Spanish grammar - Order of pronouns

Order of pronouns

In Spanish, when both a direct object pronoun and an indirect object pronoun appear in a sentence, the order in which they are placed is important.

-- For example, do we say se lo doy or lo se doy ('I give it to himΔher')?

Both pronouns should come before the verb, but the specific order is crucial.

The rule is straightforward:

• The indirect object pronouns me, te, se, nos, and os come before the direct object pronouns.

NOTE however, when the indirect pronoun is le or les (used for él, ella, usted, ellos, ellas and ustedes) they change to se.

-- Examples of this are included in the next topic.

Examples:
	No te la mando. (I) do not send it (feminine) to you (familiar). indirect (te) before direct (la) mandar (v) means 'to send'
	Nos los traen. (They) bring them (masculine) to us. indirect (nos) before direct (los)
	Os las doy. (I) give them (feminine) to you all (informal). indirect (os) before direct (las)
	Nos los dan. (They) give them (masculine) to us. indirect (nos) before direct (los)
	Te lo digo. (I) tell it to you (familiar). indirect (te) before direct (lo)
	Nos lo muestran. (They) show it (masculine) to us. indirect (nos) before direct (lo) mostrar (v) means 'to show'
	No te lo prometo. (I) do not promise it to you (familiar). indirect (te) before direct (lo) prometer (v) means 'to promise'
	No se lo presto. (I) do not lend it to him/her. indirect (se) before direct (lo)
	Os lo cuento. (I) tell it (a story) to you all (informal). indirect (os) before direct (lo)
	No nos lo explican. (They) do not explain it (masculine) to us. indirect (nos) before direct (lo)
	Te la envío mañana. (I) send it (feminine) to you (familiar) tomorrow. indirect (te) before direct (la) enviar (v) means 'to send'
	Te lo repito. (I) repeat it to you (familiar). indirect (te) before direct (lo) repetir (v) means 'to repeat'
	No os lo envío. (I) do not send it to you all (informal). indirect (os) before direct (lo)
	¿Nos lo muestran a nosotros? Do (they) show it to us? indirect (nos) before direct (lo) note the reiterative indirect object pronoun
	¿Tus amigos te dan las llaves? Sí, me las dan. Do your friends give you the keys? Yes, they give them to me.
	¿Tus padres te compran la ropa? No, no me la compran. Do your parents buy your clothes? No, they do not buy them for me.
	¿Tus amigos te envían cartas? No, no me las envían. Do your friends send you letters? No, they do not send them to me.
	¿Tu hermana te cuenta la historia? Sí, me la cuenta. Does your sister tell the story to you? Yes, she tells it to me.