Double object pronouns: Grammar guide

Important rules:

• When le(s) and lo(s) / la(s) end up together in the same sentence, you'll always want to change le(s) (the indirect object pronoun) to se to avoid tripping up your tongue.
  
  
  • So, when rewriting Le voy a pedir el coche a papá instead of Le lo voy a pedir, you'd say Se lo voy a pedir.
  
  
  
• When replacing direct and indirect object nouns with pronouns, sometimes we find one of each in a sentence. The word order is important here.
  
  
• Always remember to place the indirect object pronoun first, followed by the direct object pronoun.

  Example with an infinitive: (Voy a pedir el coche a mi papá.)

  • Se lo voy a pedir.
  • Voy a pedírselo.

  Example with the gerund: (Estoy haciendo la cena para ti.)

  • Te la estoy haciendo.
  • Estoy haciéndotela.

  Example with just a conjugated verb: (¿Sirves el postre a Juan?.)

  • ¿Se lo sirves?

Later on, we'll learn about commands with direct and indirect object pronouns, as well as double object pronouns. In simple terms, we'll tack on the pronouns to the command just as we do with the infinitive and the present progressive.