Direct Object Pronouns(DOP)

A direct object pronoun is a word such as me, him, us and them, which is used instead of the noun to
stand in for the person or thing most directly affected by the action expressed by the verb.

 Here are the French direct object pronouns:

Singular Meanin Plural Meaning

g

me (m’) me nous us

te (t’) you vous you

le (l’) him les them (masculine and feminine)

it

la (l’) her
it

Eg : - Ils vont nous aider. j’aime pierre. je l’aime.---aff

je n’aime pas Pierre. je ne l’aime pas.
aimez-vous Pierre ? L’aimez-vous ?
Je la vois.

Characteristics of direct objects:

 Always used with transitive verbs

 Never preceded by prepositions
 Can always be found by asking "Whom?" or "What?"

Points to Remember:

 Note that you cannot use direct object pronouns after a preposition like à or de, or when you
want to emphasize something. Here you will use emphatic pronouns.
 In orders and instructions telling someone to do something, moi is used instead of me,
and toi is used instead of te.

Aidez-moi! Help me!

 Aidez-moi Help me !
Ne m’aidez pas Don’t help me !
Ferme-le Close it
Ouvre-la !

Assieds-toi. Sit down.

 Le is sometimes used to refer back to an idea or information that has already been given. The
word it is often missed out in English.

‘Ta chemise est très sale.’ – ‘Your shirt’s very dirty.’ – ‘I

‘Je le sais.’ know.’

Word order with direct object pronouns:

 The direct object pronoun usually comes BEFORE the verb.

Je t’aime. I love you.

Les voyez-vous? Can you see them?

Elle ne nous connaît pas. She doesn’t know us.

 Note that in orders and instructions telling someone to do something, the direct object
pronoun comes AFTER the verb.

Asseyez-vous. Sit down.

 In passé composé, direct object pronouns precede the auxiliary verb.

Je l’ai dit. I said it.

Nous t’avons vu. We saw you.

 With semi-auxiliary verbs, tenses like future proche and passe recent, direct object pronouns
precede the infinitive.
Je dois le dire. I have to say it.
 Nous pouvons te voir. We can see you.

Indirect Object Pronouns

An indirect object is a person that someone or something does something to indirectly. In the simplest
sentences, the indirect object directly follows a verb + preposition, so it’s very easy to see the effect
that the verb has on that person.

Il donne des fleurs à son amie. He’s giving his friend flowers.

Il donne des fleurs à elle.

Il donne des fleurs à son amie

Il lui donne des fleurs.

Je l’achète pour mes enfants. I’m buying it for my children.

Characteristics of indirect objects:

 Are connected to the verb with a preposition

 Can be found by asking "to whom?” (à qui?) or "for whom?” (à quoi?)

 Here are the French indirect object pronouns:

Singular Meaning Plural Meaning

me (m’) me, to me, for nous us, to us, for us

me

te (t’) you, to you, for vous you, to you, for you

you

lui him, to him, for leur them, to them, for them (masculine
him and feminine)
her, to her, for
her
 it, to it, for it

Il nous écrit tous les jours. He writes to us every day.

Ils te cachent quelque chose. They’re hiding something from you.

Points to Remember:
These pronouns are usually used with the communication verbs that are built with the preposition à:
• dire à
• téléphoner à
• parler à
• envoyer à
• donner à
• offrir à
• répondre à
• écrire à
• demander à

 The pronouns shown in the table are used instead of the preposition à with a noun.
J’écris à Suzanne. → Je lui écris.
Donne du lait au chat. → Donne-lui du lait

 Some French verbs like demander à (meaning to ask) and téléphoner à (meaning to phone)
take an indirect object even though English uses a direct object.
Il leur téléphone tous les soirs. He phones them every evening.

 On the other hand, some French verbs like attendre (meaning to wait for), chercher (meaning
to look for) and regarder (meaning to look at) take a direct object even though English uses an
indirect object.
Je les attends devant la gare. I’ll wait for them outside the station.
J’ATTENDS MON AMI. je l’attends
prends le livre
prends-le
ne le prends pas
parlez à votre sœur
parlez-lui
ne lui parlez pas
Word order with indirect object pronouns:
 The indirect object pronoun usually comes BEFORE the verb.

Dominique vous écrit une lettre. Dominique’s writing you a letter.

Il ne nous parle pas. He doesn’t speak to us.

Il ne veut pas me répondre. He won’t answer me.

 Note that in orders and instructions telling someone to do something, the indirect object
pronoun comes AFTER the verb.

Donne-moi ça! Give me that!

Emphatic pronouns
An emphatic pronoun is used instead of a noun when you want to emphasize something, for example
Is this for me?

Characteristics of stressed pronouns:

 May be used with or in place of a subject or object

 Must agree with the subject or object in number and gender
 Can only refer to people.
 They will be placed in the place of the noun.(placement does not change)
 They always come after a preposition.

Singular Meaning Plural Meaning

moi I nous we
me us

toi you vous you

lui he eux they (masculine)

him them

elle she elles they (feminine)

 her them

soi oneself (yourself, ourselves)

Je pense souvent à toi. I often think about you.

C’est pour moi? Is this for me?

Venez avec moi. Come with me.

Il a besoin de nous. He needs us.

 soi (meaning oneself) is used with the subject pronoun on and with words like tout le
monde (meaning everyone) or chacun (meaning each one).

Il faut avoir confiance en soi. You have to have confidence in yourself.

Tout le monde est rentré chez soi. Everyone went home.

When to use emphatic pronouns:

Emphatic pronouns are used :

 after a preposition

C’est pour moi? Is this for me?

C’est moi qui l’ai fait. I did it.

 for emphasis, especially where a contrast is involved

Toi, tu ressembles à ton père, You look like your father,

mais elle non. she doesn’t.

Il m’énerve, lui! He’s getting on my nerves!

 on their own without a verb

‘Qui a cassé la fenêtre ?’ –  ‘Who broke the window?’ – ‘He did.’

‘Lui.’
‘Je suis fatiguée.’ – ‘Moi aussi.’  ‘I’m tired.’ – ‘Me too.’

 after c’est and ce sont (meaning it is)

C’est toi, Simon?  Is that you, Simon?

Ce sont eux.  It’s them.

 in comparisons

Tu es plus jeune que moi.  You are younger than me.

Il est moins grand que toi.  He’s smaller than you (are).

 when the subject of the sentence is made up of two pronouns, or of a pronoun and a noun

Mon père et elle ne s’entendent pas.  My father and she don’t get on.

 To indicate possession

Ces livres sont à moi. These books are mine.

J’ai trouvé un anorak à lui. I found a jacket of his.

 You can add -même or -mêmes to the emphatic pronouns when you particularly want to
emphasize something. These forms correspond to English myself, ourselves and so on.
Eg : - moi-même, toi-même…nous-mêmes, vous-même/vous-mêmes

Je peux le faire moi-même ! I can do it myself !

Ils le construisent eux-mêmes. They’re building it themselves.

Relative Pronouns

A relative pronoun is one of the wordsM who, which and that (and the more formal whom) which
can be used to introduce information that makes it clear which person or thing is being talked
about. It is also used to give more information about someone or something. A relative pronoun
(“who,” “which,” or “that”) joins a main clause to a dependent clause. This pronoun introduces
the dependent clause that describes someone or something mentioned in the main clause. The
 person or thing the pronoun refers to is called the antecedent. A relative clause may serve as a
subject, a direct object, or an object of a preposition.
Eg:- L’homme qui vient d’entrer est le petit ami d’Ann.
Peter, qui est un peintre brillant, veut étudier l'art.

Characteristics of relative pronouns:

 Connect relative and main clauses

 Are impersonal
 Are required in French, though they are sometimes optional in English

In French, the relative pronouns are qui, que, où, lequel, auquel, duquel and dont.

1 qui and que

 qui and que can both refer to people or things.

Relative pronoun Meanin

g

Subject qui who

which
that

Direct object que whom

which
that

Mon frère, qui a vingt ans, est à My brother, who’s twenty, is at university.
l’université.

Est-ce qu’il y a un bus qui va au centre- Is there a bus that goes to the town centre?
ville?

Les amis que je vois le plus sont Léa et The friends (that) I see most are Léa and
Mehdi. Mehdi.

Voilà la maison que nous voulons That’s the house (which) we want to buy.
acheter.

 qui is also used after a preposition such as à, de or pour to talk about people.
 la personne à qui il parle the person he is speaking to

les enfants pour qui j’ai acheté des bonbons the children I bought sweets for

2 lequel, laquelle, lesquels, lesquelles

 lequel (meaning which) is used after a preposition such as à, de or pour to talk about things.
It has to agree with the noun it replaces.

Masculine Feminine Meanin

g

Singular lequel laquelle which

Plural lesquels lesquelles which

le livre pour lequel elle est connue the book she is famous for

la table sur laquelle j’ai mis mon sac the table I put my bag on

 Remember that à and de combine with the definite article le to become au and du, and
with les to become aux and des. lequel/lesquels/lesquelles combine with à and de as shown
in the table. laquelle doesn’t change.

+ lequel + laquelle + lesquels + lesquelles Meanin

g

à auquel à laquelle auxquels auxquelles to which

de duquel de laquelle desquels desquelles of which

3. dont means whose, of whom, of which, from which, about which and so on. It can refer to people or
things, but its form NEVER changes.

la femme dont la voiture est en panne the woman whose car has broken down

les films dont tu parles the films you’re talking about

4. où is basically an interrogative pronoun. When used as a relative pronoun, it often means ‘Where’.
Eg:- Rouen est la ville où j'habite depuis 5 ans.
 La boulangerie où j'ai travaillé est à côté de la banque.

 It can also be used after a preposition:

Eg:- Le pays d'où il vient...
Je cherche le village jusqu'où nous avons conduit.

 It refers to the moment in time something happened: "when."

Eg: - Lundi, c'est le jour où nous faisons les achats.
Le moment où nous sommes arrivés...
Remember, You can't, because quand is not a relative pronoun. You must use the relative pronoun où.

5. Ce que & Ce qui : ce qui and ce que can both mean "what" or "that,". Unlike the relative pronouns
qui and que, ce qui and ce que cannot refer to people.
Ce que serves as the indefinite direct object in a relative clause.
Eg:-

Je ne sais pas ce que tu as mis dedans. I don’t know what you put in it.

Ce que tu achètes est intéressant. What you’re buying is interesting.

Ce qui serves as the indefinite subject in a relative clause.

Eg:-

Je n’ai pas vu ce qui m’a heurté. I didn’t see what hit me.

C’est ce qui lui a donné l’idée. That’s what gave him the idea.

Demonstrative Pronouns

Ceci and Cela/ça

Demonstrative pronouns ceci (this) and cela (that) refer to an idea or indefinite expression.

Ceci is the contraction of ce + ici (=this), whereas cela is the contraction of ce + là (=that).
Ceci and cela can be used to indicate:

 Distance: As in English, ceci (this) refers to an object closer to the speaker and cela (that) to a
more distant object.

Eg:- Ceci marche avec des piles, mais pas cela.

 Notion : When referring to a notion, ceci (this) introduces the notion whereas cela (that) refers
to an idea already mentioned.
Eg:- Cela dit, il est quand même un très bon ami.
N'oubliez jamais ceci : l'adjectif s'accorde toujours avec le nom.

Ça
Other than in writing and formal speech, ceci and cela are usually replaced by ça.

Ça va être difficile à croire. This is going to be difficult to believe.

Ça me rappelle un film que j’ai vu l’année That reminds me of a movie I saw last
dernière. year.

S’il te plaît, mets ça sur la table. Please put this on the table.

J’ai pensé à ça hier. I thought of that yesterday.

Note that when you use ceci and cela together as contrasting elements, you cannot replace
them with ça.

celui, celle, ceux, celles

 celui and celle mean the one; ceux and celles mean the ones. The form you choose depends
on whether the noun it is replacing is masculine or feminine, and singular or plural.

Masculine Feminine Meaning

Singular celui celle the one

Plural ceux celles the ones

 celui and its other forms are used before:qui, que or dont
 ‘Quelle robe préférez-vous?’ – ‘Celle ‘Which dress do you like best?’ – ‘The one
qui est en vitrine.’ in the window.’

Prends ceux que tu préfères. Take the ones you like best.

celui dont je t’ai parlé the one I told you about

celui qui est proche de la fontaine the one near the fountain

 celui and its other forms can be used with de to show who something belongs to. In English,
we would use ‘s.

Je n’ai pas d’appareil photo mais je peux I haven’t got a camera but I can
emprunter celui de ma sœur. borrow my sister’s.

Comparez vos réponses à celles de votre voisin. Compare your answers with your
neighbour’s.

 celui and its other forms can be used with a relative pronoun To introduce a clause
Eg:-

Voilà celui dont je t’ai parlé. Here’s the one I told you about.

Pour ceux qui sont dans le besoin For the needy (literally, "for those who are in need")

 You can add the endings -ci and -là to celui and its other forms to emphasize the difference
between something that is close to you and something that is further away.
 use -ci for something that is closer to you
 use -là for something that is further away

Masculine Feminine Meaning

Singular celui-ci celle-ci this, this one

celui-là celle-là that, that one

Plural ceux-ci celles-ci these, these ones

ceux-là celles-là those, those ones

On prend quel fromage? Celui-ci ou celui- Which cheese shall we get? This one
là? or that one?
 Ces chemises ont deux poches mais celles- These shirts have two pockets but
là n’en ont pas. those have none.

Pronoms interrogatifs
Who, what, which one? Use interrogative pronouns to ask these questions, which are a little more
complicated in French than in English.
Characteristics of interrogative pronouns
1. Ask who(m), what, or which one(s)
2. Can be subjects, direct objects, or objects of a preposition
3. May be used with est-ce que/qui or with inversion
Qui vs Que
When it comes to interrogative pronouns,* qui means "who" or "whom" and que means "what."
Qui as subject
When "who" is the subject of the question, you can translate it by either qui or, less commonly, qui
est-ce qui, plus a verb in the third person singular.
Par exemple…

Qui va au marché ? Qui est-ce qui va au marché ? Who’s going to the market?

Qui a acheté le pain ? Qui est-ce qui a acheté le pain ? Who bought the bread?

Qui as object
As the direct object of a question, "whom" is translated by either qui est-ce que or qui + inversion.
Par exemple…

Qui est-ce que tu connais ici ? Qui connais-tu ici ? Whom do you know here?

Qui est-ce qu’elle a vu ? Qui a-t-elle vu ? Whom did she see?

Likewise when "whom" is the object of a preposition:

Par exemple…

De qui est-ce qu’ils parlent ? De qui parlent-ils ? Whom are they talking
about?
 À qui est-ce que tu as envoyé la À qui as-tu envoyé la Whom did you send the
lettre ? lettre ? letter to?

Que as subject
When "what" is the subject of the question, it is equivalent to qu’est-ce qui plus a verb in the third
person singular.
Par exemple…

Qu’est-ce qui se passe ? What’s happening? What’s wrong?

Qu’est-ce qui manque ? What is missing?

Inversion is rare, and requires the addition of the neuter subject pronoun il.

Que se passe-t-il ? What’s happening? What’s wrong?

Que manque-t-il ? What is missing?

Que as object
As the object of a question, "what" is translated by either qu’est-ce que or que + inversion.
Par exemple…

Qu’est-ce que vous faites ? Que faites-vous ? What are you doing?

Qu’est-ce que tu vas étudier ? Que vas-tu étudier ? What are you going to study?

When "what" is the object of a preposition, the French equivalent is quoi + est-ce que or
inversion.
Par exemple…

À quoi est-ce que vous le À quoi le comparez- What are you comparing it
comparez ? vous ? to?

De quoi est-ce qu’il écrit ? De quoi écrit-il ? What does he write about?

Qui vs que summary

Subject Direct object Object of preposition

Who(m) qui est-ce qui qui est-ce que qui est-ce que
qui + inversion qui + inversion
 What qu’est-ce qui qu’est-ce que quoi est-ce que
(que + inversion) que + inversion quoi + inversion

Possessive Pronoun
A possessive pronoun is one of the words mine, yours, hers, his, ours or theirs, which are used
instead of a noun to show that one person or thing belongs to another, for example, Ask Carole if this
pen is hers.
 Here are the French possessive pronouns:

Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine Meanin

singular singular plural plural g

le mien la mienne les miens les miennes mine

le tien la tienne les tiens les tiennes yours

le sien la sienne les siens les siennes his

hers

le nôtre la nôtre les nôtres les nôtres ours

le vôtre la vôtre les vôtres les vôtres yours

le leur la leur les leurs les leurs theirs

Ces CD-là, ce sont les miens. Those CDs are mine.

As-tu tes clés. J’ai oublié les miennes. It’s lucky you’ve got your keys. I forgot
mine.

In French, possessive pronouns agree with what they describe, NOT with the person who owns that
thing. For example, le sien can mean his or hers, but can only be used to replace a masculine singular
noun.

‘C’est le vélo de Paul?’ – ‘Oui, c’est le ‘Is that Paul’s bike?’ – ‘Yes, it’s his.’
sien.’

‘C’est le vélo d’Isabelle?’ – ‘Oui, c’est le ‘Is that Isabelle’s bike?’ – ‘Yes,
sien.’ it’s hers.’

Remember that à with the definite article le becomes au, and à with les becomes aux, so:
 à + le mien = au mien
à + les miens = aux miens
à + les miennes = aux miennes

Tu préfères ce manteau au mien? Do you prefer this coat to mine?

Remember that de with the definite article le becomes du, and de with les becomes des, so:

de + le mien = du mien
de + les miens = des miens
de + les miennes = des miennes

J’ai oublié mes clés. J’ai besoin des tiennes. I’ve forgotten my keys. I need yours.

Adverbial Pronouns
(Pronoun of Place [Y] and pronoun of quantity [EN])
There are two adverbial pronouns (les pronoms adverbiaux) in French: y and en. They are technically
adverbs that are used as pronouns; they replace a noun or a clause in a sentence.

Word order
Adverbial pronouns precede the verb in all tenses and moods except the imperative.

 En: en can replace a quantity, a place, or the object of the preposition de. It could mean any,
some, about it, of it
Eg:- Voulez-vous du café ?non, J’en ai déjà. je n’en veux pas. je n’en veux pas
Combien d’enfants as-tu ? Je n’en ai pas.
Elle est enceinte. J’en suis certain.
o Uses :-
o with indefinite and partitive articles.
Eg:- Il cherche des idées.> Il en cherche.

o with numbers – it replaces the noun after a number. Note that the number itself is
maintained at the end of the sentence.
Eg:- J’achète 5 bouteilles. > J’en achète 5.
j’ai 5 pommes. j’en ai besoin de 3
J’ai une fille.> J’en ai une.
o with quantities

Eg :- J’ai beaucoup d’anoraks noirs. > J’en ai beaucoup.

 L’hôtel a beaucoup de charme.> L’hôtel en a beaucoup.
o with places – it can replace de + a place

Eg:- Je rentre de Paris.> J’en rentre.

Il vient de là. > Il en vient.
o En with verbs - En is also used with verbs that require the preposition de plus an
indirect object. Verbs like: arriver de, avoir besoin de, couvrir de, partir de, penser de,
etc,.
Eg: Que pensez-vous de cette décision ?> Qu’en pensez-vous ?
J’ai besoin d’un stylo.> J’en ai besoin.

 Y : The adverbial pronoun y can replace a place or the object of the preposition à. Y is most
commonly equivalent to "there,"

Eg:-

Nous allons à la plage. Alix nous y We’re going to the beach. Alix is waiting for
attend. us there.

Ils vont au musee Ils y vont.

Reste chez moi Restes-y

Using y
1. Y replaces preposition + place - Y most often replaces a preposition of place, such
as à, chez, dans, en, or sur, as well as the place itself.

Je veux retourner en France. J’y étais l’année I want to go back to France. I was there
dernière. last year.

Il est chez le médecin, il y va le mardi. He’s at the doctor’s; he goes there on

Tuesdays.
2. Y for obvious or implied places - Y can refer to a place that is obvious or implied, even if not
preceded by a preposition

Restez-y. Stay there.

J’aime la France, j’y vais chaque I love France, I go there every year.
année.

Paie a la caisse Paies-y

3. Y with verbs - Y is also used with verbs that require the preposition à plus an indirect object.
Y can also mean “of it” “in it/them,” “to it/them,” or “on it/them.”

Je pense à ta décision. J’y pense I’m thinking about your decision. I think
tout le temps. about it all the time.

Répondez au téléphone, répondez- Answer the phone, answer it!

y!

4. Y Expressions – Used with some common French expressions that include y.

allons-y let’s go

ça y est that’s it, it’s done

Il faut t’y faire. You have to get used to it.

il y a there is, there are

je n’y peux rien I can’t do anything about it

je n’y suis pour It has nothing to do with me

rien

j’y suis I understand; I remember

j’y suis, j’y reste Here I am and here I stay

j’y vais I’m going (there)

n’y comptez pas don’t count on it

n’y pensez plus don’t worry about it, forget it

on y va let’s go

restez-y stay there

y compris including