DO and IO Pronouns Used Together

Here are the direct object pronouns and the indirect object pronouns side by side:

DO Pronouns	IO Pronouns	English Equivalent
me	me	me
te	te	you (familiar)
lo, la	le	him, her, it, you (formal)
nos	nos	us
os	os	you-all (familiar)
los, las	les	them, you-all (formal)

When you have both a direct object pronoun and an indirect object pronoun in the same sentence, the indirect object pronoun comes first.

Ellos me los dan.
They give them to me.
IO pronoun: me
DO pronoun: los

Ella te la vende.
She sells it to you.
IO pronoun: te
DO pronoun: la

Whenever both pronouns begin with the letter "l" change the first pronoun to "se."

le lo = se lo
le la = se la
le los = se los
le las = se las
les lo = se lo
les la = se la
les los = se los
les las = se las

In negative sentences, the negative word comes directly before the first pronoun.

No te lo tengo.
I don't have it for you.

Nunca se los compro.
I never buy them for her.

 Because the pronoun se can have so many meanings, it is often helpful to clarify it by using a prepositional phrase.

• In sentences with two verbs, there are two options regarding the placement of the pronouns. Place them immediately before the conjugated verb or attach them directly to the infinitive.

I want to tell it to you.
Te lo quiero decir.
Quiero decírtelo.

You need to send it to them.
Se la necesitas enviar a ellos.
Necesitas enviársela a ellos.

• Note that when attaching the pronouns to the infinitive, a written accent is also added to the final syllable of the infinitive. This preserves the sound of the infinitive.