Personal Pronouns — Position of Object Pronouns

Personal Pronouns — Position of Object Pronouns

When a verb has two pronoun objects, the indirect object precedes the direct object.

Juan me lo dio.
John gave it to me.

Ella nos lo mandó.
She sent it to us.

a) Note, however, that if the two pronouns are in the third person, se is used instead of the indirect object pronouns le and les in order to avoid repetition of the l sound.

Juan se lo dio.
John gave it to her
(or to him, to you, to them).

Ella se la mandó.
She sent it to him
(or to her, to you, to them).

Since, as may be seen from the above sentences, se may mean a usted, a él, a ella, etc., the so-called redundant construction (See above: Indirect Object Pronouns) is again used here when it is necessary to clarify the person referred to.

Juan se lo dio a ella.
John gave it to her.

Juan se lo dio a ellos.
John gave it to them.

Ella se la mandó a él.
She sent it to him.

Ella se la mandó a Ud.
She sent it to you.

b) When personal pronouns are used as direct objects of an infinitive, they generally follow the infinitive and are joined to it to form a single word.

Él no quiere mandar el paquete.

Él no quiere mandarlo.
He doesn't want to send it.

Voy a traer la composición mañana.

Voy a traerla mañana.
I am going to bring it tomorrow.

c) Similarly, when personal pronouns are used as objects of a present participle, they generally follow the present participle, being joined to it to form a single word.

Él está estudiándolo ahora.
He is studying it now.

Estaban mirándonos con mucho interés.
They were watching us with much interest.

Note, however, that while the object pronoun may be attached to either an infinitive or present participle to form a single word, it may also be placed in a conventional position before the verb. Both forms are used.

Él no quiere mandarlo.
He doesn't want to send it.

or

El no lo quiere mandar.
He doesn't want to send it.

Estaban mirándonos con mucho interés.
They were watching us with much interest.

or

Nos estaban mirando con mucho interés.
They were watching us with much interest.

d) Further, in the case of both infinitives and present participles, if two pronoun objects are involved, the indirect object precedes the direct object. (See section a above.)

Él no quiere mandármelo.
He doesn't want to send it to me.

Están enviándonoslo por correo.
They are sending it to us by mail.

e) Again, with both infinitives and present participles, if both pronoun objects are in the third person, se is used instead of le or les to avoid repetition of the l sound. (See section a above.)

Él no quiere mandárselo.

or

Él no me lo quiere mandar
He doesn't want to send it to her.

Estamos mandándoselo por correo.

or

Nos lo están enviado por correo.
We are sending it to him by mail.

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

Mándelo por correo.
Send it by mail.

No lo mande por correo.
Don't send it by mail.

Tráigamelo.
Bring it to me.

No me lo traiga.
Don't bring it to me.

Dígaselo.
Tell her about it.

No se lo diga.
Don't tell her about it.