Double Object Pronouns
IDOPs (indirect object pronouns)
and DOPs (direct object
pronouns)
Reglas
Some verbs can have a direct object and
an indirect object
Always use an IDOP when there is an
indirect object
La mesera nos trajo (a Juan y a mí) el
pollo asado.
¡Vamos a practicar!
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[Recipient: you] ¿ ___ enviaron
tus padres dinero también?
¿ Te enviaron tus padres dinero
también?
What if there is more than one of
“you” ?
¿ Les enviaron sus padres dinero
también?
Use the “Uds.” form!
Double trouble.

In all of the examples, there
are two objects. That is,
someone is giving something
to someone. The something
is the direct object and the
someone (the recipient) is the
indirect object).
Say what?
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Look at the examples and identify
the objects:
The teacher gave you an A.
– Recipient: you
– Thing received: an A
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Bill Gates sent me a million
dollars.
– Recipient: me
– Thing received: a million dollars

My parents bought my little
sister a used car.
– Recipient: my little sister
– Thing received: a used car
Spanish direct and indirect object pronouns may be
used together in the same sentence just as in English.
As with most all pronoun use, the objective is to reduce
the length, complexity, or redundancy of the language.
Julián, ¿me traes la película?
Julián, will you bring me the movie?
IOP
DOP
Te la traigo en un momento.
I’ll bring it to you in a moment.
As with all object pronouns, double object pronouns are
placed before a conjugated verb, and the indirect object
pronoun (IOP) precedes the direct object pronoun (DOP).
Double objects
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We can simplify each sentence
if we already know what the
objects refer to. Look at this
passage:
My little sister got a new
apartment across town, but there
is no bus service. She saw a
used car she liked a lot, but she
didn’t have a lot of money. My
parents bought it for her.
Let’s take a closer look:

My parents bought it for
her.
 The expression in red is
the indirect object (the
recipient) and the word in
yellow is the direct object.
Both are pronouns.
What about in Spanish?

We can do the same thing in
Spanish:
 Tengo que comprar un libro
para la clase de historia, pero
no tengo dinero. Mis padres
me lo van a enviar por
Western Union.
– Recipient: me
– Thing received: lo (el dinero)
se lo, se la, se los, se las
I threw it
thetoball
you.to you.
Yo te lo
tiré el. balón.
You threw it
thetoball
me.to me.
Tú me lo
tiraste el. balón.
Le and les must
change to se
before lo, la,
los or las.
I threw it
thetoball
him.to him.
Yo se
le lo
tiré el. balón.
You can’t “le lo” in Spanish!
The context of the situation or the previous statement or question will
clarify the meaning of se. Notice the following slide.
L+L=S+L
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No, it’s not algebra class!
There is a special rule
about double object
pronouns that you will need
to know: if a sentence has
two objects that both start
with L, the first one
changes to SE.
se lo, se la, se los, se las
¿Le prestas el dinero a Lupita?
Will you lend Lupita the money?
No, no se lo presto. Es mucho dinero.
No, I won’t lend it to her. It’s a lot of money.
Queremos comprarles los juguetes a los
niños, ¿no?
We want to buy the toys for the children, right?
Sí, vamos a comprárselos mañana.
Yes, we’ll buy them for them tomorrow.
I do!
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Mis padres me lo van a
enviar por Western Union.
 Note that the indirect
object precedes the direct
object.
 Think “indirect, direct
object”: I DO.
The combinations of object
pronouns in Spanish are as follows:
me lo, me la
me los, me las
nos lo, nos la
nos los, nos las
te lo, te la
te los, te las
os lo, os la
os los, os las
se lo, se la
se lo, se la
se los, se las
se los, se las
Reglas
When using DOPs and IDOPs, the order
is…
IDOP + DOP…always
Remember “I DO”
or…. “123 IDV”
2 L’s = 1st changes to SE
¿Le dejaste la propina a la mesera?
Sí, ya se la dejé.
Práctica
She asked her for them. (strawberries).
Ella se las pidió.
We served you it. (steak with onions).
Nosotros te lo servimos.
I recommend them to you all. (tea and
flan).
Yo se los recomiendo.
¡Ya está!
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To summarize, here are the four forms you will need:
Subject
yo
tú
él
ella
Ud.
nosotros
ellos
ellas
Reflexive
me
te
se
se
se
nos
se
se
Direct object
me
te
lo
la
lo, la
nos
los
las
Indirect object
me
te
le
le
le
nos
les
les