Pronouns

Pronouns and what exactly they mean

Qui

Replaces subject nouns (je, tu, etc.) when already mentioned.
Can also mean “who”,
e.g I need the person who can help me —> J'ai besoin de la personne qui peut m'aider

Que

Like qui, but pronoun is the object,
e.g I like the things that I know —> J’aime les choses que je connais.

Dont

Similar to que, but only when the object is preceded by “de” , like “en”.

me/te/le/la/nous/vous/les

Direct object pronouns that go before verbs,
e.g I like it —> Je l’aime

me/te/lui/nous/vous/leur

Indirect object pronouns that go before verbs, typically translated as ‘to’ or ‘from’
e.g I speak to him —> Je lui parle

Y/en

Y: when the object has the preposition à. Also used for a place

En: same thing but with “de”

E.g I’m going there —> J’y vais

I’m speaking about it to him —> Je lui en parle.

Order of verb pronouns

lequel/laquelle/lesquels/lesquelles

Quich ones,

e.g Of the watches, which ones do you like —> Parmi les montres, lesquelles préférez-vous?

Ce qui et ce que

When the object isn’t introduced:

E.g I know what I like —> Je sais ce que j’aime

E.g I know what works —> Je said ce qui fonctionne

Celui/Celle/Ceux/Celles

Pronoun for an object, translates to “the ones” or “the one”

-ci, -là

Adding -ci to Celui/Celle/Ceux/Celles indicates close proximity, whereas -là is generally further away. Roughly translates to this/that/these/those

E.g Of the watches, I hate those ones —> Parmi les montres, je déteste celles-là

E.g Of the watches, I hate this one —> Parmi les montres, je déteste celle-ci