Breakdown of El operario necesita el escáner; ¿puedes prestárselo ahora?
necesitar
to need
ahora
now
poder
to be able to / can
lo
it / him (direct object)
prestar
to lend
se
to him / to her / to them / to you (formal)
el operario
the operator
el escáner
the scanner
Questions & Answers about El operario necesita el escáner; ¿puedes prestárselo ahora?
Why is there a written accent mark on prestárselo?
When you attach pronouns to the end of an infinitive, the spoken stress stays on the same vowel as the original verb (the a in prestar). Because we added two syllables (se and lo), the stressed vowel is now the fourth from the end. In Spanish, any word stressed on the third or fourth syllable from the end must have a written accent mark to keep the pronunciation correct.
Why is the pronoun se used instead of le to mean "to him"?
The pronoun se represents the indirect object here, meaning "to him" (referring to el operario). Normally, "to him" is le, but Spanish changes le and les to se whenever they appear immediately before a direct object pronoun like lo, la, los, or las. This is done to avoid the awkward sound of le lo.
Is it possible to put the pronouns before the verb instead of attaching them to the end?
Yes! Because puedes (conjugated) and prestar (infinitive) work together as a single verb phrase, you have the choice to place the pronouns before the conjugated verb. You could say ¿se lo puedes prestar ahora? and it would mean exactly the same thing. Notice that if you move the pronouns to the front, prestar no longer needs a written accent.
Why does the borrowed word escáner have a written accent?
Even though it comes from English, escáner follows Spanish spelling rules. Words that end in a consonant other than n or s and have the spoken stress on the second-to-last syllable always require a written accent. This shows that the natural stress rule (which would normally stress the final syllable of a word ending in r) is being broken.
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