Pronouns in Verb Phrases
In a verb phrase such as teño que facer, the pronoun can go after the infinitive or with the first verb: Teño que facelo or Téñoo que facer (I have to do it).
How It Works
Two places for the pronoun
With auxiliaries such as ter que, ir, querer, poder, saber, haber de, deber and comezar a, the pronoun can be attached to the infinitive or go with the conjugated verb:
- Teño que facelo = Téñoo que facer (I have to do it)
- Vou chamala = Vouna chamar (I am going to call her)
- Queres probalo? = Quérelo probar? (do you want to try it?)
- Hei de dicirllo = Heillo de dicir (I will tell him)
The form of the pronoun changes with the verb it touches. After -r or -s, o becomes lo and the consonant drops (facelo, quérelo); after a diphthong it becomes no (vouna, seino); after other vowels it stays o (téñoo). See lo and la and no and na.
Triggers move the pronoun before the first verb. After non, question words, que and other triggers, the pronoun goes before the auxiliary, or stays after the infinitive: Non o teño que facer or Non teño que facelo; Cando o vas facer? or Cando vas facelo?
A third, more literary place. The pronoun can also go between the linking word and the infinitive: Teño que o facer, para o facer (see pronoun between preposition and infinitive).
Use it only once. The pronoun appears in one place only, never on both verbs.
Examples (6)
- Teño que facelo antes das oito.
I have to do it before eight.
Word by Word: I-have that do-it before of-the eight.
The pronoun is attached to the infinitive: facer + o = facelo.
- Téñoo que facer antes das oito.
I have to do it before eight.
The same sentence with the pronoun on the first verb: teño + o = téñoo, with an accent because the stress is now on the third syllable from the end.
- Vouna chamar esta tarde.
I am going to call her this afternoon.
After the diphthong of vou, a becomes na. Vou chamala means the same.
- Non o sei facer.
I do not know how to do it.
Non pulls the pronoun before the first verb. Non sei facelo is also correct.
- Quérelo probar?
Do you want to try it?
Queres + o = quérelo: the s drops and o becomes lo. Queres probalo? is also correct.
- En canto chegue, heillo de dicir.
As soon as he arrives, I will tell him.
Hei + llo = heillo; the combined pronoun llo also moves as a single unit.
Common Mistakes
Using lo after a verb form that ends in a vowel.
Téñolo que facer.Téñoo que facer.Lo only appears after -r or -s. Teño ends in a vowel, so the pronoun stays o: téñoo.
Starting the sentence with the pronoun, as in Spanish.
Lo teño que facer.Téñoo que facer.A Galician statement cannot start with an unstressed pronoun, and o is the basic form. Attach it: téñoo que facer or teño que facelo.
Repeating the pronoun on both verbs.
Téñoo que facelo.Téñoo que facer.The pronoun appears only once in the verb phrase.
How It Connects
Learn This First
A clitic belonging to an infinitive or gerund can attach at different places in a verb phrase.
- Pronouns Before the Verb After Negatives
Know placement when the first verb is negated.
Level 2 - ter que + InfinitiveHaving to: Ter Que
Recognize the conjugated-verb-plus-infinitive phrase as a single construction.
Level 2 - no, na After DiphthongsPronoun Forms No and Na After Diphthongs
Recognize lo/la and no/na attachment forms when a direct-object pronoun moves between an infinitive and a finite verb.
Level 3
Related Patterns
- Pronouns After the Verb
The basic rule that puts the pronoun after the verb, applied here to the first verb of the phrase.
Level 2 - lo, la After -r and -sPronoun Forms Lo and La After -r and -s
Explains forms such as facelo and quérelo.
Level 2 - Pronoun Before an Infinitive After a Preposition
The third, more literary position: teño que o facer, para o facer.
Level 5
Practice Pronouns in Verb Phrases in Bubblegum
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