Pronouns

Pronouns replace nouns and always go before the verb. They go even closer that the negation ‘ne’

Direct object pronouns

me- me

te- you

le- him/it

la- her/it

nous- us

vous- you

les- them

If there are 2 verbs, the DOP goes before the infinitive/2nd verb. example: nous pouvons les manger

Negatives: In negative sentences, the pronoun goes next to the verb and is surrounded by the negative. Example: je ne les vois pas

When there’s a negative sentence with 2 verbs, negate the 1st verb and the pronoun goes before the infinitive/2nd verb. Example: il ne faut jamais les donner

Past Tense: In the past tense, the pronoun goes before both the auxiliary and past participle. Example: il les a compris

Agreement: If you have a preceding direct object pronoun, you can agree the past participle to the gender/plurality of the noun

Indirect object pronouns

me- to me

te- to you

lui- to him/it

lui- to her/it

nous- to us

vous- to you

leur- to them

Pierre envoie un pacquet a son pere

this sentence has 2 objects: the one having the action done ‘directly to it (direct object) and the other is ‘receiving’ the action (indirect object). The indirect object is often accompanied by the preposition a

a=to

Agreement: don’t agree when you have an indirect object pronoun

Example of infinitives followed by a

Parler a qqn

Demander a qqn

Donner a qqn

Telephoner a qqn

Envoyer a qqn

Preter a qqn

Dire a qqn

Example: I ask my mum- je demande a ma mere. I ask her- je lui demande

Y pronoun

‘Y’ replaces all expressions indicating place, location and direction

basic meaning of ‘y’= there

It’s often introduced by prepositions such as: chez, dans, devant, derriere, en, sous, sur, au dessus de (on top of), en dessous de (below). Example: Quand repars-tu chez ta soeur? J’y repars demain

‘Y’ is used for inanimate objects not people

If a introduces a person, you cannot use ‘y’, you use either the indirect object pronouns (me, te, lui, nous, vous, leur) or the disjunctive pronouns (moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles)

Reciprocal actions

  1. Parler a qqn- Je parle a ma mere=je lui parle. (talking is a reciprocal action so use the indirect object pronoun)

  2. Penser a qqn- Je pense a ma mere= je pense a elle (thinking is not necessarily a reciprocal action so use the disjunctive pronoun)

Pronoun order

1) Me, Te, Nous, Vous

2) Le, l’, la, les

3) Lui, leur

4) Y

5) En