Breakdown of El escáner está en la tarima; debes traérselo.
en
in / on / at
estar
to be (location/state)
traer
to bring
lo
it / him (direct object)
se
to him / to her / to them / to you (formal)
deber
must / should
el escáner
the scanner
la tarima
the pallet
Questions & Answers about El escáner está en la tarima; debes traérselo.
Why does traérselo have an accent mark on the "e"?
The original verb is traer, which is naturally stressed on its final syllable. When you attach the two pronouns (se and lo), the word gets two extra syllables. To keep the spoken stress on that exact same "e" instead of shifting it to the end of the new word, Spanish requires a written accent mark.
Could I put the pronouns before the verb instead?
Yes! When you have a conjugated verb (debes) followed by an infinitive (traer), you have two options for placing double pronouns. You can attach them to the end of the infinitive (debes traérselo) or place them before the conjugated verb (se lo debes traer). Both options are completely natural and mean the same thing.
Why is it se instead of le for "to him"?
The indirect object pronoun for "to him" is indeed le. However, Spanish has a strict rule against putting le or les directly in front of lo, la, los, or las. To avoid the clunky "le lo" sound, the le always changes to se.
Why does the word escáner also have a written accent?
Escáner is an English loanword adapted into Spanish. Words that end in a consonant other than "n" or "s" naturally stress their final syllable. Because the spoken stress in escáner falls on the second-to-last syllable instead, it breaks the phonetic rule and requires a written accent mark to show you where to put the emphasis.
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