I can say who I'm telling, giving, or sending something to — te lo digo, se lo he mandado — and put two pronouns together in the right order.
To whom — and what
Indirect object pronouns (“to whom”) and two pronouns together
Indirect object pronouns (me, te, le, nos, os, les) answer “to whom? for whom?”. They're the same set you know from “A María le gusta el cine”.
The forms are in the table above. Le means “to him”, “to her”, and “to you (formal)”.
Doubling is normal Spanish, not a mistake: Le doy el regalo a Lucía. English never says it twice, but Spanish keeps both words.
The pronoun goes before the conjugated verb, not after it as in English. In the present perfect (pretérito perfecto) it goes before haber: Me ha escrito esta mañana.
Two pronouns together: first TO WHOM, then WHAT — the reverse of English “give it to me”. me lo, te la, nos los, os las.
le and les become se before lo, la, los, las:
• Le doy el regalo → Se lo doy. (I give it to him.)
• Les he mandado las entradas → Se las he mandado. (I've sent them to them.)
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Le lo he dado” — correct: Se lo he dado.
• NOT “Lo te digo” — correct: Te lo digo.
• NOT “Ha me dicho la verdad” — correct: Me ha dicho la verdad.
• NOT “Digo te la verdad” — correct: Te digo la verdad.
To whom: me, te, le, nos, os, les
The set is the same for masculine and feminine: le means both “to him” and “to her”.
| To whom | Pronoun | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a mí | me | Me explican el plan. |
| a ti | te | Te contesto esta tarde. |
| a él · a ella · a usted | le | Le presto el coche. |
| a nosotros · a nosotras | nos | Nos dan las entradas. |
| a vosotros · a vosotras | os | Os mandan un mensaje. |
| a ellos · a ellas · a ustedes | les | Les digo la verdad. |
Two pronouns together
The order is always the same: first “to whom”, then “what”. le and les before lo/la/los/las become se.
| To whom | What | Combined |
|---|---|---|
| me | lo · la · los · las | me lo · me la · me los |
| te | lo · la · los · las | te lo · te la · te los |
| le → se | lo · la · los · las | se lo · se la · se los |
| nos | lo · la · los · las | nos lo · nos la · nos los |
| os | lo · la · los · las | os lo · os la · os los |
| les → se | lo · la · los · las | se lo · se la · se los |
Lesson notes
Indirect object pronouns (“to whom”) and two pronouns together
Indirect object pronouns (me, te, le, nos, os, les) answer “to whom? for whom?”. They're the same set you know from “A María le gusta el cine”.
The forms are in the table above. Le means “to him”, “to her”, and “to you (formal)”.
Doubling is normal Spanish, not a mistake: Le doy el regalo a Lucía. English never says it twice, but Spanish keeps both words.
The pronoun goes before the conjugated verb, not after it as in English. In the present perfect (pretérito perfecto) it goes before haber: Me ha escrito esta mañana.
Two pronouns together: first TO WHOM, then WHAT — the reverse of English “give it to me”. me lo, te la, nos los, os las.
le and les become se before lo, la, los, las:
• Le doy el regalo → Se lo doy. (I give it to him.)
• Les he mandado las entradas → Se las he mandado. (I've sent them to them.)
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Le lo he dado” — correct: Se lo he dado.
• NOT “Lo te digo” — correct: Te lo digo.
• NOT “Ha me dicho la verdad” — correct: Me ha dicho la verdad.
• NOT “Digo te la verdad” — correct: Te digo la verdad.