# Object Pronouns

https://langs123.com/en/french/pronoms/pronoms-complements/
CEFR A1–A2 · 2026-10-24 · CC BY 4.0, langs123 contributors (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

> **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

| Point | Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 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

- 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

| Person | Direct object | Indirect object (with à) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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

| Form | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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

- 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

| Use | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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

| le, la, les | lui, leur |
| --- | --- |
| 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

| ✗ | ✓ |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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 |