Tiscali: Spanish Phrase Finder - Pronouns

Subject pronouns (I, you, he, etc.) are generally omitted in Spanish, since the verb ending distinguishes the subject:

hablo I speak
hablamos we speak

However, they are used for emphasis or to avoid confusion:

yo voy a Mallorca y él va a Alicante
I am going to Mallorca and he is going to Alicante

Object pronouns are placed before the verb in Spanish:

la veo I see her
los conocemos we know them

However, in commands or requests they follow the verb:

¡ayúdame! help me!
escúchale listen to him

except when they are expressed in the negative:

¡no me ayudes! don't help me
no le escuches don't listen to him

The object pronouns shown above can be used to mean to me, to us, etc., but to him/to her is le and to them is les. If le and les occur in combinations with lo/la/las/los then le/les change to se, e.g. se lo doy (I give it to him)