Weak Pronouns after Infinitives

Level 2

Weak pronouns follow an infinitive and attach to it in writing.

How It Works

The attachment depends on the sounds at the boundary: comprar-lo and fer-ho use a hyphen, while veure'l and perdre'n use an apostrophe. The apostrophe marks an omitted vowel; it does not make the pronoun an independent word.

Choose the pronoun for its meaning before choosing its spelling. Comprar el llibre gives comprar-lo, but parlar del llibre gives parlar-ne. Going to a known place can be anar-hi. Ho and hi do not apostrophize: veure-ho, anar-hi.

With a modal or the periphrastic past, the pronoun can often appear before the finite verb instead: el vull comprar or vull comprar-lo. This is a placement alternative for the same object. Do not repeat the pronoun in both positions.

Examples (3)

  1. Vull comprar-lo avui.

    I want to buy it today.

  2. Pots veure'l des d'aquí.

    You can see it from here.

  3. És important parlar-ne.

    It is important to talk about it.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Weak Pronouns after InfinitivesLevel 2

Learn This First

Identify the infinitive's complement before replacing it.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.