Les Pronoms Objets

Les Pronoms Objets

Object pronouns replace nouns. There are two types:

Direct object pronouns (pronoms objets directs) replace the people or things that receive the action of the verb in a sentence.
Indirect object pronouns (pronoms objets indirects) replace the people in a sentence to/for whom the action of the verb occurs.

In addition, there are two adverbial pronouns, yanden, which work in conjunction with the object pronouns:

Y replaces à (and most prepositions except for de) + noun
En replaces de + noun

It is important to understand each of these concepts, because they are very commonly used and without them there is a certain "bulkiness" in French. Once you begin using object and adverbial pronouns, your French will sound a lot more natural.

Les Pronoms Objets Directs

menous

te vous

le /lales

Just like English, the French language has direct object pronouns, words that replace the direct object.

This is so that we don't say things like "Marie was at the bank today. When I saw Marie I smiled."

It's much more natural to say "Marie was at the bank today. When I saw her I smiled."

The direct object is the person or thing that receives the action of the verb in a sentence. To find the direct object in a sentence, ask the question Who? or What?

I'm eating bread - Je mange du pain.
What am I eating? Bread.

He sees Marie - Il voit Marie.
Who does he see? Marie.

The French direct object pronouns are as follows:

me / m' / me
te / t' / you
le / l' / him, it (masc)
la / l' / her, it (fem)
nous / us
vous / you
les / them

Me, te, and le / la change to m', t', and l' in front of a vowel or mute h.

The most difficult thing to remember about direct object pronouns is this: they go in front of the verb in French.

I'm eating it. - Je le mange.
He sees her. - Il la voit.
I love you. - Je t'aime.
You love me. - Tu m'aimes.

Exception: In an affirmative command, they are placed afterthe verb and attached to it with a hyphen.

Note: When deciding between direct and indirect objects, the general rule is that if the person is preceded by a preposition, that person is an indirect object. If it is not preceded by a preposition, it is a direct object.

Les Pronoms Objets Indirects

Indirect objects are the people in a sentence to or for whom the action of the verb occurs.
I'm talking toPierre.
Je parle à Pierre.
To whom am I talking? To Pierre.
He buys books forthe students
Il achète des livres pourles étudiants.
For whom does he buy books? - Forthe students.
Indirect object pronouns are the words that replace the indirect object, and in French they can only refer to a person.

(1) The French indirect object pronouns are:
me / m'to me
te / t'to you
luito him, to her
nousto us
vousto you
leurto them
Like direct object pronouns, French indirect object pronouns are usually placed in front of the verb.
I'm talking to him.
Je luiparle.

He buys books for them.
Il leurachète des livres.
I'm giving the bread to you.
Je vous donne le pain.
She wrote to me.
Elle m'a écrit.
Notes: When deciding between direct and indirect objects, the general rule is that if the person or thing is preceded by a preposition, that person/thing is an indirect object. (1) If it's not preceded by a preposition, it is a direct object.

(1) In English, an indirect object can be a person or a thing. In French, it can only be a person. When you have an indirect object that's not a person in English, the French equivalent is the adverbial pronoun“y”. So "pay attention to him" would be “fais attention à lui”, but "pay attention to it would be “fais-y attention”.
(2) With most verbsand in most tenses and moods, when the indirect object pronoun is first or second person, it has to precede the verb:
"He's talking to me" = Il me parle, not "Il parle à moi"
When the pronoun refers to the third person, you can use a stressed pronounafter the verb and the preposition à in order to stress the distinction between masculine and feminine:
"I'm talking to her" = Je lui parle, à elle
(3) However, with some verbs the indirect object pronoun has to follow the verb –for example:

In French, àplusa person can usually be replaced by an indirect object pronoun:

J'ai donné le livre à mon frère - Je lui ai donné le livre
I gave the book to my brother - I gave him the book
Il parle à toi et à moi - Il nous parle
He's talking to you and me - He's talking to us

However, a few French verbs and expressions do not allow a preceding indirect object pronoun that refers to a person.* Instead, they require that you keep the preposition à after the verb, and follow it with a stressed pronoun:

Fais attention à ton prof - Fais attention à lui
Pay attention to your teacher - Pay attention to him
Wrong:xx Fais-lui attention xx
Je pense à mes sœurs - Je pense à elles
I'm thinking about my sisters - I'm thinking about them
Wrong:xx Je leur pense xx

French verbs that don't allow a preceding indirect object pronoun
en appeler àto appeal to, address
avoir affaire àto have to deal with
avoir recours àto have recourse to
croire àto believe in
être àto belong to
faire appel àto appeal to, address
faire allusion àto allude to
faire attention àto pay attention to
s'habituer àto get used to
penser àto think of, about
recourir àto have recourse to
renoncer àto give up, renounce
revenir àto come back to
rêver àto dream of
songer àto think, dream of
tenir àto be fond of, care about
venir àto come to
*Note: When the indirect object is a thing, it can be replaced with “y”, which can always precede the verb:
Fais attention à la leçon - Fais-y attention
Pay attention to the lesson - Pay attention to it

Je pense à nos vacances - J'y pense
I'm thinking about our vacation - I'm thinking about it
(4) The imperative has different rules for word order.

Ordre Des Mots Pour l’Impératif

The order of words in a French sentence can be very confusing, due to affirmative and negativeimperative constructions and object and adverbial pronouns. This lesson will teach you exactly how to order your sentences when using the imperative.

The first thing you need to understand is that there are two kinds of imperatives, and the word order is different for each of them.

I. / Negative Imperatives
Negative imperatives are fairly easy to work with, because their word order is the same as that ofall other simple verb conjugations:
Any object pronouns precede the verb and the negative structure surrounds the pronoun(s) + verb:
Finis ! / Finish!
Ne finis pas ! / Don't finish!
Ne le finis pas ! / Don't finish it!
Lisez ! / Read!
Ne lisez pas ! / Don't read!
Ne le lisez pas ! / Don't read it!
Ne mele lisez pas ! / Don't read itto me!
II. / Affirmative Imperatives
These are more complicated, for three reasons.
A. / The word order is different from that of all other verb tenses/moods: the pronouns follow the verb and are connected to it and each other with hyphens.
Finis-le ! / Finish it!
Allons-y ! / Let's go!
Mangez-les ! / Eat them!
Donne-lui-en ! / Give himsome!
B. / The order of the pronouns in affirmative commands is slightly different from all other verb tenses/moods:
le
la
les / m' / moi
t' / toi
lui / nous
vous
leur / y / en
Envoie-le-nous ! / Send itto us!
Expliquons-la-leur ! / Let's explain itto them!
Donnez-nous-en ! / Give us some!
C. / The pronouns me and te change to moi and toi, unless they are followed by y or en, in which case they contract to m'and t'.
Lève-toi ! / Get up!
Va-t'en ! / Go away!
Parlez-moi ! / Talk to me!

Les Pronoms Adverbiaux Y et En

The French adverbial pronouns y and en are so tiny that one might think their role in a sentence is not very important, but in fact quite the opposite is true. They are both extremely important in French.

Y refers to a place that has already been mentioned; it is normally translated by there in English. Y usually replaces a prepositional phrase beginning with à, chez, dans, etc.

Tu vas à la banque aujourd'hui ?
Non, j'y vais demain. / Are you going to the bank today?
No, I'm going (there) tomorrow.
Nous allons au magasin.
Tu veux y aller ? / We're going to the store.
Do you want to go (there)?
Il était chez Jean.
Il y était. / He was at Jean's house.
He was there.

Note that "there" can often be omitted in English, but y can never be omitted in French. Je vais is not a complete sentence; if you don't follow aller with a place, you have to say J'y vais.

Y can also replace à + a noun that is not a person:

Je réponds à une lettre.
J'y réponds. / I'm responding to a letter.
I'm responding to it.
Il pense à notre voyage.
Il y pense. / He's thinking about our trip.
He's thinking about it.
Tu dois obéir à la loi.
Tu dois y obéir. / You have to obey the law.
You have to obey it.

When you want to replace à + a person, use an indirect object.

Y also replaces à + something with verbs that need à. Note that either à + something or its replacement y is required in French, even though the equivalent may be optional in English.

Oui, j'ai assisté à la réunion.
XX Oui, j'ai assisté XX
Oui, j'y ai assisté. / Yes, I attended the meeting.
Yes, I attended (it).
Je vais réfléchir à votre proposition.
XX Je vais réfléchir XX
Je vais y réfléchir. / I'm going to think about your proposal.
I'm going to think about it.

Note:Y usually cannot replace à + verb.

J'hésite à dire la vérité.
XX J'y hésite XX
J'hésite à la dire. / I hesitate to tell the truth.
---
I hesitate to tell it.
Je continue à lire Balzac.
XX J'y continue XX
Je continue à le lire. / I continue to read Balzac.
---
I continue to read him.

Y is also found in the expression il y a

En replaces the partitive article (du, de la, etc.) or de + the indefinite article(un, une, des) + a noun. It is equivalent to some, any, or a number in English.

As-tu du pain ?
Oui, j'en ai. / Do you have any bread?
Yes, I have some.
Il a envie d'une pomme.
Il en a envie. / He wants an apple.
He wants one.
Je n'ai pas besoin d'un aide.
Je n'en ai pas besoin. / I don't need an assistant.
I don't need one.

If there is a modifier like beaucoup de or a number in the sentence, en replaces the noun and the modifier or number is placed at the end of the sentence.

Il y a beaucoup de chambres.
Il y en a beaucoup. / There are a lot of rooms.
There are a lot (of them).
Je voudrais deux livres.
J'en voudrais deux. / I'd like two books.
I'd like two (of them).
Nous avons envie de 10 cahiers.
Nous en avons envie de 10. / We want 10 notebooks.
We want 10 (of them).

En also replaces de + something with verbs and expressions that need de. Note that either de + something or its replacement en is required in French, even though "about/of it" is often optional in English.

Que penses-tu de mon idée?
XX Que penses-tu? XX
Qu'en penses-tu? / What do you think about my idea?
What do you think (about it)?
Quelles sont les conséquences de cette décision?
XX Quelles sont les conséquences? XX
Quelles en sont les conséquences? / What are the consequences of this decision?
What are the consequences (of it)?

Note: En usually cannot replace de + verb.

J'ai décidé d'accepter son offre.
XX J'en ai décidé XX
J'ai décidé de l'accepter. / I decided to accept his offer.
---
I decided to accept it.
J'ai oublié de laver la voiture.
XX J'en ai oublié XX
J'ai oublié de la laver. / I forgot to wash the car.
---
I forgot to wash it.

Don't forget that en is also a preposition.