Español — Combining object pronouns

When a verb has both an indirect and a direct object pronoun, they appear together in a fixed order, as in Me lo da or Se lo doy.

How it works

✓ Rule

The indirect object pronoun always comes before the direct one (order: OI + OD): Me lo da, Te la enseño, Nos los traen. Both pronouns go before a conjugated verb, but attach to the end of an infinitive, gerund, or affirmative command: quiero dártelo, dándomelo, dámelo.

Examples

Indirect + direct pronoun combinations
Combination	Example	Meaning
me + lo → me lo	Me lo da	He/She gives it to me
te + la → te la	Te la enseño	I show it to you
nos + los → nos los	Nos los traen	They bring them to us
os + las → os las	Os las devuelvo	I give them back to you (pl.)
le → se + lo	Se lo doy	I give it to him/her
les → se + las	Se las mandé	I sent them to them

Good to know

⚠ Note

When both pronouns are third person, le and les change to se before lo, la, los, las — never say "le lo" or "les la", always Se lo doy, Se las mandé. Because se is ambiguous (him, her, them, you-formal), speakers often add a clarifying phrase: Se lo doy a ella, Se lo doy a usted.