French object pronouns

Level A2

French object pronouns

French object pronouns replace people or things that would otherwise appear after a verb. The verb’s construction tells you whether to use a direct or indirect object pronoun, so the choice may differ from English. Learn where the pronouns go in statements, with infinitives, in pairs, and in commands.

The word for pronoun

A pronoun stands in for a noun. In French, *pronom* means “pronoun.”

Choose the pronoun from the person and the verb’s construction

The first column names the person or people; the next two show the direct and indirect object forms. For first and second person, the forms match: *me*, *te*, *nous* and *vous*. With third-person objects, direct forms distinguish gender and number (*le*, *la*, *les), while indirect forms are *lui* for one person and *leur* for several. English “him,” “her” and “them” do not tell you which French form to use: look at how the French verb connects to its object. For example, *voir* takes a direct object, but *parler à* takes an indirect one: “I see him” is *Je le vois*; “I talk to her” is *Je lui parle*.

PersonDirect objectIndirect object
PersonneComplément directComplément indirect
Première personne du singuliermeme
Deuxième personne du singulier, familièretete
Première personne du plurielnousnous
Deuxième personne du pluriel ou singulier polivousvous
Troisième personne, masculin singulierlelui
Troisième personne, féminin singulierlalui
Troisième personne du pluriellesleur
Un pronom peut remplacer un nom.
Ce pronom renvoie à ma sœur.

The verb determines direct or indirect

Choose the pronoun according to the French verb construction, not the English translation. *Voir* takes a direct object (*Je le vois*), while *parler à* and *répondre à* take an indirect object (*Je lui parle*; *Je lui réponds*). Notice that English “answer her” has no preposition, whereas French uses *répondre à*. *Lui* refers to either a man or a woman; *leur* refers to several people. *Aider* takes a direct object (*Elle m’aide pour mes devoirs*). With *donner*, the thing given is direct and the recipient indirect (*Il me donne un livre*); *me* has the same form in both roles.

Put the object pronoun before a conjugated verb

In an ordinary statement, the object pronoun comes immediately before the conjugated verb: *Je le lis tous les soirs.* In a negative statement, it stays before the verb, between *ne* and the verb: *Il ne nous entend pas.* English puts “not” after the auxiliary or verb, but French surrounds the verb with *ne … pas*. Familiar singular “you” is *te*; polite singular or plural “you” is *vous*, as in *Je t’entends* and *Nous vous entendons*.

sujet le verbe conjugué ; sujet ne pronom complément verbe conjugué pas.

Put the pronoun before the infinitive it belongs to

When one verb is conjugated and followed by an infinitive, place the object pronoun directly before the infinitive it goes with: *Elle veut m’aider aujourd’hui.* If there are two object pronouns, both go before that infinitive, in their usual order: *Je peux le lui donner demain.* English “help me” puts “me” after “help”; French places *m’* before the infinitive *aider*.

sujet verbe conjugué me infinitif ; sujet verbe conjugué groupe de pronoms compléments infinitif.

First- or second-person object comes first in a pair

When a first- or second-person pronoun combines with a third-person direct object, put *me*, *te*, *nous* or *vous* before *le*, *la* or *les*: *Elle me le donne tous les matins.* This order differs from English “give it to me,” where the thing often comes first. Use *te* for familiar singular “you,” as in *Je te le donne aujourd’hui*; use *vous* for polite singular or plural “you,” as in *Nous vous le donnons demain*.

sujet me / te / nous / vous pronom complément direct verbe conjugué.

Direct object comes before lui or leur

With two third-person object pronouns, place the direct object (*le*, *la* or *les*) before *lui* or *leur*: *Je peux le lui donner demain.* English “give it to him” puts the recipient after the thing, but French uses this fixed pronoun order. A recipient can also be a noun phrase rather than a pronoun; then the noun phrase follows the verb, as in *Elle le donne à son frère* and *Il les donne à ses parents*.

sujet pronom complément direct lui / leur verbe conjugué ; sujet verbe conjugué pronom complément direct lui / leur infinitif.

Attach pronouns to affirmative commands

In an affirmative imperative, attach object pronouns after the verb with hyphens. Put *le*, *la* or *les* before *moi*, *toi*, *lui*, *nous*, *vous* or *leur*: *Donne-le-moi*; *Donne-les-lui*. With *me* and *te*, this reverses their usual order before a verb and their forms become *moi* and *toi*: compare *Tu me le donnes* with *Donne-le-moi*. *Donne* and *garde* here address one familiar person; the same attachment rule applies to *vous* imperatives for polite singular or plural address. These examples instead use *veuillez* plus an infinitive for a formal request, with pronouns before the infinitive: *Veuillez me le donner maintenant*. In *Garde-le pour toi*, *toi* follows the preposition *pour* and remains *toi* in *Ne le garde pas pour toi*.

Impératif familier avec pronoms attachés : verbe à l’impératif-pronom complément direct-moi ; forme polie avec veuillez + infinitif : veuillez pronoms compléments infinitif.

Keep pronouns before the verb in negative commands

In an informal negative command, put *ne* and the object pronouns before the command verb, then *pas*: *Ne me le donne pas.* Unlike an affirmative command, the pronouns are not attached with hyphens, and *me* and *te* do not change to *moi* and *toi*. For a polite negative request, use *veuillez ne pas* followed by the pronouns and infinitive: *Veuillez ne pas me le donner*.

Impératif négatif familier : ne pronoms compléments verbe à l’impératif pas ; forme polie avec veuillez + infinitif : veuillez ne pas pronoms compléments infinitif.

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