Splitting pronouns

Hola Devin P.

In Spanish, object pronouns (like me, te, lo, la) can either go before a conjugated verb or be attached to an infinitive, gerund, or affirmative command.

So in your example, me permiten hacerla, the pronoun me goes before the conjugated verb (permiten), while la is attached to the infinitive (hacer → hacerla). This isn’t random — it reflects two different verbs working together: a main conjugated verb and an infinitive.

You will often see two correct structures in these cases:

Both are grammatically correct, but the first is more common and usually sounds more natural. Spanish allows this flexibility when two verbs are combined and pronouns can either “stay together” before the conjugated verb or attach to the infinitive.

So rather than thinking of pronouns as being split, it’s more helpful to think of them as choosing their position based on the verb form they relate to. This becomes especially important with structures like poder, querer, deber, permitir, etc., where you frequently have a conjugated verb + infinitive.

Saludos

Silvia