Double-object pronoun order: RID

The following chart is a review of the reflexive, indirect, and direct object
pronouns.

RID order
When you have two object pronouns in a Spanish sentence, these pronouns
always appear in RID order: reflexive, indirect, direct. Because the maximum
number of pronouns that can appear together is two, the possible
combinations are reflexive + indirect (which is rare), reflexive + direct, and
indirect + direct. Some examples of the more common combinations are
shown below.
Reflexive + Direct
 Indirect + Direct

Traducción Unless marked [f.], it and them are masculine. Use the
second-person singular Spanish form for English you.
1. He gives it to me. _________________________________
2. She tells it to you. _________________________________
3. We give it to you. _________________________________
4. I write it [f.] to you. _________________________________
5. He sends them to us. _________________________________
6. We sing it [f.] to you. _________________________________
7. Why do you give it to me? _________________________________
8. Who has it for you? _________________________________
9. When do you do it for me? _________________________________
10. Why do you tell it to us? _________________________________
11. I prepare it [f.] for myself. _________________________________
12. She buys them [f.] for herself. _________________________________

The “la la” rule

The third-person forms of both the direct and indirect object pronouns,
regardless of number or gender, begin with the letter l. When they appear
together, change the indirect object pronoun le (the first pronoun) to se. This
avoids the singsong, tongue-tripping sound of two small words together
starting with the letter l. We call this the “la la rule.”
Consider the sentence “I give it [m.] to him.” The indirect object is “him”
(le) and the direct object is “it” (lo). Thus in Spanish we would initially have
Yo le lo doy. Because of the “la la” rule, however, we change the indirect
object pronoun le to se, and the resulting sentence is Yo se lo doy.
 This change in spelling to accommodate ease of pronunciation could
make such a sentence incomprehensible. However, we use pronouns only
when their antecedents are understood from the context of the paragraph or
conversation. Therefore, while looking at se lo doy without any prior
knowledge might make the sentence virtually meaningless, knowledge of the
referents makes the sentence completely understandable.

Traducción Unless marked [f.], it and them are masculine. Use the
second-person singular Spanish form for English you unless indicated
otherwise.
1. He sings it [f.] to her. _________________________________
2. We tell it to them. _________________________________
3. You buy them for him. _________________________________
4. I write it for you [pl., formal].
_________________________________
5. He sends them to them. _________________________________
6. I tell it to her. _________________________________
7. He sells it [f.] to her. _________________________________
8. You give them [f.] to him. _________________________________
9. No one tells it to her. _________________________________
10. Why do you tell it to him?
11. We bring them [f.] to them [f.]. _________________________________
12. She cooks it for them. _________________________________
13. I make them [f.] for you [pl., formal].
_________________________________
14. Do you make them for them? _________________________________
15. Who gives it to them? _________________________________

Two pronouns in a negative statement

In a negative sentence or clause in which the RID rules apply, place the word
“no” (or other word of negation) immediately before the first pronoun. In the
examples below, note the effect of the “la la” rule, and watch for sentences
like these in the exercises that follow.

Traducción Unless marked [f.], it and them are masculine. Use the
second-person singular Spanish form for English you unless indicated
otherwise.
1. She doesn’t tell it to me. _________________________________
2. I don’t tell it to him. _________________________________
3. We don’t buy them [f.] for ourselves.
_________________________________
4. They don’t send it [f.] to us on time (a tiempo).
_________________________________
5. She doesn’t make it for us every day.
_________________________________
6. I don’t give it [f.] to them. _________________________________
7. He doesn’t pay me for it in cash (en efectivo).
_________________________________
8. He doesn’t give it to me on time.
_________________________________
9. Why don’t you send it [f.] to her tomorrow?
_________________________________
10. Don’t you buy them [f.] for them every day?
_________________________________
11. I never buy them for myself. _________________________________
12. We never tell them to her. _________________________________

Two pronouns in sentences with two verbs

In a statement or clause that contains two verbs, the first verb is conjugated
and the second one remains in the infinitive form. The placement of the two
object pronouns follows the same pattern that has been seen with individual
pronouns. The object pronouns—kept together—may either be placed before
the conjugated verb or attached directly to the infinitive. In addition, they
always appear in RID order: reflexive, indirect, direct.
In these examples, the two pronouns are placed before the conjugated
verb.

Note that the “la la” rule comes into play in third-person situations.
When the two object pronouns are attached directly to the infinitive, a
written accent must be added in order for the infinitive to retain its natural
stress, which always falls on the final syllable. Therefore, a written accent is
placed over the vowel in the stressed syllable of the infinitive.
 Traducción Express each of the following statements in two complete
sentences showing the two options for placement of the object pronouns.
Unless marked [f.], it and them are masculine. Use the second-person
singular Spanish form for English you unless indicated otherwise.
1. I want to tell it to you.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
2. I want to buy it [f.] for you.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
3. You have to give it to me.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
4. We have to sell them to you.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
5. We have to sell it to her.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
6. They should buy them [f.] for you.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
7. They should buy it for themselves.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
8. She needs to send it [f.] to me.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
 9. You [pl., formal] have to give it [f.] to us.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
10. I should bring it to them.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
11. They should give them [f.] to me.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
12. She wants to sing it [f.] for us.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
13. You can send it to me by mail (por correo).
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
14. He can pay you for it [f.] in cash.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
15. I want to pay you [pl., informal] for them by check (con un cheque).
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

Questions and negative statements with two verbs

In a negative sentence with two verbs, place the word “no” (or other word of
negation) before the conjugated verb. If you also place the pronouns before
the conjugated verb, the word “no” precedes the pronouns. If you attach the
pronouns to the infinitive, the word “no” immediately precedes the
conjugated verb.
For questions, add question marks but maintain the order of the sentence
elements (subject and verb).
 To add the subject (either a noun or pronoun) to a negative statement or a
question, place it at the very beginning of the sentence. It should always be
placed before the conjugated verb; it should appear before the “no” if the
statement or question is negative.

Traducción Express each of the following statements in two complete

sentences showing the two options for placement of the object pronouns.
Unless marked [f.], it and them are masculine. Use the second-person
singular Spanish form for English you unless indicated otherwise.
1. Can you do it for me?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
2. No, I can’t do it for you.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
3. Do we have to tell it [f.] to him?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
4. When do you want to give them [f.] to them?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
 5. You don’t need to pay me for it now.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
6. They can’t sell it to you in the United States.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
7. We can’t sell it [f.] to them at this price.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
8. When do you want to tell it to me?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
9. Aren’t you going to bring it to us today?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
10. Can’t they send them [f.] to us by mail (por correo)?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

Traducción

Every year I receive lots of presents for my birthday. I have lots of friends
who have stores, and they always give me what they sell or what they make.
And for their birthdays, I always give them presents too. My friend Merlin
sells flowers, and he gives them to me. Manolo sells shoes, and he gives them
to me. Juan sells coffee, and he gives it to me. Vidal sells shampoo, and he
gives it to me. Paloma makes perfume, and she sends it to me, because she
lives in Spain. Donna makes dresses, and she sends them to me. Elsa makes
jewelry, and she always makes me something special for my birthday. This
year I want a private jet. Who is going to give it to me?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________