyendo + lo becomes leyéndolo.
Examples
- Lo veo todos los días.I see it every day.
- María me dijo la verdad.María told me the truth.
- Se lo di ayer.I gave it to him yesterday.
- Quiero hacerlo hoy.I want to do it today.
- Lo quiero hacer hoy.I want to do it today.
- Estoy leyéndolo.I am reading it.
- Dímelo ahora.Tell it to me now.
- No me lo digas.Do not tell me that.
Watch out
- Dime lo. Dímelo.In an affirmative command, attach the pronoun as one word; a written accent often becomes necessary to keep the stress where it was.
- No dímelo. No me lo digas.In a negative command, pronouns go before the verb.
- Digame. Dígame.Adding me keeps the stress on the í, and a written accent is then required to show it.
- Quiero decirlo te. Quiero decírtelo.When attaching two pronouns, the indirect (te) comes before the direct (lo).