Ordering Several Clitics

Level 5

Clitics have a conventional internal order rather than following English object order.

How It Works

Clitics have a conventional internal order rather than following English object order. Compare sem mu jo dal with dal mu jo je: third-person auxiliary je comes after object clitics.

Compare sem mu jo dal and mu jo je dala. Dative mu precedes accusative jo, while auxiliary je follows those pronouns. Do not generalize the position of sem to every auxiliary form; learn a few complete clusters.

Examples (3)

  1. Včeraj sem mu jo dal.

    Yesterday I gave it to him.

  2. Ana mu jo je dala.

    Ana gave it to him.

  3. Rad bi ti jo pokazal.

    I would like to show it to you.

How It Connects

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

Ordering Several CliticsLevel 5

Learn This First

Locate the clitic cluster before ordering its dative, accusative and auxiliary members.