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Personal, Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns
The function of a pronoun is to replace a noun. Words such as I, he, it, him, her, they are all pronouns replacing a noun. In French, it is important to understand whether to use a direct or indirect object pronoun. Click here to learn about the differences between a subject, direct and indirect object.
The order of pronouns.
ALL these pronouns become before the main verb
|
Subject pron |
Negative part 1 |
Personal pron |
Direct obj. pron |
Indirect obj. pron |
|
|
Verb |
Negative part 2 |
|
Je = I Tu = you Il = he/it Elle = she/it On = one
Nous = we Vous = you Ils = they (m/mf) Elles = they (f) |
NE |
me = (to) me te = (to) you
se = (to) oneself
nous = (to) us vous = (to) you
|
le = him/it (m) la = her/it (f)
les = them (m/f) |
lui = to him/it (m/f)
leur = to them (m/f) |
Y (replaces phrases with à) |
EN (replaces phrases with de) |
|
PAS PLUS RIEN etc. |
Subject pronouns
Subject pronouns describe the 'doer' of the main verb. It normally comes right before the verb
Je vais en ville
Il aime le café
Nous ne travaillons pas quand nous sommes chez moi.
Personal pronouns
Personal pronouns can be either a direct or an indirect object pronoun:
Direct Object pronouns
Direct object pronouns replace the direct object in the sentence.
Je vois la lune (= I can see the moon) becomes Je la vois (= I can see it)
Pierre aime le chocolat (= Pierre likes chocolate) becomes Pierre l'aime (=Pierre likes it)
Indirect object pronouns
Personal indirect object pronouns, 'lui' and 'leur'
Just as with direct object pronouns, indirect object pronouns replace the indirect object in a sentence
Je téléphone à Juliette (= I telephone Juliette) becomes Je lui téléphone (I telephone her) - NB. 'to telephone' is a transitive verb in English: it takes a direct object, but takes an indirect object in French 'téléphoner à qqn
J'ai donné un cadeau à ma mère (=I gave a present to my mum) becomes Je lui ai donné un cadeau (= I gave a present to her)
The indirect object pronoun 'y'
Y replaces a phrase introduced by à, en, dans or sur
Je vais à Paris (= I go to Paris) becomes J'y vais (= I go there)
Pierre est allé en ville (=Pierre has gone/went to town) becomes Il y est allé (= He has gone/went there)
Je dors dans ma chambre (= I sleep in my bedroom) becomes J'y dors (= I sleep there)
La lampe est sur la table (=The lamp is on the table) becomes La lampe y est (= The lamp is there) NB: 'La lampe est là' would be a better translation
The indirect object pronoun 'en'
En replaces phrases with de or can translate to mean of them
-Tu as un stylo?
-Oui, j'en ai un = Yes, I have one (of them)
J'ai besoin d'un stylo (= I need a pen) becomes J'en ai besoin (= I need one [of them])
Ils parlent de la guerre (= They're talking about the war) becomes Ils en parlent (= They're speaking about it)
Combining direct and indirect object pronouns
Il envoie une lettre à moi becomes Il me la envoie
Nous donnons un cadeau à notre mère becomes Nous le lui donnons
Pronouns with infinitives
It is possible to combine a pronoun with an infinitive. The pronoun goes before the infinitive
Je veux envoyer un cadeau à ma mère becomes Je veux le lui envoyer
© 2007 Electronic Language Resources. Contact [email protected]. Last updated 07/12/2007