One instruction, two builds
Tell it to me! is ¡Dímelo! in Spanish, a single word with the pronouns welded onto the verb. Don't tell it to me! is ¡No me lo digas!, four words, the same pronouns in a different place. In an English command the pronouns always trail behind the verb as separate words. In Spanish it is the no that decides where they go.
An everyday pair
¡Dímelo ya!
Just tell me already!
¡No me lo digas!
Don't tell me!
Affirmative — everything becomes one word
In an affirmative command you write the pronouns straight onto the verb form: a single word, no hyphen, no space. As everywhere, le or les turns into se before lo, la, los, las: ¡Dáselo!, not ¡Dálelo!.
From the bare form to the full one
| Imperative | with one pronoun | with two pronouns | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| di | dilo | dímelo | tell it to me |
| da | dame | dámelo | give it to me |
| compra | cómprala | cómpramela | buy it for me |
The verb form itself never changes — something is only added to it.
Attached, in conversation
Marta
Tengo una noticia buenísima.
I've got fantastic news.
Luis
¡Cuéntamela ahora mismo!
Tell it to me right now!
Marta
Es sobre el piso. ¿Te mando las fotos?
It's about the flat. Shall I send you the photos?
Luis
Sí, mándamelas al móvil.
Yes, send them to my phone.
Why an accent suddenly shows up
Attaching pronouns makes the word longer, but the stressed syllable stays exactly where it was. If it ends up third from the end or further forward, the normal accent rules demand a written mark: escribe becomes escríbelo, not escribelo. Spanish marks stress in writing; English never does, so this can feel like decoration. It is information.
Short and long side by side
Dame el número.
Give me the number.
Dámelo otra vez.
Give it to me again.
Negative — the pronouns jump forward
As soon as no is involved, nothing gets attached. The pronouns stand free between no and the verb, in the same order, and attaching creates no new accent. The verb is in the subjunctive: with tú and vosotros the form changes too (cuenta becomes cuentes), with usted, ustedes and nosotros only the position changes.
Prohibitions with pronouns
¡No me lo cuentes!
Don't tell it to me!
¡No se las des!
Don't give them to him!
No me llames antes de las diez.
Don't call me before ten.
Two places where a letter disappears
With nosotros and vosotros a letter drops out when the pronoun is attached. In the negative this does not happen, because nothing is attached: no nos sentemos, no os sentéis.
nosotros: before nos and se the form loses its -s. sentemos + nos gives sentémonos, vamos + nos gives vámonos. These are the forms English renders with let's.
vosotros: before os the form loses its -d. sentad + os gives sentaos, levantad + os gives levantaos. The exception is ir: idos.
Both cases in a sentence
¡Vámonos ya, que es tarde!
Let's go, it's late!
¡Sentémonos aquí delante!
Let's sit down here at the front!
¡Sentaos, por favor!
Sit down, please!
¡Callaos un momento!
Be quiet for a moment!
The same mechanics in the polite form
For usted and ustedes everything works the same: attach in the affirmative, put in front in the negative. The reflexive pronoun is se.
All persons side by side
| Person | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tú | díselo | no se lo digas |
| usted | dígaselo | no se lo diga |
| nosotros | digámoselo | no se lo digamos |
| vosotros | decídselo | no se lo digáis |
| ustedes | díganselo | no se lo digan |
The verb decir with se lo (tell it to him).
Polite, with pronouns
Dígame su número de reserva.
Tell me your booking number.
Mándemelo por correo, si le parece.
Send it to me by email, if that's all right with you.
