Place Pronouns with Infinitives and Gerunds
Verb combinations often allow a pronoun before the conjugated verb or attached to an infinitive or gerund. Keep both options together and add accent marks when attachment shifts spelling.
Learning objective
Choose a valid pronoun position in verbal periphrases and preserve written stress.
A verbal periphrasis is a group of two or more verbs that work together as one verbal idea, such as ir a revisar or estar preparando. Object and reflexive pronouns often have two valid positions within these combinations.
Con un infinitivo, puedes anteponer el pronombre al verbo conjugado o unirlo al infinitivo: Lo voy a revisar y Voy a revisarlo. Las dos opciones conservan el mismo referente y no se debe separar el bloque diciendo voy lo a revisar.
Gerund combinations behave similarly: La estoy preparando and Estoy preparándola both mean that preparation is in progress. Attachment can create a written accent, as in preparándola or explicándoselo, because the larger written word must preserve its spoken stress.
Los pronombres dobles se mueven juntos: Se lo voy a explicar o Voy a explicárselo. No es válido colocar uno delante y otro detrás, como se voy a explicarlo, porque el grupo pronominal mantiene su orden interno y una sola posición.
Not every infinitive sequence allows the same freedom. With the impersonal pattern hay que, most speakers attach the pronoun to the infinitive: Hay que revisarlo. Most speakers reject Lo hay que revisar. After a preposition, attachment likewise stays with the infinitive.
Al editar, identifica primero si existe una verdadera perífrasis o dependencia verbal, después elige una de las posiciones admitidas y finalmente revisa la tilde. La alternativa más clara en un texto concreto importa más que variar posiciones por estilo.
Examples
Te quiero ayudar y también quiero ayudarte a decidir.
I want to help you, and I also want to help you decide.
Te can precede the conjugated verb or attach to ayudar without changing its reference.
Nos estamos preparando y estamos preparándonos con calma.
We are getting ready, and we are preparing ourselves calmly.
The reflexive pronoun has two positions; preparándonos receives an accent after attachment.
Se lo siguió explicando; siguió explicándoselo con dibujos.
She kept explaining it to them; she continued explaining it to them with drawings.
Se lo remains one ordered block in both positions, and explicándoselo preserves stress.
Hay que entregárselo hoy, aunque prefiero revisarlo antes.
It has to be handed to them today, although I prefer to review it first.
Hay que keeps the pronouns attached to the infinitive; preferir also naturally takes revisarlo here.
Common mistake
- Instead of
- Se estoy explicándolo y lo hay que corregir.
- Try
- Se lo estoy explicando y hay que corregirlo.
The first sentence split se from lo across two positions; the correction keeps the block before estoy. With impersonal hay que, most speakers attach the direct pronoun to corregir.
Practice
Try it yourself
Rewrite a progress update in two equivalent versions. Report that you are going to review the document and that Ana is preparing the presentation. Label the infinitive and gerund pairs and explain the accent created by attachment.