Attach Pronouns to Affirmative Commands
Affirmative commands attach object and reflexive pronouns, sometimes requiring a written accent to preserve stress. Build the command first, add pronouns in order, then verify pronunciation.
Learning objective
Attach one or two pronouns to affirmative commands with accurate stress and spelling.
An enclitic is an unstressed pronoun attached in writing to the end of a verb. With an affirmative command, build the command first, attach reflexive or object pronouns in their normal order, and then check the resulting word's stress.
En Dime la verdad, di es el mandato afirmativo y me señala a la persona que recibe la información. Si también sustituimos la verdad por la, obtenemos dímela: el pronombre indirecto precede al directo y ambos quedan unidos al verbo.
Attachment may require a written accent because Spanish spelling evaluates the completed word. Da becomes dame without an accent, but da + me + lo becomes dámelo; explica + se + lo becomes explícaselo. The spoken stress stays where the command had it.
Los mandatos negativos siguen otra pauta: No me lo des y No se lo explique colocan los pronombres delante del verbo. No mezcles las dos estructuras diciendo no dámelo ni se lo explica cuando quieres formular una orden.
Reflexive commands also show small spelling changes. Siéntense comes from sienten plus se, without copying the final n after the pronoun. Forms with vosotros have additional regional morphology, so this lesson prioritises broadly useful tú, usted, and ustedes commands.
Para revisar una forma, separa cuatro decisiones: persona del mandato, afirmación o negación, orden de pronombres y acento de la palabra final. Leerla en voz alta ayuda, pero la tilde se comprueba mediante las reglas ortográficas, no por intuición visual.
Examples
Dame el informe y déjamelo en la mesa.
Give me the report and leave it for me on the table.
Me marks the recipient; lo retrieves el informe, and déjamelo needs an accent to preserve stress.
Explícaselo a Marta antes de la reunión.
Explain it to Marta before the meeting.
Se replaces le before lo, and both pronouns attach to the affirmative tú command.
Siéntense aquí y pónganse los auriculares.
Sit here and put on the headphones.
Both ustedes commands attach reflexive se; the written accents keep the intended stress.
No me lo envíes hoy; envíamelo mañana.
Don't send it to me today; send it to me tomorrow.
The negative command places pronouns before the verb, while the affirmative command attaches them.
Common mistake
- Instead of
- Me da lo ahora y no envíamelo después.
- Try
- Dámelo ahora y no me lo envíes después.
The affirmative command attaches me and lo as one accented word. The negative command requires the pronoun block before envíes. Keeping the pair together also preserves indirect-before-direct order.
Practice
Try it yourself
Turn four service instructions into connected commands: give me the receipt, explain the change to Ana, invite the clients to sit down, and then prohibit sending the old file. Use two pronouns where possible. Explain only how attaching pronouns creates the written accents in Dámelo, Explícaselo, and Siéntense.