Good news: indirect object pronouns follow exactly the same placement rules as direct object pronouns. If you already know where to put lo, you know where to put le. The rules are identical — before conjugated verbs, attached to infinitives/gerunds, attached to affirmative commands, and before negative commands.
Default: before the conjugated verb
Me escribió una carta.
She wrote me a letter.
Le di el dinero.
I gave him the money.
Les mandamos la información.
We sent them the information.
Negation: no first
No te escucho.
I don't hear you.
No le gusta el café.
He/she doesn't like coffee.
No les dije nada.
I didn't tell them anything.
In questions
¿Me escuchas?
Are you listening to me?
¿Te molesta el ruido?
Does the noise bother you?
In compound tenses: before haber
Just like direct object pronouns, indirect object pronouns sit before the auxiliary verb haber — never between haber and the participle.
Le he escrito tres veces.
I've written to him three times.
Nos habían dicho la verdad.
They had told us the truth.
¿Te han llamado?
Have they called you?
With infinitives: two options
As with direct object pronouns, indirect pronouns can either precede the main verb or attach to the infinitive.
Quiero hablarle. / Le quiero hablar.
I want to speak to him.
Vas a escribirme pronto. / Me vas a escribir pronto.
You're going to write to me soon.
Necesito decirte algo. / Te necesito decir algo.
I need to tell you something. (Both valid — 'te necesito decir' is slightly less common but correct.)
With gerunds: two options, accent when attached
Está escribiéndome. / Me está escribiendo.
She's writing to me.
Estamos hablándole al director. / Le estamos hablando al director.
We're speaking to the director.
Remember: attaching a pronoun to a gerund requires a written accent on the original stressed vowel. See Direct Object Pronouns with Infinitives and Gerunds.
With affirmative commands: attached
¡Dime!
Tell me!
¡Cuéntale la historia!
Tell him the story!
¡Mándeme el correo!
Send me the email! (Formal command.)
¡Denles una oportunidad!
Give them a chance! (Plural command.)
Accents are usually required — dime is an exception because it's only two syllables.
With negative commands: before the verb
¡No me digas!
Don't tell me! (Also a common expression of surprise.)
¡No le hables así!
Don't talk to him like that!
¡No les den más comida!
Don't give them more food!
¡No nos esperen!
Don't wait for us!
Full summary table
| Context | Placement | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Simple tense | Before the verb | Le doy el libro. |
| Negative | After 'no', before the verb | No le doy el libro. |
| Compound tense | Before 'haber' | Le he dado el libro. |
| Infinitive | Two options | Voy a darle / Le voy a dar |
| Gerund | Two options (accent if attached) | Estoy dándole / Le estoy dando |
| Affirmative command | Attached, with accent | ¡Dale! |
| Negative command | Before the verb | ¡No le des! |
Combined with direct object pronouns
When you combine an indirect and a direct object pronoun, the indirect comes first. The whole cluster moves together — it cannot be split.
Me lo dio.
He gave it to me.
Quiero dártelo. / Te lo quiero dar.
I want to give it to you.
For the full ordering rules, including the le → se transformation, see Combined Object Pronouns: Order Rules.
Common mistakes
❌ Doy te el libro.
Wrong word order. Should be 'Te doy el libro'.
❌ He le dicho la verdad.
Wrong. Should be 'Le he dicho la verdad'.
❌ ¡No dime!
Wrong. Should be '¡No me digas!' (Negative command — pronoun before the verb.)
Voseo commands
In voseo regions, the same attachment rules apply to vos commands.
¡Decime la verdad!
Tell me the truth! (vos command + me.)
¡Contale lo que pasó!
Tell him what happened! (vos command + le.)
Summary
- Indirect object pronouns follow the same placement rules as direct object pronouns.
- Default: before the conjugated verb.
- With infinitives and gerunds: attach or place before the main verb (two options).
- Affirmative commands: attach. Negative commands: before.
- Combined with direct pronouns, the indirect comes first.
Next section: Combined Object Pronouns: Order Rules.
Related Topics
- Indirect Object Pronouns (Me, Te, Le, Nos, Les)A2 — The pronouns that indicate to whom or for whom the action is done
- Placement of Direct Object PronounsA2 — Where direct object pronouns go in the sentence: before conjugated verbs
- Combined Object Pronouns: Order RulesB1 — When indirect and direct object pronouns appear together, which comes first