Double Object Sentences

Direct object pronouns and indirect object pronouns are placed in front of the verb. Since it is common to have both an indirect and direct object pronoun in a sentence, they will both be directly in front of the verb. In such sentences, the indirect object pronoun always precedes the direct object pronoun.

When there are direct and indirect object pronouns in the same sentence, follow the formula: the I.O.P. (Indirect Object Pronoun) then the D.O.P. (Direct Object Pronoun. Both precede the conjugated verb.

  • Subject + I.O.P + D.O.P + verb + rest of sentence.

In the following examples, the first sentence establishes what the actual direct object of the sentence is, and the second sentence uses a direct object pronoun to replace it. The indirect object is in bold and the direct object is underlined to help you visualize what noun changes into what pronoun and where they are placed in the sentence. Notice that once you change the direct object to a pronoun, you must remove the direct object pronoun based on the formula above. These techniques will help you understand object pronouns.

Mi padre me compra un coche nuevo.

My dad buys me a new car.

Mi padre me lo compra.

My dad buys it for me.

Tu madre te cuenta muchos cuentos.

Your mom tells you many stories.

Tu madre te los cuenta .

Your mom tells them to you.

Nuestro jefe nos ofrece una vacación.

Our boss offers us a vacation.

Nuestro jefe nos la ofrece.

Our boss offers it to us.

The use of se

When two object pronouns beginning with the letter l (le, les, la, lo, las, los) are used together, the first pronoun, which is always the I.O.P., changes to se. The following examples tackle this situation. The indirect object is in bold and the direct object is underlined to help you visualize what noun changes into what pronoun and where they are placed in the sentence.

Sergio le compra a su madre unas flores.

Sergio buys his mom some flowers.

Sergio se las compra.

Sergio buys them for her.

Gabriel les da algunos besos a sus padres.

Gabriel gives his parents some kisses.

Gabriel se los da a sus padres.

Gabriel gives them to his parents.

Lorenzo le enseña el concepto difícil a su amigo.

Lorenzo teaches his friend the difficult concept.

Lorenzo se lo enseña.

Lorenzo teaches it to him.

Ana les trae la comida a sus abuelos.

Ana brings her grandparents the meal.

Ana se la trae.

Ana brings it to them.

Here's another way to think of it: le and les change to se when placed before lo, la, los, or las.

Adding two object pronouns to verbs

Object pronouns can be attached either to the end of a present participle form of the verb or to the end of an infinitive form of the verb, as well as placed in front of a conjugated form of the verb. If you are using two object pronouns, they will be together wherever you choose to place them.

Adding two pronouns to the end of an infinitive messes up the natural stress and requires you to add an accent mark to the vowel before the final – r of the infinitive. You can add one pronoun to an infinitive without adding an accent, but you must add a written accent if you attach two object pronouns to the end of an infinitive. For example:

Enrique va a comprar le unas flores a su novia.

Enrique is going to buy his girlfriend some flowers.

Enrique va a comprár se las.

Enrique is going to buy them for her.

You learned earlier that you must add an accent mark to a present participle if even one pronoun is added. Since a present participle ends in a vowel, even one pronoun added to the end will mess up the natural stress. So you must add an accent to the vowel before the – ndo of the gerund if you add either one or two pronouns.

Melaní está ayudándome.

Melanie is helping me.

Mis padres están comprándomelo.

My parents are buying it for me.

There is always a conjugated verb in every sentence, so you can always put both object pronouns in front of the conjugated form of the verb. Do not, however, place one pronoun in front of the conjugated form of the verb and attach the other object pronoun to the end of an infinitive or present participle.

Enrique le va a comprar unas flores a su novia.

Enrique is going to buy his girlfriend some flowers.

Enrique se las va a comprar .

Enrique is going to buy them for her.

Cite this article

Ask Cliff

More Study Help