The Everything Spanish Grammar Book: All The Rules You Need To Master Espanol (Everything®) by Julie Gutin
Authors: Julie Gutin
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it)
les (them)
As you may remember, direct and indirect object pronouns are identical in the first and second persons.
ESSENTIAL
If your verb is made up of two parts, an active verb and an infinitive, the object pronoun may come before the verb pair or attached to the infinitive: Lo necesito llamar. Necesito llamarlo. (I need to call him.) The same applies to direct, indirect, and reflexive pronouns.
Double Pronouns
If both the direct and indirect object in the sentence are pronouns, they are placed before the verb, and the indirect object pronoun always comes first. Here’s the correct order of the sentence:
subject + indirect object pronoun + direct object pronoun + verb
It may take a while for you to get used to this order, but it’s not difficult to understand. Here are a few other examples to help you get the hang of it:
Me manda cartas cada semana. Me las manda.
He sends me letters every week. He sends them to me. (To me them he sends.)
Te explico las respuestas mañana. Te las explico.
I’ll explain you the answers tomorrow. I’ll explain them to you. (To you them I’ll explain.)
If both pronouns are in third person, the indirect object pronoun undergoes a change from le/les to se. The reason for the change is to avoid the awkward combinations like le lo or les la.
Here are a few examples:
Le pago la cuenta al camarero. Se la pago.
I pay the bill (to the waiter). I pay it (to him).
Les doy una sonrisa. Se la doy.
I give them a smile. I give it to them.
A Different Kind of Construction
In Spanish, the indirect object allows us to create a construction that is best exemplified with the verb gustar (to like). Compare the Spanish and the English:
Me gustan los dulces.
I like sweets.
In English, the sentence is a standard subject + verb + direct object. In Spanish, though, the role of each word differs:
me (indirect object pronoun) + gustan (verb) + dulces (subject)
In Spanish, the subject of the sentence is dulces, which are liked by me. This is why the verb gustar is conjugated in the third person plural. In fact, because the subject is always what is being liked, the verb gustar is limited to third-person singular (one thing) or third-person plural (more than one thing). The following table outlines the possible combinations:
singular subject
plural subject
English
me gusta
me gustan
I like
te gusta
te gustan
you like
le gusta
le gustan
he, she, it likes; you like
nos gusta
nos gustan
we like
os gusta
os gustan
you like
les gusta
les gustan
they like; you like
The verb gustar isn’t the only one to be used in this manner. Other verbs that commonly appear in this fashion are presented in the following table. The example given is in the present indicative, third-person singular subject, with me as the indirect object:
infinitive
example
translation
convenir
me conviene
it suits me
encantar
me encanta
I love it
faltar
me falta
I lack it
fascinar
me fascina
it fascinates me
importar
me importa
it’s important to me
interesar
me interesa
it interests me
quedar
me queda
I have (it) left
tocar
me toca
it’s my turn
Reflexive Verbs
If the verb’s direct object refers to the same person as the subject, the verb is said to be reflexive—you might say that the object reflects back to the subject. You can recognize a reflexive verb by the reflexive pronoun that comes with it. In the infinitive, reflexive verbs end in –se. For example, limpiar means “to clean (something),” but limpiarse is translated as “to clean (yourself).” When a reflexive verb is conjugated, it is joined by the reflexive pronoun, which serves as the verb’s object and follows the same rules as far as placement.
Reflexive Pronouns
singular
plural
me (myself)
nos (ourselves)
te (yourself, informal)
os (yourselves, informal)
se (yourself, formal)
se (yourselves)
se (himself, herself, itself)
se (themselves)
ESSENTIAL
Choosing the correct reflexive pronoun is easy—it should match the subject and the verb’s
les (them)
As you may remember, direct and indirect object pronouns are identical in the first and second persons.
ESSENTIAL
If your verb is made up of two parts, an active verb and an infinitive, the object pronoun may come before the verb pair or attached to the infinitive: Lo necesito llamar. Necesito llamarlo. (I need to call him.) The same applies to direct, indirect, and reflexive pronouns.
Double Pronouns
If both the direct and indirect object in the sentence are pronouns, they are placed before the verb, and the indirect object pronoun always comes first. Here’s the correct order of the sentence:
subject + indirect object pronoun + direct object pronoun + verb
It may take a while for you to get used to this order, but it’s not difficult to understand. Here are a few other examples to help you get the hang of it:
Me manda cartas cada semana. Me las manda.
He sends me letters every week. He sends them to me. (To me them he sends.)
Te explico las respuestas mañana. Te las explico.
I’ll explain you the answers tomorrow. I’ll explain them to you. (To you them I’ll explain.)
If both pronouns are in third person, the indirect object pronoun undergoes a change from le/les to se. The reason for the change is to avoid the awkward combinations like le lo or les la.
Here are a few examples:
Le pago la cuenta al camarero. Se la pago.
I pay the bill (to the waiter). I pay it (to him).
Les doy una sonrisa. Se la doy.
I give them a smile. I give it to them.
A Different Kind of Construction
In Spanish, the indirect object allows us to create a construction that is best exemplified with the verb gustar (to like). Compare the Spanish and the English:
Me gustan los dulces.
I like sweets.
In English, the sentence is a standard subject + verb + direct object. In Spanish, though, the role of each word differs:
me (indirect object pronoun) + gustan (verb) + dulces (subject)
In Spanish, the subject of the sentence is dulces, which are liked by me. This is why the verb gustar is conjugated in the third person plural. In fact, because the subject is always what is being liked, the verb gustar is limited to third-person singular (one thing) or third-person plural (more than one thing). The following table outlines the possible combinations:
singular subject
plural subject
English
me gusta
me gustan
I like
te gusta
te gustan
you like
le gusta
le gustan
he, she, it likes; you like
nos gusta
nos gustan
we like
os gusta
os gustan
you like
les gusta
les gustan
they like; you like
The verb gustar isn’t the only one to be used in this manner. Other verbs that commonly appear in this fashion are presented in the following table. The example given is in the present indicative, third-person singular subject, with me as the indirect object:
infinitive
example
translation
convenir
me conviene
it suits me
encantar
me encanta
I love it
faltar
me falta
I lack it
fascinar
me fascina
it fascinates me
importar
me importa
it’s important to me
interesar
me interesa
it interests me
quedar
me queda
I have (it) left
tocar
me toca
it’s my turn
Reflexive Verbs
If the verb’s direct object refers to the same person as the subject, the verb is said to be reflexive—you might say that the object reflects back to the subject. You can recognize a reflexive verb by the reflexive pronoun that comes with it. In the infinitive, reflexive verbs end in –se. For example, limpiar means “to clean (something),” but limpiarse is translated as “to clean (yourself).” When a reflexive verb is conjugated, it is joined by the reflexive pronoun, which serves as the verb’s object and follows the same rules as far as placement.
Reflexive Pronouns
singular
plural
me (myself)
nos (ourselves)
te (yourself, informal)
os (yourselves, informal)
se (yourself, formal)
se (yourselves)
se (himself, herself, itself)
se (themselves)
ESSENTIAL
Choosing the correct reflexive pronoun is easy—it should match the subject and the verb’s
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