Rules for placing object pronouns in Spanish

In Spanish, the placement of object pronouns depends on the type of verb form and sentence mood. The general rules are:

• Object pronouns usually precede a conjugated verb. For example, in a simple present or past tense sentence, the object pronoun is placed before the verb: “Lo veo” (I see him/it). ^{1, 2, 5}

• When there are two verbs together, the object pronoun can either precede the conjugated verb or be attached to the end of the infinitive or gerund. For example: “Lo voy a comprar” or “Voy a comprarlo” (I am going to buy it), and “La estoy limpiando” or “Estoy limpiándola” (I am cleaning it). ^{2, 3, 6, 7}

• With affirmative commands (imperatives), object pronouns are attached to the end of the verb: “Cómpralo” (Buy it). ^{3, 5, 7}

• With negative commands, object pronouns precede the verb: “No lo compres” (Don’t buy it). ^{7, 3}

• When object pronouns are attached to a gerund, an accent mark is often needed to maintain the correct word stress: “Estoy haciéndolo” (I am doing it). ^{2, 3, 7}

• If both indirect and direct object pronouns appear in the same sentence, the indirect object pronoun comes before the direct object pronoun: “[indirect object pronoun] + [direct object pronoun]”. ⁴

These positioning rules help keep sentence meaning clear and maintain proper Spanish sentence rhythm and stress.

Here is a concise summary table of placement by verb form:

This gives a comprehensive overview of Spanish object pronoun placement rules.

References

• Tips and Tricks for using Spanish object pronouns | Sprachcaffe

• Position of pronouns in Spanish - BBC Bitesize

• Direct Object Pronoun Placement | SpanishDictionary. …

• Spanish Direct Object Pronouns: Explained For Beginners

• Direct Object Pronouns in Spanish: Rules & Chart

• Placing Spanish Object Pronouns Correctly

• Object Pronoun Placement

• Spanish object pronouns

• Can someone please explain object pronouns to me? …

• Using me, te, le, nos, os, les (indirect object pronouns)