Question

French Mini-Tutorial: Direct & Indirect Object Pronouns

Answer 1

\({\bf{Direct~Object~Pronouns:}}\) use the second form in front of a vowel/h muet, ex:
Il le regarde vs. Il l'écrit

me/m': me
te/t': you
le/l': him/it (for masculine singular nouns)
la/l': her/it (for feminine singular nouns)
nous: us
vous: you, formal
les: them (for mixed gender groups, or plural nouns)

Examples:
- Je les ai rencontrés au parc. (I met them at the park.)
- Vous devriez l'acheter. (You should buy it.)

Placement:
- the direct object pronoun comes before the corresponding infinitive verb
ex: Ils veulent le regarder. (notice how le comes before regarder, not before veulent)
- negation: direct object pronoun comes before the corresponding verb
ex: Nous ne l'aimons pas. (We do not like it. notice how the pronoun comes before aimons)
- a direct object pronoun precedes voici (here is/are) and voilà (there is/are)
ex: Les voilà. (There they are.)

Answer 2

\({\bf{Indirect~Object~Pronouns:}}\) are typically only used for people indirectly on the receiving end of the verb/action

me/m': me
te/t': you
lui: he/she
nous: us
vous: you
leur: them

Examples:
- Mon copain me donne des cadeaux. (My boyfriend gives me presents.)
- Mon correspondant m'a envoyé une lettre. (My penpal sent me a letter.)

Placement:
- before the conjugated action verb
ex: Nous vous avons fait un gâteau. (We made you a cake. Notice that vous is before avons.)
- before an infinitive verb
ex: Nous voulons leur construire un treillis. (We want to build them a trellis. Notice that leur comes before construire.)
- negation: before the action verb
ex: Il ne lui lance pas le ballon. (He does not throw her the ball.)

Answer 3

\({\bf{References:}}\)

Rochester, Myrna B. Easy French Step-by-Step, United States, McGraw-Hill Education, 2009, 193-199.

https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/object-pronouns/
https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/direct-vs-indirect-objects/
https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/indirect-objects/
https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/object-pronoun-placement/

CollinsDictionary for French and English translations

Forvo (https://forvo.com/), a French pronunciation database with samples from native French speakers