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Lesson 1 of 5Communiquer: Pronouns, Commands and Connecting Ideas
Unit 4 · Lesson 1 of 5

Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns

Object pronouns (le, la, les, lui, leur and the rest) replace a noun you have already mentioned, so you do not repeat it. They go in front of the verb, which is the big change from English.

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Key things to remember

  1. 1Direct object pronouns: me, te, le, la, nous, vous, les (m', t', l' before a vowel). They replace a noun with no preposition before it.
  2. 2Indirect object pronouns: me, te, lui, nous, vous, leur. They replace à + a person. Lui = to him or to her.
  3. 3The pronoun goes in front of the conjugated verb: Je la regarde. Je ne la regarde pas.
  4. 4Passé composé: in front of the auxiliary: Je l'ai vu. Je lui ai parlé. Je ne l'ai pas vu.
  5. 5Aller + infinitive: in front of the infinitive: Je vais le voir. Je ne vais pas le voir.
  6. 6Follow the French verb: écouter, regarder, attendre, chercher take a direct object; téléphoner à, répondre à, parler à take an indirect one.

Imagine a friend texts you Tu regardes le match ce soir ? (Are you watching the game tonight?) and you answer Oui, je regarde le match ce soir. It is correct, but it sounds robotic, because nobody repeats the whole noun. In English you would say Yes, I'm watching it. French does the same thing with object pronouns: Oui, je le regarde. These little words are everywhere in real conversation, in texts, songs and videos, so you need to recognise them instantly and use them yourself. Two things make them tricky for English speakers. First, French has two kinds — direct (replacing a noun with no preposition) and indirect (replacing à + a person) — and you must pick the right one. Second, the pronoun goes in front of the verb, not after it: je le regarde is literally I it watch. This lesson takes both steps slowly.

Step 1: Is the object direct or indirect?

An object is the person or thing that receives the action of the verb. In Marc regarde la télé (Marc is watching TV), la télé is the object. When the object follows the verb directly, with no little word in between, it is a direct object. When it follows the preposition à and it is a person — Marc parle à sa sœur (Marc is talking to his sister) — it is an indirect object. The test is simple: look between the verb and the noun. Nothing there? Direct. À + a person? Indirect.

PersonDirect object pronounIndirect object pronoun (replaces à + person)English
jeme (m' before a vowel)me (m')me / to me
tute (t')te (t')you / to you
ille (l')luihim, it / to him
ellela (l')luiher, it / to her
nousnousnousus / to us
vousvousvousyou / to you
ils / elleslesleurthem / to them
Only the third person changes between the two columns: le, la, les are direct; lui and leur are indirect. Me, te, nous and vous do both jobs.
Lui means to him AND to her
Le and la tell you the gender, but the indirect pronoun lui is used for both a male and a female person: Je parle à Marc → Je lui parle and Je parle à Julie → Je lui parle. In the plural, leur (to them) never takes an -s when it is a pronoun: Je leur téléphone (I phone them). Do not confuse it with the possessive leurs amis (their friends) from Unit 2.
French verbObject type in FrenchExample with a pronounEnglish (watch out)
regarder qqchdirectLa télé ? Je la regarde.look at / watch
écouter qqchdirectCe balado (podcast) ? Je l'écoute.listen to
attendre qqndirectPaul ? Je l'attends.wait for
chercher qqchdirectMes clés ? Je les cherche.look for
téléphoner à qqnindirectMa tante ? Je lui téléphone.phone (no to)
répondre à qqnindirectMes amis ? Je leur réponds.answer (no to)
parler à qqnindirectMon frère ? Je lui parle.talk to
donner qqch à qqnthe thing is direct, the person is indirectJe lui donne le livre.give someone something
qqch = quelque chose (something), qqn = quelqu'un (someone). Follow the French verb, not the English one: listen TO has a preposition in English, but écouter takes a direct object.
Direct or indirect object pronoun?Find the object of the verb.Is there an à in front of the person?nonouiDirect objectle = him / it (masculine)la = her / it (feminine)l' = le or la before a vowel or silent hles = themalso: me, te, nous, vousJe vois Marie. → Je la vois.I see Marie. → I see her.No à in French: regarder, écouter, attendreIndirect object (à + person)lui = to him / to herleur = to them (never an s)lui covers both him and her:context tells you which.also: me, te, nous, vousJe parle à Marc. → Je lui parle.I talk to Marc. → I talk to him.With à: parler à, répondre à, téléphoner àWhere does it go? Right in front of the verb it belongs to.présentJe la vois.Je lui parle.before the conjugated verbpassé composéJe l'ai vue.Je lui ai parlé.before the auxiliary (avoir);vue agrees with la (feminine)aller + infinitiveJe vais la voir.Je vais lui parler.before the infinitivenegativeJe ne la vois pas.Je ne lui parle pas.ne … pas wraps pronoun + verb
Fig 1Choosing the pronoun: is the noun a person after à? Then lui or leur. No preposition? Then le, la, l' or les, chosen by gender and number.

Step 2: Where does the pronoun go?

The rule is short: the pronoun goes directly in front of the verb it belongs to (affirmative commands are the one exception, coming in the lesson on the impératif). In a simple sentence that is the conjugated verb: Je la regarde. In a negative sentence, ne comes first and wraps around both: Je ne la regarde pas. In the passé composé, the pronoun goes in front of the auxiliary (avoir or être), because that is the conjugated verb: Je l'ai regardée. With aller + infinitive (the futur proche), the pronoun belongs to the infinitive, because that is the verb whose object it is: Je vais la regarder (I am going to watch it).

Tense or structureWithout a pronounWith a pronounNegative
PrésentJe vois Marc.Je le vois.Je ne le vois pas.
Présent (indirect)Je parle à Marc.Je lui parle.Je ne lui parle pas.
Passé composéJ'ai vu le film.Je l'ai vu.Je ne l'ai pas vu.
Passé composé (indirect)J'ai téléphoné à mes cousins.Je leur ai téléphoné.Je ne leur ai pas téléphoné.
Aller + infinitiveJe vais inviter mes amis.Je vais les inviter.Je ne vais pas les inviter.
In the first four rows the pronoun sits in front of the conjugated verb, inside the ne... pas sandwich. With aller + infinitive it moves next to the infinitive, outside the sandwich.
Elision before a vowel
Me, te, le and la drop their vowel before a verb starting with a vowel or a silent h: Je t'aime, Il m'attend, Je l'écoute, Je l'ai vu. Lui, leur, nous, vous and les never elide: Je lui envoie un message, Je les aime (here the s of les links to aime with a z sound).
You will see this: agreement in the passé composé
When a direct object pronoun comes before avoir in the passé composé, the past participle agrees with it, like an adjective: Julie ? Je l'ai vue (I saw her). Tes photos ? Je les ai regardées. For most verbs the extra letters are silent, so you mostly notice this in writing. It does not happen with indirect pronouns: Julie ? Je lui ai parlé (no -e). You will practise this rule properly in Grade 10; for now, recognise it when you read it.
One pronoun at a time
In Grade 9, each sentence uses one object pronoun: Je donne le livre à Marc → Je le donne à Marc or Je lui donne le livre. French can combine two (Je le lui donne), and that is a Grade 10 topic, so do not worry about it yet.

In context: a text conversation

  • Léa : Tu as vu le nouveau film d'animation ?
  • Sam : Non, je ne l'ai pas encore vu. Je vais le voir samedi.
  • Léa : Tu invites Noah ?
  • Sam : Oui, je l'invite. Je lui envoie un texto ce soir.
  • Léa : Et tes cousines de Moncton ? Tu leur parles souvent ?
  • Sam : Je leur téléphone chaque dimanche. Je les adore !
  • Léa : Tu m'appelles après le film ?
  • Sam : Promis, je t'appelle.

Translation: Léa: Have you seen the new animated movie? Sam: No, I haven't seen it yet. I'm going to see it on Saturday. Léa: Are you inviting Noah? Sam: Yes, I'm inviting him. I'm sending him a text tonight. Léa: And your cousins from Moncton? Do you talk to them often? Sam: I phone them every Sunday. I love them! Léa: Will you call me after the movie? Sam: Promise, I'll call you. Check each pronoun: l' and le replace le film (direct, masculine); l' replaces Noah (direct, with elision before invite); lui is à Noah; leur replaces à tes cousines (indirect); les replaces tes cousines as the direct object of adorer.

Worked examples

Reveal one step at a time and try to beat it to the next line.

Example 1
Replace the object with a pronoun: Je cherche mes lunettes.
Example 2
Replace the object with a pronoun: Elle a téléphoné à sa grand-mère.
Example 3
Make the sentence negative and use a pronoun: Nous allons inviter nos voisins.
Example 4
Answer with a pronoun: Tu écoutes la radio le matin ? (Yes.)

Where marks get lost

  • Putting the pronoun after the verb, English-style: Je regarde le. The pronoun goes in front: Je le regarde.
  • Using lui with écouter or attendre because English says listen to him or wait for her: Je lui écoute. These verbs take a direct object in French: Je l'écoute.
  • Using le or la with téléphoner à or répondre à: Je la téléphone. These verbs take à, so the pronoun is indirect: Je lui téléphone.
  • Placing the pronoun between the auxiliary and the participle: J'ai le vu. It goes in front of the auxiliary: Je l'ai vu.
  • Putting the pronoun in front of aller in the futur proche: Je le vais voir. It belongs to the infinitive: Je vais le voir.

Flashcards 9

Direct object pronouns (all seven)
Indirect object pronouns (all six)
to him / to her
to them
+ 5 more

Practice

1
Replace the object with a pronoun: Je regarde la télé.
2
Replace the object with a pronoun: Je parle à mes parents.
3
Fill in the pronoun: Tu connais Marc ? — Oui, je ___ connais bien.
4
Fill in the pronoun: Elle téléphone à sa grand-mère. → Elle ___ téléphone.
5
Fill in the pronoun: Il cherche ses clés. → Il ___ cherche.
6
Replace the object with a pronoun in the passé composé: J'ai acheté le livre.
7
Replace the object with a pronoun: Nous allons inviter nos amis.
8
Which sentence correctly says I don't see them?
9
Julie ? Oui, je l'ai ___ hier au centre commercial. Which participle is correct in careful writing?
10
Match each sentence to the pronoun that replaces the bold object.
J'attends le bus.
Je réponds à mon frère.
Je donne un cadeau à mes sœurs.
J'écoute mes chansons préférées.
Je prends la photo.
11
Put the words in order: I didn't talk to her. (passé composé)
  1. 1pas
  2. 2ai
  3. 3parlé
  4. 4Je
  5. 5ne
  6. 6lui

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