A
Simplified
Method
of
Teaching
the Position
of
Object
Pronouns
in
Spanish
Ronald J.
Quirk
Quinnipiac
University
Abstract: The
placement
of
direct, indirect,
and reflexive
object pronouns
is often
presented disjointedly
in
textbooks. We
offer a
succinct,
easily-learned
pair
of
mnemonic devices that
have
universal
applicability
for the
position
of
object
pronouns
in
Spanish
sentences. The
acronym
IGA indicates that these
pronouns
follow and are
appended
to
infinitives,
gerunds,
and affirmative
commands;
otherwise,
the
pronouns directly precede
the verb.
In
sentences where two
positions
are
allowed,
application
of
the
IGA rule will
reveal both
possibilities.
The
acronym
RID
prescribes
the
sequential
order of two
object pronouns
to
be
always
reflexive, indirect,
and
direct,
whether
they
precede
or follow
the verb.
Additionally,
the use
of
accent marks when
pronouns
are
appended
to verbs and
the
substitution of se
for le or les
are
simplified
in a
concise didactic
system.
Key
Words:
Spanish object pronouns,
word
order in
Spanish
Many
good college
textbooks for
elementary Spanish
introduce
direct,
indirect,
and
reflexive
object pronouns
over
many
pages
and
several
lessons,
with
other
topics
intervening.
A'
treats
reflexives
in
Chapter
4,
indirect
object
pronouns
in
Chapter
6,
and direct
object
pronouns
in
Chapter
7. The "nosotros" commands and the use
of
pronouns
with them are left until
Chapter
15.
B
likewise
separates
object
pronouns
into
Chapters
4, 6,
and
7. C
begins
with direct
object pronouns
in
Lecci6n
4,
adds
the indirect
objects
and reflexives
in
Lecci6n
5,
and
concludes
with
first-person plural
commands
in
Lecci6n
10.
D
spreads
the
object pronouns
over
Chapters
7 and
8,
and
explains
the
combined
use
of two
pronouns
in
Chapter
11.
In
intermediate texts
the
spacing
of material on
object pronouns
is
similar.
E
gives
direct
object
and indirect
object
pronouns
in
Lesson
2,
but reflexives
are
held
until
Lesson
4.
Sixty-
four
pages
of
grammar
and
exercises
come between where
object
pronouns
are
first men-
tioned and
a final
summary
table of them on
page
100.
F
begins
with reflexives in
Capitulo
2,
continues
with "nosotros" commands
in
Capitulo
4,
and treats direct and indirect
object
pronouns
in
Capitulo
5.
G
includes both direct and indirect
object
pronouns
and their com-
bined
usage
in
Lecci6n
3
but
leaves
reflexives for
Lecci6n
4.
H
teaches
the various
object
pronouns
in
Chapters
3
and 6.
I,
in
contrast,
includes all the
object pronouns
in its
Unit
12.
Even
in
some books of advanced
Spanish grammar,
this
topic
is
presented
in an
analogous way.
In J
the
forms,
usage,
and
position
of
object
pronouns
receive
intermittent
attention
from
page
53 to
page
356.
K,
on
the other
hand,
neatly
presents
all
the
object
pro-
nouns
within two
pages
(411-12).
From
these
representative
texts the
general pattern
is clear:
in
Spanish grammar
textbooks
the usual treatment
of
the
object
pronouns
is
gradual
and extended. There is
sound
reason
for this
separation
of
material,
especially
in
introductory
textbooks.
Authors want to
minimize students'
confusion of the various
object
pronouns by
teaching
them
individually,
in
isolation
from one
another. But
this diffuse
presentation
also leads to
multiple
instructions
on the
placement
of the
object
pronouns.
In A
directions
for
placement
occur on
pages
93,
105,
157,
181,
335,
and 373.
In E this
topic
is first
addressed on
page
37 and not concluded
until
page
195.
G teaches
the
three kinds
of
pronouns
in Lessons
3
and
4
but extends
Quirk,
Ronald
J.
"A
Simplified
Method
of
Teaching
the Position of
Object
Pronouns
in
Spanish"
Hispania
85.4
(2002):
902-906
Quirk, R. J. 2002. A simplified method of teaching the
position of object pronouns in Spanish.
Hispania, 85,4:902-906.
Object
Pronoun Position in
Spanish
903
instruction
on their
placement
over
Lessons
3, 4,
and 6. Even textbooks that are more concise
in
dealing
with the
location of the various
object pronouns
do not
succinctly
formulate
easily-
memorized
guides
for
placement
of
them.
C,
for
example,
explains
the
placing
of
a
single
object pronoun
on one
page
(143)
and the
sequence
of indirect and
direct-object pronouns
on
another
page (204),
but does not offer students a
summary
formula as a
learning
aid.
H
furnishes
an
orderly
and
compact
chart of the
positions
of direct and indirect
object
pronouns
(66),
but
this
intermediate-level reference work also lacks an
integrating
formula
for
placement.
The advanced-level
K
recapitulates
the
position
of
these
pronouns
in three
briefly
stated
rules
(412),
but
again
this is without
a succinct mnemonic aid.
Such
spread-out presentations,
or
even a more concentrated but
still
inconclusive
treatment,
should
be
complemented by
a
clarifying
and
systematizing pedagogy
that
draws
together
and
reiterates the basic rules
of
placement
in
a concise didactic form. In
reality,
the
placement
of
the
Spanish
object
pronouns
is
quite simple-it
is
simple
to
summarize,
simple
to
teach,
and
simple
to learn.
First,
let us define
the
issue. The
personal object pronouns
are the direct
object,
indirect
object,
and reflexive
particles
that
replace
nouns
(and
noun
modifiers).2
The
object pronouns
all
operate
in the same
way
with
regard
to
place.3 They
are
"clitics,"
that
is,
elements that
must
be
used with another
word;
in
this
case,
with a
verb. The
grammatical
and
pedagogical
issue
is
when these entities are
"proclitics"
(i.e.,
come before the
verb)
and when
they
are
"enclitics"
(i.e.,
come
after the
verb).
In sentences that contain one
object
pronoun,
a
simple
acronym
defines
placement
of
the
pronoun.
The
letters IGA indicate that
object pronouns
follow
infinitives,
gerunds,
and
affirmative
commands but
precede
all other
verb
forms.4 This rule
succinctly
summarizes
the
range
of
possibilities
that can be
encountered;
it
is valid for
declarative,
interrogative,
and
imperative
sentences, and,
indeed,
it
pertains
to
all
persons
of the
imperative:
Ud.,
Uds.,
tzi,
vosotros,
and
nosotros.
In our choice of the term
"gerund"
for the form of the
Spanish
verb with the invariable
ending
-ndo,
we follow the
practice
of Holton
(55),
Jarvis
(8),
Rosso-O'Laughlin
(139)
and
others
for the
pragmatic
reason
that
students can
easily equate
the word
"gerund,"
which ends
in
-nd,
with
the
Spanish
form
that
ends in -ndo
(e.g.,
hablando,
comiendo,
viviendo).5
Textbooks
written in
Spanish,
such as
Btrbara
Mujica's
advanced
grammar
El
pr6ximo
paso,
also label this
a
gerund:
"el
gerundio
es la forma
que
termina en -ndo. En
ingles,
esta
forma
termina en
-ing"
(16).
To
begin
an
illustration of the
IGA
rule,
we can substitute
(or add)
pronouns
in the
proper
place
in
the
following
sentences.
Marta
escribe una carta.
>
Marta la
escribe.
(direct
object)
Marta
escribe
a
su hermana.
>
Marta
le escribe.
(indirect
object)
Marta escribe
una
nota.
>
Para no
olvidar,
Marta se escribe una nota.
(reflexive)
In
all
these cases the
object pronoun,
whether it is
a
direct, indirect,
or
reflexive
object,
goes
before
the verb because the
verb is not
an I
(infinitive),
not
a
G
(gerund),
and
not
an
A
(affirmative command).
These
pronouns
function as
proclitics,
and
so
they
must be located
immediately
before the verb.
Thus if
our sentence were
negative (Marta
no escribe una
carta),
the sentence
with the
pronoun
would be "Marta
no
la
escribe,"
for
nothing may
intrude
between
the
proclitic pronoun
and the verb.
The
first
model
sentence
above can be
slightly expanded
to "Marta
quiere
escribir una
carta."
If the
direct
object
pronoun
la
is substituted for una carta
now,
the
application
of the
IGA
rule
will render two
answers. One
may
focus on the infinitive escribir and arrive at
"Marta
quiere
escribirla." On the
other
hand,
the verb
quiere
is not an
I
(infinitive),
not a G
(gerund),
and
not an A
(affirmative
command),
so we can also
say
"Marta
la
quiere
escribir."6
The rule will
not
suggest any
other
position
for la
(such
as between the two
verbs),
and no
904
Hispania
85
December
2002
other
position
is
grammatically
allowed.
This
is the
great advantage
of the IGA rule: when two
positions
for
the
object
pronoun
are
possible,
it will
provide
both
options.
The same
possibility
of
two locations for the
pronoun
occurs when
a
gerund
and an
auxiliary
verb are involved.
If
we alter
the
original
sentence
to
"Marta
esti
escribiendo
una
carta" and
again
substitute
la for
una
carta,
the result
will be "Marta
esta escribiendola"
because escribiendo is
a
gerund;
but we
can
also
say
"Marta
la
estai
escribiendo"
because
est6
is
not an
I,
a
G,
or
an A.
No other
position
for the
pronoun
will
be called for
by
the IGA
rule.
Once
again,
this
application
of
this rule
will
point
out
no
fewer,
and no
more,
than all the
grammatically
allowable
positions
for the
object pronoun.
With
an
affirmative
command,
only
one
place
is
possible
for the
pronoun-after
the
verb: escribela
(tu),
escribala
(Ud.),
escribanla
(Uds.),
escribidla
(vosotros),
and escribd-
mosla
(nosotros).7
The direct
object
pronoun
la
has been
employed
in
most of
our
illustration of the IGA
rule,
but
everything
that
has been stated
regarding
word order holds true for all the
direct,
indirect,
and
reflexive
pronouns.
The use of accent
marks when
a
pronoun
is
appended
to the end of
a
verb is based on the
principle
of
maintaining
the
original
accentuation
pattern
of the verb. The first
step
is
to
determine where
the
stress was
on
the
verb
before
a
pronoun
was
added. All
infinitives,
of
course,
end
in
r,
all
gerunds
end
in
o,
and
all
affirmative commands end
in a
vowel
(in
singular
commands)
or
the consonants
n
(in plural
commands),
s
(in
first-person plural
commands),
or
d(for vosotros).
Exceptions
are the
irregular
tzi
imperatives:
haz,
sal,
etc. The accentuation
for all these forms
is
the
general pattern
for
Spanish:
stress falls on the next-to-last
syllable
for
words
ending
in
any
vowel or n or
s,
and on the last
syllable
for
words
ending
in
any
consonant
except
n
or
s.
After
the
place
of stress for the verb without the
pronoun
has been determined
by applying
these
principles,
the
pronoun
enclitic
is
attached
to the verb and the same
princi-
ples
(word
ending
in
vowel,
n or
s=stress on next-to-last
syllable;
word
ending
in another
consonant=stress on
last
syllable)
are
applied
to the new
verb-pronoun
unit to
see
if
the stress
would
change.
If the
addition
of
the
pronoun
would move
the
stress
on
the
verb,
an accent
mark
must be
written where
the stress
was
originally;
if
the
place
of stress would not
change,
an accent
mark is not written.
However,
this
underlying logic
for the use of accent marks need
not
be
thoroughly
mastered
in order to
use them
accurately
when
adding pronouns
to verbs.
In
practical
terms,
the
explanation
can be
that an
accent mark
is not
placed
on an infinitive
when
one
pronoun
is
appended,
but an accent
mark is
always
written
on the last vowel before -ndo
when
one
pronoun
is added to
a
gerund.
With affirmative
commands,
an accent mark will be
necessary
on the last
syllable
of
the verb unless the verb contains
only
one
syllable, likepon,
ten,
di,
and
so
forth. With
these
one-syllable
verbs,
an
accent mark is not added.
The
placement
of
object pronouns
is the same
in
sentences
that involve two
pronouns,
but
the new issue that must be addressed is the order
of
these
pronouns among
themselves.
For the internal
sequence
of
clitics,
we introduce
a
second mnemonic device.
This is the
acronym
RID,
which means that the order of
object pronouns
is
always:
reflexive, indirect,
direct.
The
same order is observed whether the
pronouns
follow
or
precede
the verb. M.
Kasey
Hellerman
has
developed
this
guideline
in
iQud
me
cuenta?
(26),
a
Spanish
conversation text
that
is now out
of
print.
To
illustrate
the combined
application
of the IGA and
RID
rules,
we
can
go
back to our
original
sentence
("Marta
escribe una
carta")
and add
on
another
object
to denote
the
recipient
of the letter:
"Marta me escribe una carta."
Then,
ifa
pronoun
is
substituted
for
una
carta,
there
will
be two
pronouns,
and the word
order
will be: "Marta me la escribe." IGA
demands
locating
the
pronouns
in
front
of
escribe,
and
RID
demands
that
the
indirect me
precede
the direct la.
Although
RID fixes the
relative
position
of all three
types
of
pronouns-reflexive,
Object
Pronoun Position in
Spanish
905
indirect,
and
direct-,
they
will not
actually
be used
together
in
sequence;
one or more of the
three will
always
be absent.
To
explain
this,
Carlos
Otero
(169-70)
has recourse to
the
terminology
of
Chomsky
in
generating
a
"surface exclusion
rule" that
precludes
the
possibility
of se
plus
two
other
clitics. But
the theoretical basis for
the
exclusion
is
not of
import
here. Suffice
it to
say,
for
our
pedagogical purposes,
that all three elements of
RID
will never be
present
concurrently.
Returning again
to our model
sentences,
if
we take
"Marta
va
a
escribir
una
carta,"
expand
it
to "Marta
va
a
escribirme una
carta,"
and
substitute
for
una
carta,
we
end
up
with
either "Marta me la
va a escribir" or "Marta
va
a
escribirmela."
One
usually
cannot
split
the two
pronouns up
and
put
one before
va
and the other after
escribir. It is
possible
to
split
them
only
in
sentences like
"no
se
permite
bafiarse
aqui"
or
"no
lo
dejes
insultarnos"
where one
pronoun
clearly
goes
with
one verb
and the other
pronoun
clearly goes
with
the
other verb.
In
the case
of
a
gerund,
"Marta
esti escribiendome una carta"
or "Marta
me esta
escribiendo una
carta" will become "Marta
estd escribi6ndomela"
or "Marta me
la
esti
escribiendo."
The affirmative commands are "escribemela
(td),"
"escribamela
(Ud.),"
etc.
Thus we
combine
IGA to
get
the
pronouns
in
the
right position
in the
sentence with RID
to
get
the
pronouns
in the
right
order
among
themselves. With these
two
simple acronyms,
IGA
and
RID,
everything
falls
into
place-literally,
"falls into
place."
As
we
work with two
pronouns,
we
note
that
whenever two that
begin
with
the letter L
come
in
a
row,
the first
pronoun
changes
to se.
Thus,
le la
becomes
se
la;
les
los
becomes se
los,
etc.
Many
textbooks
explain
that le and les
become
se
before
lo,
la,
los and las
(C
205,
F
140,
and
A
248),
while
other books state that
if
both
pronouns
are
third
person,
the
first one
changes
to se
(e.g.,
I
173).
A
simple,
but
accurate,
way
to teach this is
to have
students focus
on the first letter
of the
pronouns
and to
change
the first
pronoun
to se
(which
is
not
a
reflexive)
when both
pronouns
start with
L.
Puntos
departida
(267) employs
this
simplified
explanation.
And
finally,
accent
marks
will,
logically,
be more
frequently
needed
to
preserve original
verb
stress when
two
pronouns
are
appended
to the verb. In
fact,
a written accent is
always
required
if two
pronoun
objects
are
added
to
the end of a verb. On
infinitives,
the
accent
mark
will
be
on the
letter before
the
r;
on
gerunds,
it will be on
the
last letter before the
ndo;
and
on affirmative
commands,
it
will be on the
vowel
of
the next to last
syllable
in command
forms
of more than one
syllable,
and on the
vowel of the
only syllable
there is in
commands
of one
syllable,
for
example,
escribemela,
digaselo,
or
dcnmelos.
A fine
point regarding
accents
is
that when
there are
diphthongs,
an
accent mark is
not
placed
over
a
u or an i but
rather over the other
vowel,
as
in
mudstramelo
or
trciigaselos.
The
guidelines
we
have
explained
describe the
position
of the
personal
object
pronouns
in
modern
Spanish.
However,
students will
not
infrequently
encounter
different word
order
as
they
read
pre-contemporary
literature.
Most
often
this
will be the
placing
of an
object
pronoun
after a
conjugated
verb
or a
past participle.
One need look no
further
than
Chapter
I of Don
Quijote
(1038)
to find
many
such
cases,
among
them,
"perdia
el
pobre
caballero el
juicio y
desvelibase
por
entenderlas" and "Llen6sele la fantasia de todo
aquello
que
leia
en
los libros."
As
demonstrated
by
this second
quotation
from
Cervantes,
in
older literature
there
was
a
particular
aversion
to
beginning
sentences
with an
object pronoun.
Moreover,
Otero mentions
postposition
("enclisis")
as a
stylistic
practice
that "increased
substantially
during
the Romantic
period"
(172).
Nor does this
tendency
end
with
Romanticism,
as can
easily
be observed
in the works ofRam6n
del
Valle-Inclkin:
"limpi6se
dos
ligrimas,"
"rece-
16se,"
"quidrense
desde
hace muchos
afios"
(73,
101,
102),
etc.
Actually,
one finds
such
word
order
in
works of
many periods
of
Spanish
literature
in
formulaic
phrases
like
"6rase
una
vez"
or
"6rase
que
se
era"
(=
"once
upon
a
time").
These
examples
from
literature,
while
necessary
to
note,
do
not
constitute
the norm in
modemrn
Spanish.
The
norm
is,
in
fact,
an
extremely
regular,
even
rigid,
proclitic
and enclitic
906
Hispania
85 December 2002
positioning
system
that is
represented by
the
acronyms
and
guidelines
we
have
explained.
The IGA and
RID
rules,
plus
the
simplified
guide
for
replacing
le and les
by
se and the
sum-
maries
of written accent
usage
presented
above,
together
constitute
a
concise,
practical
pedagogical
method for instructors
to
teach,
and students
to
learn,
the
placement,
order,
alteration,
and accentuation of
verb-pronoun
clusters in
Spanish.
NOTES
'The textbooks examined
for
the
present study
will
be referred
to
by
the
letters
A, B, C,
etc. Readers with
a
need
to know the
identity
of
a
particular
reference
may
contact the author.
2The
origin
and historical
development
of
these forms
are
extensively
traced
by
Joel Rini in his
monograph
Motives
for
Linguistic
Change
in
the Formation
of
the
Spanish Object
Pronouns.
Rini
indicates
(2)
that the
placement
of
these
pronouns
lies
beyond
the area of
his
study.
3Excluded
from consideration are
pronoun objects
of
a
preposition,
for
they
naturally
follow the
preposition.
41
wish
to
acknowledge
with
gratitude
the
late
Agnes Jennings Draper
as
the source of
the
IGA
mnemonic
aid.
5Some
books use the
technically
more accurate term
"present participle"
for this form. See
Crystal's
Encyclopedic
Dictionary
of Language
and
Languages
(290-91)
for the
distinction between
"gerund"
and
"participle."
6Dozier and
Iguina
(66-67)
list the
relatively infrequent
instances
in
which the
object pronoun
must follow
the infinitive and
may
not
precede
the
conjugated
verb. We
suggest
that
their rule
that
the
pronoun
cannot
precede
the
conjugated
verb "if the infinitive follows
a
preposition"
should
be
amended,
for
such
a
sentence as
lo
voy
a
comprar
is
allowable.
7Constructions
of
the
type
que
lo
haga Jorge
are
not
to
be considered affirmative commands
but
rather
truncated
expressions
based
on the
pattern quiero que
lo
haga Jorge
that
requires
a
subjunctive
after
a
verb
of
volition and
a
change
of
subject.
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1965.
Crystal,
David.
An
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MA:
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1992.
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