Using Object Pronouns with Commands

Let's begin the studies of how to use object pronouns with commands by watching this video lesson. Be prepared to take notes. You can pause this video lesson at any time.

Pronoun Rules with Commands

Pronouns have some special rules when being used along with commands. The basic rule is that any pronoun needs to be attached to the end of an affirmative command but come in front of a negative command. Consider the command, "Tell me!" The verb we will use is decir and me is our indirect object pronoun:

**Example - Decir with Indirect Object me**
Type of Command	Tú Form	Usted Form	Ustedes Form
Affirmative	dime	dígame	díganme
Negative	no me digas	no me diga	no me digan

If you look closely, you may have noticed that some accent marks suddenly appeared in the affirmative usted and ustedes commands. These are not typos. We don't want to change the natural pronunciation of our command (diga and digan) even though we're adding a syllable to it. To preserve the original stress, we write an accent mark on the vowel that would be stressed if there weren't an object attached. The "i" in dime does not need an accent mark because even with the object attached, the stress still falls in the proper place.

Commands with Indirect and Direct Pronouns

The same rules apply for commands with both indirect and direct object pronouns. Consider the command, "Tell it to me!" In addition to our IOP, "me," we're going to add a DOP, it. Since we're not sure what "it" refers to, we'll use lo:

**Example - Decir with Indirect Object me and Direct Object lo**
Type of Command	Tú Form	Usted Form	Ustedes Form
Affirmative	dímelo	dígamelo	díganmelo
Negative	no me lo digas	no me lo diga	no me lo digan

Nosotros and Vosotros Forms

The same rules apply to nosotros and vosotros commands. Consider the following commands using hacer: Let's do it! and Do it! (as well as their negative counterparts):

**Example - Hacer with Direct Object lo**
Type of Command	Nosotros Form	Vosotros Form
Affirmative	hagámoslo	hácedlo
Negative	no lo hagamos	no lo hagáis

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