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Les pronoms objets directs et indirects
A direct object is a noun following the verb that answers the questions 'what?' or 'whom?'
Remember a pronoun replaces a noun, and in this case the noun is a direct object.
For example, Superman might ask: 'Lois, will you call me tonight?', where the direct object pronoun 'me' stands for Superman.
In front of a word starting with a vowel, le and la become l'; me becomes m'; te becomes t'.
Direct object pronouns in French agree in number and gender with the nouns they replace.
Note that le/l' can replace an adjective or a verb.
Placement:
Placement:
Direct object pronouns precede the verb of which they are the object.
Direct object pronouns precede the verb of which they are the object.
--In a composed tense (like the passé composé), the pronoun precedes the auxiliary.
--In a composed tense (like the passé composé), the pronoun precedes the auxiliary.
--In infinitive constructions, the pronoun goes immediately before the infinitive.
--In infinitive constructions, the pronoun goes immediately before the infinitive.
--When the conjugated verb is negative, the ne comes before the object pronoun.
--When the conjugated verb is negative, the ne comes before the object pronoun.
In the negative imperative, the pronoun follows the normal placement before the verb. However, in the affirmative imperative, the object pronoun goes after the verb and is attached to it by a hyphen.
In addition, me and te become moi and toi.
Agreement of past participle
Agreement of past participle
The past participle agrees in gender and in number with a preceding direct object. In other words, if the direct object pronoun is feminine, add an e to the end of the past participle; if the pronoun is masculine plural, add an s (unless the past participle already ends in s); if it is feminine plural, add es.
An indirect object is a person which receives the action of a verb indirectly.
In French the indirect object is always preceded by the preposition à and in English by the preposition 'to' :
Ana offre des fleurs à Lina. (Ana gives flowers to Lina.)
An indirect object pronoun indicates à + a person. In the sentence 'Ana offre des fleurs à Lina', 'Lina' is the indirect object. The indirect object pronoun that replaces 'à Lina' is lui :
Ana lui offre des fleurs. (Ana gives flowers to her.)
Following are the French indirect object pronouns:
In front of a word starting with a vowel, me and te become m' and t'.
Placement
Placement
An indirect object pronoun is placed just before the verb of which it is the object. I
In a composed tense (like the futur proche or the passé composé), the pronoun comes before the auxiliary.
In infinitive constructions, the pronoun goes immediately before the infinitive. When the conjugated verb is negative, the ne precedes the object pronoun.
In the affirmative imperative, the indirect object pronoun is placed after the verb it is the object of and attached to it by a hyphen. In addition, me and te become moi and toi.
Sometimes there will be both a direct and an indirect object pronoun in the same sentence The direct object pronoun is usually closest to the verb of which it is the object.
However, the order of direct / indirect object pronouns is reversed in the third person singular and third person plural (le lui, le leur, etc.). In this case, the indirect object is closest to the verb.
Remember that in the affirmative imperative, me and te become moi and toi.
In simple tenses, like the present, future, imperfect, and passé simple, the object pronouns are placed between the ne and the verb.
In compound tenses, like the passé composé, the plus-que-parfait etc., the object pronouns are placed between the ne and the auxiliary verb.
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