🎯 Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns in French (With Examples)

French uses object pronouns to avoid repeating nouns. These pronouns can replace direct objects (the thing/person directly affected by the action) or indirect objects (the thing/person receiving the action through a preposition, usually à).

This guide will help you understand the difference between direct and indirect object pronouns in French, how to use them, and common examples.

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1. What Is a Direct Object?

A direct object (complément d’objet direct – COD) answers the questions: What? / Whom? after the verb.

• Je vois Marie. → I see Marie.
  👉 Marie = direct object (whom do I see?).

Direct Object Pronouns:

📌 Examples:

• Je vois Marie. → Je la vois. → I see her.

• Il lit le livre. → Il le lit. → He is reading it.

• Nous connaissons Paul. → Nous le connaissons. → We know him.

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2. What Is an Indirect Object?

An indirect object (complément d’objet indirect – COI) answers the questions: To whom? / For whom? and usually follows à.

• Je parle à Marie. → I speak to Marie.
  👉 Marie = indirect object (to whom do I speak?).

Indirect Object Pronouns:

📌 Examples:

• Je parle à Marie. → Je lui parle. → I speak to her.

• Il écrit aux enfants. → Il leur écrit. → He writes to them.

• Tu me donnes un cadeau. → Tu me donnes un cadeau. → You give me a gift.

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3. Word Order of Object Pronouns

In most tenses, the pronoun goes before the verb.

• Je vois Paul. → Je le vois.

• Tu écris à tes parents. → Tu leur écris.

In the passé composé, the pronoun goes before the auxiliary verb (avoir/être).

• J’ai vu Marie. → Je l’ai vue.

• Il a parlé à son ami. → Il lui a parlé.

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4. Agreement of Past Participle

⚠️ With direct objects before the verb, the past participle agrees in gender and number.

• Je l’ai vue. (Marie → feminine, add -e)

• Je les ai rencontrés. (Paul et Marc → masculine plural, add -s)

• Je les ai rencontrées. (Marie et Sophie → feminine plural, add -es)

With indirect objects, there is no agreement.

• Je lui ai parlé. (no change to parlé)

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5. Examples Side by Side

• Direct object: Je connais Paul. → Je le connais.

• Indirect object: Je téléphone à Paul. → Je lui téléphone.

• Direct object: Il lit le livre. → Il le lit.

• Indirect object: Il parle aux élèves. → Il leur parle.

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✅ Quick Recap

• Direct object pronouns (me, te, le, la, nous, vous, les) → replace what/whom.

• Indirect object pronouns (me, te, lui, nous, vous, leur) → replace to whom/for whom.

• Pronouns usually go before the verb.

• In passé composé → direct objects agree, indirect objects don’t.

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🎯 Practice Exercise

Replace the object with the correct pronoun:

1. Je vois Marie. → Je ___ vois.

2. Il parle à ses amis. → Il ___ parle.

3. Nous lisons les livres. → Nous ___ lisons.

4. Tu écris à ta mère. → Tu ___ écris.

5. J’ai rencontré Paul et Sophie. → Je ___ ai rencontrés.

Answers:

1. la

2. leur

3. les

4. lui

5. les

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Conclusion

French direct and indirect object pronouns make sentences shorter and more natural. The key is to ask:

• Does the verb answer what/whom? → Direct object.

• Does the verb answer to whom/for whom? → Indirect object.

👉 Pro tip: Learn verbs together with their pronouns (e.g., écouter quelqu’un → le/la écouter, parler à quelqu’un → lui/leur parler). This will make choosing between le/la/les and lui/leur automatic.