Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns and Their Position
Direct and indirect object pronouns replace a noun that has already been mentioned, so that French sentences do not sound repetitive. A direct object pronoun (me, te, le, la, nous, vous, les) replaces a noun with no preposition in front of it, such as 'le film' in 'je regarde le film'.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Work out whether the noun being replaced is a direct object (no preposition before it, e.g. 'le film') or an indirect object introduced by à and referring to a person (e.g. 'à mon frère').
- Choose the matching pronoun: direct object me, te, le/la (l' before a vowel or silent h), nous, vous, les; indirect object me, te, lui, nous, vous, leur.
- Place the pronoun immediately before the conjugated verb in a simple tense: 'je le regarde', not 'je regarde le'.
- In a verb-plus-infinitive construction (aller, vouloir, pouvoir, devoir plus infinitive), move the pronoun to sit directly before the infinitive it belongs to: 'je vais lui parler', not 'je vais parler lui'.
- In the perfect tense, put the pronoun before the auxiliary avoir or être: 'je l'ai vu'.
- Apply past participle agreement only for a preceding DIRECT object pronoun: add -e for feminine, -s for masculine plural, -es for feminine plural ('je les ai vues'). Indirect object pronouns never trigger this agreement ('je leur ai parlé' stays unchanged).
- When two pronouns are needed together, put them in this order before the verb: me/te/nous/vous, then le/la/les, then lui/leur ('il me le donne'; 'il le lui donne').
- In the affirmative imperative only, move the pronoun after the verb and join it with a hyphen, changing me/te to moi/toi: 'Donne-le-moi!' In the negative imperative, the pronoun stays in front as usual: 'Ne me le donne pas!'
Worked example
Rewrite this sentence, replacing the underlined phrase with the correct pronoun and making any necessary agreement: 'J'ai invité mes cousines à la fête.' (replace 'mes cousines')
- Check for a preposition before 'mes cousines': there is none, so it is a direct object.
- Choose the direct object pronoun for a feminine plural noun: les.
- Place 'les' before the auxiliary avoir, since the sentence is in the perfect tense: 'Je les ai invité...'
- Apply past participle agreement: 'les' refers to a feminine plural noun and comes before avoir, so 'invité' must add -es: 'invitées'.
- Write the final sentence: 'Je les ai invitées à la fête.'
Practice questions
Type your answer and press Check to be marked straight away, or reveal the answer and mark yourself.
Q1Replace the underlined word with a pronoun: 'Je fais mes devoirs le soir.' (replace 'mes devoirs')Show answer
Answer: Je les fais le soir.
Q2Replace the underlined phrase: 'Elle téléphone à sa grand-mère tous les dimanches.' (replace 'à sa grand-mère')Show answer
Answer: Elle lui téléphone tous les dimanches.
Q3Complete the sentence with the correct pronoun for 'to me': 'Mon père ___ a acheté un vélo pour mon anniversaire.'Show answer
Answer: Mon père m'a acheté un vélo pour mon anniversaire.
Q4Correct the word order mistake: 'Je vais voir la demain.'Show answer
Answer: Je vais la voir demain.
Q5Add the correct past participle agreement: 'Où sont mes clés? Je les ai perdu___ ce matin.'Show answer
Answer: Je les ai perdues ce matin.
Q6Translate into French using an indirect object pronoun: 'He is writing to them.'Show answer
Answer: Il leur écrit.
Q7Put the two pronouns in the correct order: 'Il donne le cadeau à Marie.' (replace both 'le cadeau' and 'à Marie')Show answer
Answer: Il le lui donne.
Q8Rewrite as an affirmative imperative, replacing 'ce livre' with a pronoun: 'Donne ce livre à ton frère.'Show answer
Answer: Donne-le-lui!
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE French exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Translate this passage into English: 'Le week-end dernier, j'ai vu mon meilleur ami en ville et je lui ai offert un livre pour son anniversaire. Il l'a beaucoup aimé et il m'a remercié tout de suite. Ensuite, nous avons retrouvé nos autres copains et je les ai invités chez moi pour regarder un film.'
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Translate these sentences into French: 1. I saw her yesterday. 2. He gave me his phone number. 3. We are going to visit them next month. 4. She did not thank us.
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Complete each sentence with the correct object pronoun from the box: me, la, lui, les. 1. Il a acheté des fleurs pour sa mère. Il ___ a achetées. 2. Le professeur explique la règle à Thomas. Le professeur ___ explique la règle. 3. J'ai vu mes cousins hier. Je ___ ai vus hier. 4. Tu peux m'aider? Oui, je peux ___ aider.
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See real GCSE French past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
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