Spanish 3 Quiz: Pronouns With Commands
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Pronouns With CommandsQuestion 1 of 9

Dos amigos hablan. Uno le dice al otro que quiere comprar unos zapatos para su madre. El otro responde con un consejo usando el mandato afirmativo de 'tú': 'Buy them for her.'

Los zapatos son masculinos plurales. ¿Cuál de las siguientes formas expresa correctamente el mandato 'Buy them for her' en español?

Cómpraleslos.
Cómpralosle.
Cómpraselos.
Cómpraselas.
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Spanish 3 Quiz

Spanish 3 Quiz: Pronouns With Commands

Practice Pronouns With Commands in Spanish 3 with focused quiz questions that help you check what you know, review explanations, and build confidence with test-style prompts.

What this quiz covers

This quiz focuses on Pronouns With Commands, giving you a quick way to practice the rules, question types, and explanations that matter most for Spanish 3.

How to use this quiz

Try each quiz question before looking at the correct answer. Use the explanations to review missed ideas, then come back to similar questions until the pattern feels familiar.

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Question 1

Dos amigos hablan. Uno le dice al otro que quiere comprar unos zapatos para su madre. El otro responde con un consejo usando el mandato afirmativo de 'tú': 'Buy them for her.'

Los zapatos son masculinos plurales. ¿Cuál de las siguientes formas expresa correctamente el mandato 'Buy them for her' en español?

  1. Cómpraleslos.
  2. Cómpralosle.
  3. Cómpraselos. (correct answer)
  4. Cómpraselas.
Explanation: When a Spanish verb takes two object pronouns, word order and spelling matter enormously. Here, "Buy them for her" requires an affirmative tú command of comprar plus two pronouns: the indirect object (for her = le) and the direct object (them = los, since zapatos is masculine plural). The rule is: indirect object pronoun always comes before direct object pronoun, and both attach directly to the end of the command verb as one word. You also need to add an accent mark to preserve the original stress. When le or les appears before lo, la, los, or las, Spanish requires you to replace le/les with se. This is a mandatory substitution — le + los becomes se + los. So the construction is: compra + se + los = cómpraselos, which is choice C — the correct answer. Choice A, Cómpraleslos, is wrong because it keeps les before los without making the required se substitution, producing an impossible combination that Spanish simply does not allow. Choice B, Cómpralosle, reverses the pronoun order — the direct object (los) cannot come before the indirect object (le). Choice D, Cómpraselas, uses se correctly but swaps los for las, which mismatches the masculine plural noun zapatos. A handy tip: whenever you need le/les + any lo/la/los/las combination, automatically swap le/les → se before writing anything else. Memorize the phrase "le/les before lo/la = always se" to avoid the trap that choice A sets.

Question 2

Una profesora les habla a sus estudiantes y quiere darles dos instrucciones: primero, que lean el artículo; segundo, que no le expliquen el contenido todavía (porque ella quiere que ellos lo descubran solos).

La profesora quiere combinar ambas instrucciones usando mandatos de 'ustedes.' Para la primera instrucción, el objeto directo de 'leer' es 'el artículo' (masculino singular); para la segunda, el objeto directo de 'explicar' es 'el contenido' (masculino singular) y el objeto indirecto es 'me.' ¿Cuál par de mandatos representa correctamente ambas instrucciones?

  1. Léanlo; no me lo expliquen todavía. (correct answer)
  2. Léanlo; no me expliquen lo todavía.
  3. Leanlo; no me lo expliquen todavía.
  4. Léanlo; no me lo explíquenlo todavía.
Explanation: When working with ustedes commands and object pronouns, you need to track two things simultaneously: (1) whether the command is affirmative or negative, and (2) where the pronouns attach. For affirmative commands, object pronouns attach directly to the end of the verb. "Lean" + direct object pronoun "lo" (referring to el artículo, masculine singular) = léanlo — and notice the written accent mark, which is required to preserve the original stress when a syllable is added. For negative commands, pronouns go before the verb, between "no" and the verb itself. So "no" + indirect object "me" + direct object "lo" + verb = no me lo expliquen. This makes A correct: Léanlo; no me lo expliquen todavía. Both pronouns are placed correctly, and the accent on léanlo is properly included. B fails because in negative commands, you cannot place the pronoun after the verb — writing "no me expliquen lo" treats "lo" as if it were a separate word floating after the verb, which is grammatically impossible. Pronouns must precede the conjugated verb in negative commands. C looks close but has a critical spelling error: leanlo is missing the required written accent. Without the accent, the stress shifts incorrectly — the accent on léanlo is not optional; it's mandated by Spanish orthographic rules when adding syllables changes the stress pattern. D makes a double-pronoun error by attaching pronouns both before and after the negative command (no me lo explíquenlo), which is redundant and ungrammatical. Study tip: Always ask yourself — affirmative command? Pronouns attach to the end. Negative command? Pronouns go before the verb, in the order indirect → direct.

Question 3

Contexto: Un médico le habla a un paciente y quiere darle la instrucción: 'Don't take them' (las pastillas — feminine plural) con el mandato negativo de 'usted.'

¿Cuál de las siguientes opciones expresa correctamente la instrucción negativa con el pronombre de objeto directo apropiado para 'usted'?

  1. No las toma.
  2. No tome las.
  3. No los tome.
  4. No las tome. (correct answer)
Explanation: When forming a negative formal command in Spanish, you need two things working together: the correct subjunctive-based verb form for usted, and the proper placement of any object pronouns. Unlike affirmative commands — where pronouns attach to the end of the verb — negative commands require the pronoun to appear between no and the verb. For usted commands, you take the yo present-tense form, drop the -o, and add the opposite vowel ending: tomar → tomo → tome. That gives you the correct command form. Now, since las pastillas is feminine plural, the direct object pronoun is las (not los, which is masculine plural). Putting it together: No las tome. — making D the correct answer. Here's why the other options fail: A (No las toma) uses the present indicative toma instead of the subjunctive command form tome — it reads as a statement ("she doesn't take them"), not a command. B (No tome las) has the right verb form but places the pronoun after the verb, which is only allowed in affirmative commands — in negative commands, the pronoun must come before the verb. C (No los tome) has correct structure and placement, but uses los, the masculine pronoun, which doesn't agree with las pastillas (feminine). A helpful rule to memorize: "Negative commands sandwich the pronoun — no + pronoun + verb." Also double-check pronoun gender agreement every time; mixing up los/las is one of the most common errors on this topic.

Question 4

Una jefa le da instrucciones a su asistente sobre unos documentos importantes (masculino plural). Quiere decirle: 'Send them to me immediately' usando el mandato afirmativo de 'usted.'

¿Cuál de las siguientes opciones representa correctamente este mandato afirmativo de 'usted' con los pronombres correspondientes?

  1. Envíamelos inmediatamente.
  2. Envíemelos inmediatamente. (correct answer)
  3. Envíemelas inmediatamente.
  4. Envíelosme inmediatamente.
Explanation: When forming affirmative usted commands with object pronouns, you need to get three things right: the correct command stem, the correct indirect object pronoun, and the correct direct object pronoun — attached in that order to the end of the verb. Start with the verb enviar. The affirmative usted command is formed from the yo-form present tense (envío), dropping the -o and adding the opposite vowel ending: envíe. Now attach the pronouns. "To me" uses the indirect object pronoun me, and "them" (referring to documentos, masculine plural) uses the direct object pronoun los. When both pronouns attach to the command, the indirect comes first: envíe + me + los = envíemelos. Add inmediatamente and you get "Envíemelos inmediatamente" — option B. Option A, Envíamelos, uses -a as the command ending, which corresponds to the tú command form, not usted. The passage explicitly calls for a usted command, so this is the wrong register entirely. Option C, Envíemelas, has the correct usted ending and the correct indirect pronoun me, but uses las instead of los — a gender agreement error, since documentos is masculine, not feminine. Option D, Envíelosme, places the pronouns in the wrong order; the indirect object pronoun (me) must always come before the direct object pronoun (los), never after it. A quick memory trick: when attaching double pronouns to commands, think "I before D" — Indirect before Direct. Also, always double-check whether a command is tú or usted before choosing an ending — that distinction eliminates a common trap like option A.

Question 5

Una madre le da instrucciones a su hijo adolescente antes de salir de casa.

La madre quiere decirle a su hijo: 'Give it to me before you leave.' Ella usa el mandato afirmativo de 'dar' con los pronombres de objeto indirecto y directo. ¿Cuál de las siguientes opciones representa la forma correcta y completa de esta instrucción?

  1. Dámelo antes de salir. (correct answer)
  2. Dámela antes de salir.
  3. Me lo da antes de salir.
  4. Melo da antes de salir.
Explanation: When Spanish commands combine both indirect and direct object pronouns, you need to follow a strict formula: affirmative command + indirect object pronoun + direct object pronoun, attached directly to the verb as one word. Here, the mother is commanding "give it to me" — "it" refers to an implied masculine object (like el teléfono or el permiso), and "to me" is the indirect object. Breaking down the correct construction: da (affirmative tú command of dar) + me (indirect object, "to me") + lo (direct object, masculine "it") = dámelo. The accent mark on da is required because adding pronouns shifts the stress, so you write dámelo to preserve the original stress on the first syllable. This makes A the correct answer: Dámelo antes de salir. B (Dámela) is wrong because it uses la instead of lo as the direct object pronoun. La would refer to a feminine noun — you'd say this only if the object were something like la tarea. Without that context, lo is the standard default. C (Me lo da) is a trap because it looks like a correctly ordered pronoun pair, but da here reads as a third-person present indicative, not a command. This would translate to "he/she gives it to me," not an instruction. D (Melo da) is simply ungrammatical — Spanish never fuses me and lo into one word like melo. They must remain separate pronouns. Study tip: Memorize the pronoun order with the phrase "I.D. order" — Indirect before Direct — and always attach both to the end of affirmative commands.

Question 6

Un estudiante quiere expresar la instrucción negativa: 'Don't tell it to them' (donde 'it' es masculine singular y 'them' es el objeto indirecto de tercera persona plural). ¿Cuál de las siguientes opciones es gramaticalmente correcta para el mandato negativo de 'tú'?

  1. No se lo digas. (correct answer)
  2. No les lo digas.
  3. No lo les digas.
  4. No digas lo se.
Explanation: When combining two object pronouns in Spanish commands, the order and form of the pronouns are both critical. The rule is: indirect object pronoun comes before direct object pronoun, and when both pronouns are third person, the indirect pronoun (le/les) must change to se. This transformation exists purely for phonetic reasons — Spanish avoids the awkward repetition of two "l" sounds side by side. For "Don't tell it to them" in a negative tú command, you need: (1) the negative marker no, (2) the indirect object pronoun (les → se due to the rule above), (3) the direct object pronoun (lo for masculine singular "it"), and (4) the conjugated command verb (digas, the negative tú subjunctive of decir). In a negative command, all pronouns stay before the verb. This gives you: No se lo digas — confirming that A is correct. B (No les lo digas) is a classic trap: it keeps les instead of converting it to se. Spanish grammar requires this conversion whenever le or les precedes lo, la, los, or las — les lo is never acceptable. C (No lo les digas) commits two errors: it fails to convert les to se, and it reverses the pronoun order, placing the direct object before the indirect object, which violates Spanish syntax rules. D (No digas lo se) places the pronouns after the verb, which is only allowed in affirmative commands, not negative ones. In negative commands, pronouns always precede the verb. A handy tip: remember "SIDE" order — Se before Indirect, Direct last — and always swap le/les to se before a direct object pronoun.

Question 7

Considere la siguiente oración: 'Escríbesela.' ¿Qué información gramatical puede deducirse con certeza sobre esta forma verbal, asumiendo que es un mandato afirmativo estándar?

  1. Es un mandato afirmativo de 'tú' de 'escribir' con 'se' reemplazando a 'le/les' como objeto indirecto y 'la' como objeto directo femenino singular; sin embargo, el acento escrito es innecesario porque el resultado es una palabra llana por naturaleza.
  2. Es un mandato afirmativo de 'tú' de 'escribir' con 'se' como pronombre reflexivo y 'la' como objeto directo femenino; la acción es reflexiva y el acento escrito es opcional porque la palabra resultante es naturalmente llana.
  3. Es un mandato afirmativo de 'usted' de 'escribir' con 'se' como objeto indirecto y 'la' como objeto directo femenino singular; el acento escrito es necesario porque se adjuntan dos pronombres al verbo en forma subjuntiva.
  4. Es un mandato afirmativo de 'tú' de 'escribir' con 'se' como objeto indirecto de tercera persona y 'la' como objeto directo femenino singular; el acento escrito es obligatorio para preservar la sílaba tónica original tras adjuntar tres sílabas. (correct answer)
Explanation: When you see a command form with multiple attached pronouns, you need to analyze three things: the subject (tú/usted), the pronoun functions (indirect vs. direct vs. reflexive), and the accent rule. Start with the verb base. Escribe is the affirmative tú command of escribir. When you attach pronouns, indirect object pronouns come before direct object pronouns, and le/les automatically converts to se when followed by la/lo/las/los — this is the standard OI→OD pronoun order rule. So se here is a third-person indirect object (replacing le/les, meaning "to him/her/them"), and la is a feminine singular direct object ("it/her"). The full meaning: "Write it to her/him/them." Now the accent: the original tú command escribe has its stress on the second syllable (es-CRI-be). Adding se creates escríbese — already requiring a written accent. Adding la pushes the stress even further back: es-CRI-be-se-la (five syllables, stress on the third from the end = esdrújula territory). Spanish requires a written accent on any word stressed on the third-to-last syllable or beyond, making the tilde obligatory. This confirms D as correct. A is wrong because it claims the accent is unnecessary — the opposite is true; attaching two syllables forces the written accent. B misidentifies se as reflexive, which changes the meaning entirely; nothing in the sentence indicates a reflexive action. C incorrectly identifies this as a usted command — the usted affirmative form would be escriba, not escribe. Your study tip: whenever you attach pronouns to affirmative commands, immediately recount syllables and recheck stress placement — the accent rule changes based on how many syllables you add.

Question 8

Un estudiante avanzado analiza la siguiente oración y determina si es gramaticalmente correcta: 'No me lo expliques ahora.' ¿Cuál de las siguientes evaluaciones es precisa?

  1. La oración es correcta, pero solo porque 'me' funciona aquí como objeto directo y 'lo' como un adverbio de énfasis, lo que permite esta colocación antes del verbo subjuntivo.
  2. La oración es incorrecta: en mandatos negativos, el objeto directo siempre debe preceder al objeto indirecto, por lo que debería ser 'No lo me expliques ahora.'
  3. La oración es correcta: es un mandato negativo de 'tú' del verbo 'explicar' con el objeto indirecto 'me' y el objeto directo 'lo' correctamente colocados antes del verbo en el orden IO + DO. (correct answer)
  4. La oración es incorrecta: los pronombres de objeto deben adjuntarse al verbo incluso en mandatos negativos cuando hay dos pronombres presentes, resultando en 'No explícamelo ahora.'
Explanation: When you see a question about pronoun placement with negative commands, you need to recall two key rules: (1) in negative commands, object pronouns go before the conjugated verb, and (2) when two pronouns appear together, indirect object (IO) always precedes direct object (DO), following the order IO + DO. In "No me lo expliques ahora," you have a negative tú command of explicar. The indirect object pronoun is me (the person receiving the explanation) and the direct object pronoun is lo (the thing being explained — the content). Both pronouns correctly appear before the verb expliques, in the proper IO + DO order: me lo. This confirms that C is the correct answer. A is wrong because me is absolutely functioning as an indirect object pronoun, not a direct object — and lo is not an adverb of emphasis. That explanation is completely fabricated and describes no real grammatical rule. B is wrong because it reverses the required order. Spanish always places the indirect object pronoun before the direct object pronoun. Saying "lo me" violates this fundamental rule and is never acceptable in standard Spanish. D is wrong because it confuses the rules for affirmative vs. negative commands. In affirmative commands, pronouns attach to the end of the verb (explícamelo). In negative commands, pronouns must come before the verb — they never attach. Study tip: Remember the mnemonic "NEGATIVE = pronouns go BEFORE, AFFIRMATIVE = attach AFTER." This contrast is one of the most tested patterns in Spanish grammar at this level.

Question 9

Un hablante quiere transformar la oración afirmativa 'Díselo a tu hermana' a su equivalente negativo, manteniendo todos los mismos referentes pronominales. ¿Cuál transformación es correcta?

  1. No le lo digas a tu hermana.
  2. No se lo digas a tu hermana. (correct answer)
  3. No digas se lo a tu hermana.
  4. No te lo digas a tu hermana.
Explanation: When Spanish commands include direct and indirect object pronouns, their form and order shift depending on whether the command is affirmative or negative — and that's exactly what this question tests. In the affirmative command "Díselo a tu hermana," the pronouns are attached directly to the verb. Breaking it down: di (decir, tú command) + se + lo, where se replaces le because two object pronouns beginning with "l" cannot coexist in Spanish. This se is not reflexive — it's the indirect object pronoun standing in for le (referring to "tu hermana"), and lo is the direct object. The phrase "a tu hermana" clarifies who se refers to. When you convert an affirmative command to a negative one, two things happen: you add no, use the subjunctive form of the verb, and — crucially — the pronouns detach from the verb and appear separately between no and the verb. The pronoun order stays the same: indirect before direct, so se lo. This makes B) "No se lo digas a tu hermana" the correct transformation. Option A is wrong because le lo is never permitted in Spanish — whenever le/les precedes lo/la/los/las, it must become se. Option C fails because the pronouns appear after the verb, which is only allowed in affirmative commands, not negative ones. Option D incorrectly uses te, which would imply the speaker is telling the listener not to say something to themselves — a completely different meaning. Your study tip: memorize the rule "le/les + lo/la → se lo/la" as a fixed transformation, and remember that negative commands always place pronouns before the conjugated verb.