French 2.5. Object Personal Pronouns

Object personal pronouns in French can be divided into three classes: prepositional, direct, and indirect object pronouns.

Prepositional Object Pronouns in French

Prepositional object pronouns come after a preposition, such as “de” (of, from, or about), “avec” (with), “dans” (in), “sans” (without), etc.

The reflexive prepositional pronouns are a special case of the prepositional object pronouns, such as “myself,” “yourself,” “himself,” etc., and are used when the subject and the object pronoun refer to the same person.

More often than not, the reflexive prepositional object pronoun is followed by the adjective “même(s),” meaning “same” for emphasis, e.g., “Ils parlent d’eux-mêmes” (They talk about themselves).

Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns in French

The second and third classes of object pronouns in French are direct and indirect object personal pronouns. This tends to be one of the most challenging grammar lessons for English-speaking students. Nevertheless, the use of direct and indirect objects is so ubiquitous that we feel obliged to cover it at this beginner level. Feel free to return to this lesson at times of confusion if you do not fully grasp all of the details.

Before we delve into the details, let us first define the difference between the two classes, since the distinction in English is not always clear. The direct object is the noun directly acted upon, whereas the indirect object is usually the noun (or person) receiving the direct object. For example, in the expressions “He gives it to us” and “I give it to you,” the “it” is the direct object acted upon in both examples, whereas “us” is the indirect object in the first example and “you” in the second. In English, we use “me,” “you,” “him,” “her,” “us,” and “them,” regardless of whether we are referring to a direct or indirect object.

In French, there are some differences:

1. The direct and indirect object pronouns generally come before the verb, e.g., “Il nous le donne” (He gives it to us). Attachment to the end of the verb will be discussed as an exception.

2. The indirect object comes before the direct object when they are both in the same sentence, except when the indirect object is in the third person, in which case the indirect object comes after the direct object.

3. Unlike in English, we do not add the equivalent of “to” before the indirect object, e.g., “I give it to you” becomes “Je te le donne” where “te” means “to you” in this context.

Now, let us learn the direct and indirect object pronouns and their equivalents in English.

Notice that the direct and the indirect object pronouns are only different in the third-person singular and plural forms.

Examples

Let us look at some examples of direct and indirect object personal pronouns in French:

Object Pronouns in the Imperative

Notice that, in the case of the affirmative imperative, the object pronoun is attached to the end of the verb, for example:

If the imperative is in the negative, the object pronoun is not attached and is instead placed before the verb, for example:

Combining Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns in French

We will examine how to combine direct and indirect objects in the same sentence through the following two examples:

Example #1

“She sells me the house.” This translates to:

Elle me vend la maison.

In the above example, we recognize that “la maison” (the house) is the direct object being acted upon, i.e., being sold, whereas “me” (me) is the indirect object that receives the direct object, i.e., the house is being sold to me.

Let us first focus on the direct object in “Elle vend la maison” (She sells the house). If we remove the direct object, “la maison” (the house), to say “She sells it,” we must use “le” or “la” to refer to the direct object pronoun “it.” Since “la maison” is feminine, we must use “la”:

Elle la vend.

Next, we add the indirect object “me” before the direct object “la” to say “She sells it to me”:

Elle me la vend.

Example #2

“I send him a gift.”

This translates to:

Je lui envoie un cadeau.

Here, “un cadeau” (a gift) is the direct object, whereas “lui” (him) is the indirect object.

Let us first focus on the direct object in “J’envoie un cadeau” (I send a gift). If we remove the direct object “un cadeau” (a gift) to say “I send it,” we must use “le” or “la” to refer to the direct object pronoun “it.” Since “un cadeau” is masculine, we must use “le,” abbreviated here as “l’”:

Je l’envoie …

Now, we add the indirect object “lui” after the direct object “le” to say “I send it to him”:

Je le lui envoie.

Indirect Object is in the Third Person “Lui” & “Leur”

Notice that when the indirect object is in the third person, i.e., “lui” (to him/her) or “leur” (to them), the indirect object is placed after the direct object. Here are a few more examples:

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