Breakdown of El perro necesita la venda. Póngasela ahora, por favor.
el perro
the dog
necesitar
to need
ahora
now
poner
to put
por favor
please
la
it / her (direct object)
se
to him / to her / to them / to you (formal)
la venda
the bandage
Questions & Answers about El perro necesita la venda. Póngasela ahora, por favor.
What makes up the word póngasela?
It is made of three parts combined into one word: the formal command ponga (put), the indirect object pronoun se (on him), and the direct object pronoun la (it). When giving an affirmative command, you must attach the pronouns to the very end of the verb.
Why is the first attached pronoun se instead of le?
Because the dog is the indirect object, we would normally use le (to or for him). The bandage is the direct object la (it). However, Spanish doesn't allow you to say le la. Whenever le or les is immediately followed by a pronoun starting with the letter L (like lo or la), it changes to se to make it easier to say.
Why is there an accent mark on póngasela?
The original verb command is ponga, which naturally has its spoken stress on the first syllable (pon). When we attach the two pronouns (se and la) to the end, the word gets longer. We must add a written accent mark over the ó to force the spoken stress to stay on that original syllable.
Why does the sentence use ponga instead of pon?
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