Combined pronouns in the imperative: cómpramela, resérvatelo...

How these combined pronouns work

In this unit you combine two pronouns in affirmative commands:

• indirect object = the person (to/for whom)
• direct object = the thing (what)

Example:
Compra la entrada para mí hoy. → Cómpramela hoy.

• me = for me (person)
• la = the ticket (thing)

1. Fixed order: verb + person + thing

In affirmative imperatives the structure is always:

• imperative verb + indirect pronoun (person) + direct pronoun (thing)

Visual pattern:

• Cómpra + me + la → Cómpramela.
• Resérva + te + lo → Resérvatelo.

Important: the two pronouns are always joined to the verb (as one word) in affirmative commands.

2. Step-by-step: how to form it

1. Find the verb and the person
   • Who receives the action? → indirect pronoun (me, te, le, nos, os, les).
2. Find the thing
   • What is being bought / reserved / prepared…? → direct pronoun (lo, la, los, las).
3. Put the verb in the imperative
   • tú: compra, reserva, organiza…
   • vosotros: comprad, organizad…
   • usted / ustedes: compre, compren, entreguen…
4. Add the pronouns directly after the verb
   • verb + person + thing → cómpramela, resérvatelo, orgánizanosla.
5. Check the accent
   • Normally, the original stress of the verb is kept.
   • Often you need to add a written accent to keep the stress (see section 4).

3. The le / les → se rule

This is the most common doubt.

• When the indirect pronoun is le or les and you add lo / la / los / las, le / les change to se.

More examples:

• Entreguen la información a él hoy. → Entréguensela hoy.
• Envía los documentos al cliente ahora. → Envíaselos ahora.

Always think: “le + lo sounds bad” → change to se lo.

4. Accent and stress: where does the tilde go?

When you add one or two pronouns, the word becomes longer. Spanish keeps the original stress of the verb, so we often need a written accent.

• If the imperative already has an accent, keep it in the same syllable.
• If adding pronouns changes the natural stress, add an accent.

Quick check:

• Say the form aloud.
• Where do you naturally put the stress?
• If that syllable is not the one marked by normal spelling rules, you need a written accent.

5. Special case: vosotros + os + pronoun

With vosotros imperatives, the pronunciation often surprises learners.

1. Start with the imperative in -ad, -ed, -id:
   • preparad, organizad, levantad…
2. Add os (for “yourselves”):
   • preparad + os → preparaos
3. Add the direct object pronoun:
   • preparaos + la → preparáosla

Example from the table:

• Preparad la comida para vosotros. → Preparáosla.

Spelling note: you often see a written accent to keep the stress on the same syllable: preparáosla.

6. Typical mistakes to avoid

• Separating the pronouns from the verb
  • Compra me la hoy.
  • ✔ Cómpramela hoy.
• Wrong order
  • Cómprala me.
  • ✔ Cómpramela. (person before thing)
• Using le/les with lo/la/los/las
  • Entréguenle la.
  • ✔ Entréguensela. (le → se)
• Forgetting the accent and changing the stress
  • Compramela (sounds like com-pra-ME-la)
  • ✔ Cómpramela (COM-pra-me-la)

7. Self-check: can you do these three things?

Use these questions to check your understanding.

1. Can I identify person vs. thing?
   • Person (to/for whom) → me, te, se, nos, os, se.
   • Thing (what) → lo, la, los, las.
2. Can I build the correct order?
   • Start from: verb + person + thing.
   • Join them: organiza + nos + la → orgánizanosla.
   • Remember: le/les + lo/la/los/las → se + lo/la/los/las.
3. Can I hear where the stress goes?
   • Say the whole form aloud.
   • If the stress moved, add a written accent on the stressed syllable.

If you can do these steps with examples like:

• Resérvatelo (reserve it for yourself)
• Orgánizanosla (organize it for us)
• Entréguensela (hand it to him/her/them)

then you are ready to use these forms fluently in conversation.