Breakdown of ¿La puedes planchar pronto?
pronto
soon
poder
to be able to / can
la
it / her (direct object)
planchar
to iron
Questions & Answers about ¿La puedes planchar pronto?
Why is la placed before puedes instead of attached to planchar?
When you have a conjugated verb (puedes) followed by an infinitive (an unconjugated verb like planchar), you have two choices for where to put the object pronoun. You can put it right before the conjugated verb (la puedes planchar), or you can attach it to the very end of the infinitive (puedes plancharla).
So is ¿Puedes plancharla pronto? also correct?
Yes, absolutely! Both ¿La puedes planchar pronto? and ¿Puedes plancharla pronto? are completely correct, mean exactly the same thing, and are very common in everyday Spanish. You can use whichever pattern you find easier to remember.
How do we know la means 'it' here and not 'her'?
Context! While la can mean 'her', it is also the word for 'it' when referring to a feminine noun. Since you do not usually iron a person, la must refer to a feminine piece of clothing, like a shirt (la camisa) or clothing in general (la ropa). If the speaker were talking about a masculine item like a dress (el vestido), the sentence would use lo instead: ¿Lo puedes planchar pronto?
Would the word pronto ever change to pronta because we are talking about a feminine object?
No. Pronto is an adverb meaning 'soon'. Unlike adjectives, which change their endings to match the gender and number of the nouns they describe, adverbs never change form.
Learn ¿La puedes planchar pronto and more in Spanish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free