Citarlos

Citarlos is the infinitive form of the Spanish verb citar with the direct object pronoun los attached, meaning to cite them. The phrase can indicate quoting or referencing those people or sources in writing, or summoning them to appear in a legal or administrative setting. The base verb citar derives from Latin citare, meaning to summon or call forth. The pronoun los refers to masculine plural antecedents; other pronouns such as a, lo, la, las can be used with citar to form citarlos, citarla, etc.

Usage and senses: In academic, journalistic, or editorial contexts, citarlos means including them as sources or making explicit references to them in a text. In a legal or administrative context, citar a alguien means to summon that person to appear before an authority or court, and citarlos would refer to summoning those individuals. The expression can also appear in general phrasing to indicate the act of quoting or naming relevant actors in an argument or report.

Grammatical notes: Citarlos is formed by attaching the pronoun los to the infinitive citar. In finite tenses, the pronoun typically precedes the conjugated verb (Los citaremos), while with infinitives or gerunds it remains attached (Quiero citarlos; citándolos). When used with other pronouns, the same clitic-attaching pattern applies.

Examples:

- Quiero citarlos en el informe.

- El juez citó a los testigos, y citarlos nuevamente sería innecesario.

- Es importante citarlos como fuentes confiables.