Me, te, le, la, nous, vous, les, lui and leur replace an object and stand before the verb. The pronoun stands right before the verb, except in the affirmative imperative: Je le vois. Je lui parle. Regarde-le.
Summary
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| Point | Rule | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| me, te, nous, vous | same form as direct and indirect object; m’, t’ before a vowel | Il m’aime. / Elle nous parle. | He loves me. / She talks to us. | |
| le, la, les | direct object, no preposition; l’ before a vowel | Je la vois. / Je les connais. | I see her. / I know them. | |
| lui, leur | à + person: lui (one), leur (several) | Je lui parle. / Je leur écris. | I talk to him. / I write to them. | |
| Place | before the conjugated verb | Il nous écoute. | He listens to us. | |
| With an infinitive | before the infinitive | Je veux le voir. | I want to see him. | |
| Negation | ne + me / le / lui + verb + pas | Je ne le vois pas. | I don't see him. | |
| Passé composé | before the helper verb | Je l’ai vu hier. | I saw him yesterday. | |
| Imperative | after the verb, with a hyphen; me becomes moi | Regarde-le. / Donne-moi le sel. | Look at him. / Give me the salt. | |
| Negative imperative | ne + me / le / lui + verb + pas: the pronoun is back before the verb | Ne le regarde pas ! | Don't look at him! | |
| Agreement | in the passé composé, the participle agrees with a preceding le, la, les | Marie ? Je l’ai vue. | Marie? I saw her. | |
| Trap | never after the verb, except in the affirmative imperative: je le vois | Je le vois. | I see him. | |
| Trap | leur never takes an ‑s | Je leur parle. | I talk to them. |
Overview
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- An object pronoun replaces a noun already known and avoids repeating it. Tu connais Paul ? — Oui, je le connais.Do you know Paul? — Yes, I know him.
- In the 3rd person, le, la and les replace a direct object; lui and leur replace a person introduced by à. Je la vois. / Je lui parle.I see her. / I speak to her.
- The pronoun goes before the verb; the affirmative imperative is the one exception: it puts the pronoun after. Je te comprends. / Écoute-moi.I understand you. / Listen to me.
- For moi and toi after a preposition, see Stressed Pronouns.
- To replace a place or a phrase with de (y, en), see The Pronouns y and en.
Form: the pronouns
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| Person | Direct object | Indirect object (with à) | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | me / m’ | me / m’ | |
| tu | te / t’ | te / t’ | |
| il | le / l’ | lui | |
| elle | la / l’ | lui | |
| nous | nous | nous | |
| vous | vous | vous | |
| ils / elles | les | leur |
- Before a vowel, me, te, le and la become m’, t’ and l’. Il m’aime. / Je l’écoute.He loves me. / I listen to him.
- Lui serves for a man and for a woman. Paul ? Je lui parle. / Léa ? Je lui parle aussi.Paul? I talk to him. / Léa? I talk to her too.
- Leur never changes: it takes no ‑s. Je leur parle. / Elle leur écrit.I talk to them. / She writes to them.
Form: the place of the pronoun
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| Form | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| subject + me / te / le / la / les / lui / leur + verb | Je le vois. / Elle nous écoute. | I see him. / She listens to us. | |
| subject + ne + me / te / le / la / les / lui / leur + verb + pas | Je ne le vois pas. / Il ne lui parle pas. | I don't see him. / He doesn't talk to her. | |
| subject + verb + me / te / le / la / les / lui / leur + infinitive | Je veux le voir. / Il va lui téléphoner. | I want to see him. / He is going to phone her. | |
| subject + me / te / le / la / les / lui / leur + verb + ↗ | Tu me comprends ? / Vous le connaissez ? | Do you understand me? / Do you know him? | |
| subject + me / te / le / la / les / lui / leur + helper + past participle | Je l’ai vu hier. / Elle lui a parlé. | I saw him yesterday. / She talked to him. | |
| subject + ne + me / te / le / la / les / lui / leur + helper + pas + past participle | Je ne l’ai pas vu. / Il ne nous a pas répondu. | I didn't see him. / He didn't answer us. | |
| verb + hyphen + moi / toi / le / la / les / lui / leur / nous / vous | Regarde-le. / Écoutez-moi. / Donne-lui le livre. | Look at him. / Listen to me. / Give him the book. | |
| ne + me / te / le / la / les / lui / leur + verb + pas | Ne le regarde pas ! / Ne me dis pas ça ! | Don't look at him! / Don't tell me that! |
- After the verb, in the affirmative imperative, me becomes moi and te becomes toi. Dis-moi la vérité. / Réponds-moi.Tell me the truth. / Answer me.
- In the passé composé, the participle agrees with a preceding le, la or les: je l’ai vue. Marie ? Je l’ai vue. / Les clés ? Je les ai prises.Marie? I saw her. / The keys? I took them.
- For the passé composé, see Passé Composé: j’ai mangé.
- For the imperative, see Imperative: parle, parlons, parlez.
Pronunciation: the object pronouns
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- Before a vowel, nous, vous and les link with /z/: il vous aime is said /il vu zɛm/. Il vous aime. / Je les écoute.He loves you. / I listen to them.
- Lui is said /lɥi/ and leur is said /lœʁ/. Je lui parle. / Je leur parle.I talk to him. / I talk to them.
- For all liaisons and elisions, see Liaison and Elision.
Use: direct or indirect object
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| Use | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| A person, with no preposition | Tu vois Marie ? — Oui, je la vois. | Do you see Marie? — Yes, I see her. | |
| A thing, with no preposition | Tu prends les clés ? — Oui, je les prends. | Are you taking the keys? — Yes, I'm taking them. | |
| A person with à | Tu parles à Paul ? — Oui, je lui parle. | Do you talk to Paul? — Yes, I talk to him. | |
| Several people with à | Tu téléphones à tes parents ? — Oui, je leur téléphone. | Do you phone your parents? — Yes, I phone them. | |
| Verbs that take à before a person: parler / téléphoner / donner / dire / écrire / répondre | Je lui donne un cadeau. / Ils nous répondent. | I give him a present. / They answer us. | |
| Verbs with no preposition: écouter / regarder / attendre / chercher | Je l’écoute. / Nous la cherchons. | I'm listening to him. / We are looking for her. |
Compare: direct and indirect object
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| le, la, les | lui, leur | Level |
|---|---|---|
| a direct object, with no preposition | an indirect object: à + person | |
| Léa ? Je la regarde.Léa? I'm looking at her. | Léa ? Je lui parle.Léa? I'm talking to her. | |
| a person or a thing | a person only | |
| Le livre ? Je le prends.The book? I'm taking it. | Paul ? Je lui écris.Paul? I'm writing to him. | |
| the participle agrees: je l’ai vue | the participle does not change: je lui ai parlé | |
| Léa ? Je l’ai vue.Léa? I saw her. | Léa ? Je lui ai parlé.Léa? I talked to her. |
Typical errors
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| Wrong | Right | Rule | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Je vois le. | Je le vois. | the pronoun goes before the verb: je le vois, not “I see him” | |
| J’ai vu le. | Je l’ai vu. | at the passé composé, the pronoun goes before the helper: je l’ai vu | |
| Je parle à lui. | Je lui parle. | “to him” becomes lui before the verb: je lui parle | |
| Je leurs parle. | Je leur parle. | the pronoun leur takes no ‑s (the possessive leurs does) | |
| Donne-me le sel. | Donne-moi le sel. | after the verb, me becomes moi | |
| Ne regarde-le pas ! | Ne le regarde pas ! | in the negative imperative, the pronoun is back before the verb, with no hyphen | |
| Marie ? Je l’ai vu. | Marie ? Je l’ai vue. | the participle agrees with l’ (= Marie) placed before the verb |