PLACEMENT OF PRONOUNS IN SPANISH SENTENCES

 
OBJECT PRONOUNS - DIRECT, INDIRECT, AND REFLEXIVE:

The only possibly confusing ones are 3rd person pronouns. They are lo/la/los/las (direct), le/les (indirect), and se (reflexive).
 
Direct pronouns answer the questions qu? and quin? (what? and who?), while indirect ones answer the question a quin?  (for whom? and to whom?). 

Reflexive pronouns show that the person doing action is the person who the action is directed at. 

Indirect pronouns are in fact identical to reflexive ones -- except that the recipient of the action is different from its performer. 

Direct pronoun 'lo' can also refer to actions, situations or ideas in general. In such a case it expresses the English word 'it' or 'that'. 



PRONOUN PLACEMENT - WITH ONE PRONOUN:

  After 'no' and before the conjugated verb: 
   	Lo hice el lunes pasado.  -  I did it last Monday.
   	No te presto el coche.  -  I am not lending you the car.
   	Me ducho todos las tardes. -  I shower every afternoon.

 After 'no' and before a negative command/imperative: 
   	No lo lea Ud. -  Don't read it.
   	No me d su nmero de telfono ahora. -  Don't give me your telephone number right now.
   	No se siente.  -  Don't sit.

 After and attached to an infinitive: 
   	Voy a hacerlo el lunes. -  I am going to do it Monday.
   	Voy a guardarte el asiento. -  I am going to guard your seat for you.
   	Tengo que ducharme maana.  - I have to shower tomorrow

 After and attached to an affirmative (positive) command: 
   	Lalo, por favor. -  Read it, please.
   	Srvanos un caf, por favor. -  Serve us some coffee, please.
   	Sintose, por favor.  -  Sit down, please.

 After and attached to a present participle: 
   	Estoy comiendolo.  -  I am eating it.
   	Estoy escribiendole una carta a Marisol.  -  I am writing a letter to Marisol.
   	Pablo est bandose.  -  Pablo is bathing.



PRONOUN PLACEMENT - WITH TWO PRONOUNS:

 When there are both direct and indirect pronouns,  the order is: indirect pronoun -> direct pronoun, and nothing  should come between them. The rules for placement  with respect to the verb remain the same.

   	Te lo preparo ahora mismo. 
   	S, acaban de drmelo. 
   
 When both the direct and indirect pronoun begin with 'L', indirect pronoun le/les becomes 'se'.
   	Le compra unos zapatos. --> Se los compra.  

 When the indirect pronoun is 'me', 'te' or 'nos', only the pronoun is used. Adding 'a m', 'a ti' or 'a nos' would be over-emphatic. 
 
 	Mama me compr un carro. -  Correct. 
 	Mama me compr un carro a m. -  Over-emphatic.  
 	Mama compr un carro a m. -   Incorrect -- me is missing.
 	Mama compr un carro. -  Correct -- there is no emphasis on for whom the car is bought.

   
 When the indirect object is 'le' (or 'se'), either the pronoun only or the pronoun and the noun are used. Adding the noun or
 pronoun object of preposition is often necessary to clarify the meaning, since le/se may correspond to to/for you (formal --
 singular or plural), him, her, them. 
 
  	Mama le compr un carro. 
  	Mama le compr un carro a Oscar. 
  	Mama les compr un carro a Oscar y Julia. 
  	Se las doy a Ud./l/ella/Uds./ellos/ellas. 
 

 When pronouns are being attached to a verb (present participle or affirmative command), it is necessary to add accents over the
 stressed sylllable to maintain the pronunciation: 
 
  	Pablo se est baando. 
  	Lea el texto, por favor.
    	Pablo est bandose. 
    	Lalo, por favor. 


 When pronouns are being attached to an infinitive there is no need for an accent. Since an infinitve ends in 'r', the stress falls on
 the last syllable. When a pronoun is attached, the stress will fall on the next-to-the-last syllable (which is the same one), since
 all pronouns are monosyllables and end either in a vowel or in s. 