Double object pronouns in Spanish

Double Object Pronouns in Spanish.

You have already seen how to use direct and indirect object pronouns individually in sentences. What about using them both in one sentence?

¿Me explicas el tema?  

• Will you explain the topic to me?

Sí, te lo explico.  

• Yes, I’ll explain it to you.

Indirect object pronouns	Direct object pronouns
me	me
te	te
le –> se	lo/la
nos	nos
os	os
les –> se	los/las

When both object pronouns appear together in a sentence the indirect object pronoun always comes before the direct object.  They are generally placed before the verb.

¿Me preparas la comida?  Will you prepare the food for me?

Sí, te la preparo.  Yes, I’ll prepare it for you.

¿Cuando me vas a arreglar el carro?  When are you going to fix my car?

Te lo arreglo mañana.  I’ll fix it for you tomorrow.

Third person indirect object pronouns le and les become se when they are paired with the third person direct object pronouns lo, la, los and las.

Los estudiantes les entregan la tarea a la profesora.  The students turn the homework in to the professor.

Los estudiantes se la entregan.  The students turn it in to her.

When the double object pronouns appear with infinitive verbs they can either go before the conjugated verb or attached to the infinitive.  When the double object pronouns are attached to the infinitive and written accent mark must go over the stressed vowel of the verb.

¿Me lo vas a traer?  Are you going to bring it to me?

¿Vas a traérmelo?   Are you going to bring it to me?

**Don’t worry if this seems overwhelming at first.  Follow these steps in order to successfully  use the double object pronouns.

1. Identify the indirect and direct objects.  Ask what? And for whom?
   • Eduardo prepara una cena a nosotros.
     • ¿Qué prepara Eduardo?  Una cena
     • ¿A quién prepara una cena? A nosotros.
2. Replace the objects with their corresponding pronouns
   • Una cena –>  la
   • Nosotros –> nos
3. Rewrite the sentence using the pronouns.  (Make sure you change le/les to se when necessary).
   • Eduardo nos la prepara.

More Examples:

• El perro trae el periódico a mí. –> El perro me lo trae.
  
• Alicia regaló un libro a su hermana.  –> Alicia se lo regaló.
  
• Tengo que comprar el almuerzo a mi hija.  –>  Tengo que comprárselo.
  
• Debes dar el dinero a nosotros.  –>  Debes dárnoslo.

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