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G04 · Grammar

Object Pronouns — Les Pronoms Objets

French direct and indirect object pronouns replace nouns and come before the verb

Direct Object Pronouns (COD)

A direct object answers 'what?' or 'whom?' after the verb (no preposition). Replace it with a direct object pronoun. These come directly before the conjugated verb.

PersonDirect Object PronounExample
me / m'me / m'Il me voit. (He sees me.)
te / t'te / t'Je te connais. (I know you.)
him / it (m.)le / l'Je le mange. / Je l'aime.
her / it (f.)la / l'Tu la vois? / Tu l'appelles?
usnousIl nous écoute. (He listens to us.)
you (pl.)vousElle vous attend. (She is waiting for you.)
themlesJe les adore. (I love them.)

Indirect Object Pronouns (COI)

An indirect object answers 'to whom?' or 'for whom?' (preceded by à in French). Replace à + person with an indirect object pronoun. Note: the third-person forms differ from direct objects.

PersonIndirect Object PronounExample
to meme / m'Il me parle. (He speaks to me.)
to youte / t'Je te téléphone. (I call you.)
to him / to herluiJe lui dis la vérité. (I tell him/her the truth.)
to usnousIl nous écrit. (He writes to us.)
to you (pl.)vousElle vous répond. (She replies to you.)
to themleurJe leur envoie un message. (I send them a message.)

Key difference: 3rd person — direct: le/la/les; indirect: lui/leur.

Placement: Before the Verb

Object pronouns in French come BEFORE the conjugated verb — the opposite of English.

  • English: I see him. → French: Je le vois. (pronoun before verb)
  • English: She calls me. → French: Elle me téléphone.
  • With negation: ne goes before the pronoun, pas after the verb:
    Je ne le vois pas. (I don't see him.)
  • With infinitive: pronoun goes before the infinitive, not the conjugated verb:
    Je veux le voir. (I want to see him.)

Double Object Pronouns — Order

When a sentence has both a direct and indirect object pronoun, the order is fixed:

Position 1Position 2Position 3
me, te, nous, vousle, la, leslui, leur

Examples:

  • Il me le donne. (He gives it to me.) — me before le
  • Je le lui dis. (I tell him/her it.) — le before lui
  • Elle nous les envoie. (She sends them to us.) — nous before les
  • Je le leur explique. (I explain it to them.) — le before leur

Common Verbs Taking Indirect Objects

Some French verbs take à + person and therefore use indirect object pronouns (COI), even where English might not use 'to':

  • parler à → lui/leur: Il lui parle. (He speaks to him/her.)
  • téléphoner à → lui/leur: Je lui téléphone. (I call him/her.)
  • dire à → lui/leur: Je lui dis. (I tell him/her.)
  • donner à → lui/leur: Tu lui donnes. (You give it to him/her.)
  • écrire à → lui/leur: Elle leur écrit. (She writes to them.)
  • répondre à → lui/leur: Il me répond. (He answers me.)

Common Mistakes

Je le veux voir.
→
Je veux le voir.
With an infinitive, the object pronoun goes before the infinitive: veux + le voir, not le + veux voir.
Je lui vois. (for a direct object)
→
Je le vois.
Voir takes a direct object (see whom? → no à). Use le/la/les, not lui/leur.
Je parle le. (for parler à)
→
Je lui parle.
Parler à takes an indirect object → lui/leur, not le/la.
Je les leur donne. (wrong order)
→
Je le leur donne.
Double pronouns: me/te/nous/vous come first, then le/la/les, then lui/leur. Les + leur is not a standard double sequence; restructure.

Summary

Direct: me/te/le/la
before verb
Je le vois. (I see him.)
Direct: nous/vous/les
before verb
Je les adore. (I love them.)
Indirect: me/te/lui
before verb
Je lui parle. (I speak to him.)
Indirect: nous/vous/leur
before verb
Je leur écrit. (I write to them.)
Negation
ne + pronoun + verb + pas
Je ne le vois pas.
With infinitive
pronoun before infinitive
Je veux le voir.
Double order
me/te/nous/vous → le/la/les → lui/leur
Je le lui dis.
lui vs le
lui = indirect (à); le = direct
Je lui parle. / Je le vois.