Indirect object pronouns
Indirect object pronouns replace nouns to avoid repeating them two sentences in a row
An indirect object pronoun is used in the place of the indirect object of a A word used to describe an action or state of being. . For example, in the sentence ‘I gave the apple to the man’ the apple is the direct object of the verb and the man is the indirect object.
Indirect object pronouns are the same as direct object pronouns, apart from lui (to him/her) and leur (to them.)
| me / m’ (before a vowel or ‘h’) | (to) me |
| te / t’ (before a vowel or ‘h’) | (to) you |
| lui | (to) him / her / it (masculine and feminine nouns) |
| nous | (to) us |
| vous | (to) you |
| leur | (to) them |
| me / m’ (before a vowel or ‘h’) |
| (to) me |
| te / t’ (before a vowel or ‘h’) |
| (to) you |
| lui |
| (to) him / her / it (masculine and feminine nouns) |
| nous |
| (to) us |
| vous |
| (to) you |
| leur |
| (to) them |
The rules about the position of indirect object pronouns are the same as for direct object pronouns, i.e. between the The person or thing in the sentence that is doing the action. and the verb.
Where a modal verb is used, between the modal and the The form of the verb that has not been conjugated and is usually translated with 'to' in English, for example 'to play'. .
Indirect object pronouns are used with verbs that are followed by à, including these:
| demander à – to ask (to) someone | je lui demande – I ask him/her |
| raconter/dire à – to tell/say to someone | elle te dit – she tells you |
| donner à – to give to someone | il me donne – he gives me |
| écrire à – to write to someone | je leur écris – I write to them |
| offrir à – to give to someone | je lui offre un cadeau – I give him/her a present |
| parler à – to speak/talk to someone | nous leur parlons – we talk to them |
| répondre à – to answer (to) someone | vous me répondez – you answer me |
| téléphoner à – to telephone (to) someone | ils nous ont téléphoné – they phoned us |
| demander à – to ask (to) someone |
| je lui demande – I ask him/her |
| raconter/dire à – to tell/say to someone |
| elle te dit – she tells you |
| donner à – to give to someone |
| il me donne – he gives me |
| écrire à – to write to someone |
| je leur écris – I write to them |
| offrir à – to give to someone |
| je lui offre un cadeau – I give him/her a present |
| parler à – to speak/talk to someone |
| nous leur parlons – we talk to them |
| répondre à – to answer (to) someone |
| vous me répondez – you answer me |
| téléphoner à – to telephone (to) someone |
| ils nous ont téléphoné – they phoned us |
Order of object pronouns
If more than one object pronoun is used in a sentence, the order is as follows:
| me | le | lui | y | en |
| te | la | leur | ||
| nous | les | |||
| vous |
| me |
| le |
| lui |
| y |
| en |
| te |
| la |
| leur |
| nous |
| les |
| vous |
Fill in the correct indirect object pronoun.
Question
Elle __________ parle souvent de ses problèmes. (to me)
Elle me parle souvent de ses problèmes. She often speaks to me about her problems.
Me means ‘(to) me’.
Question
Nous ne voulons pas __________ donner d’argent. (to them)
Nous ne voulons pas leur donner d’argent. We don’t want to give any money to them.
Leur is correct because it is an indirect object pronoun and means ‘(to) them’.
Question
Ma tante __________ a téléphoné hier soir. (us)
Ma tante nous a téléphoné hier soir. My aunt phoned us yesterday evening.
Nous means ‘to us’ here. Téléphoner à needs an indirect object pronoun.
Question
Il faut __________ demander si tu peux sortir avec tes copains. (to her)
Il faut lui demander si tu peux sortir avec tes copains. You have to ask her if you can go out with your friends.
Lui means ‘to her’. Use an indirect pronoun with demander à.
