Object pronouns, y and en
Le, la, lui, me, te before the verb, moi and toi, and les, leur, y and en at Higher.
Learn
Object pronouns, y and en, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Use le, la and l' for him, her and it
A direct object pronoun replaces the noun and goes before the verb: je regarde le film becomes je le regarde. La replaces a feminine noun, and both shorten to l' before a vowel: je l'aime.
Use me, te and vous for me and you
Me, te and vous also go before the verb: il me parle, je te vois, je vous écoute. Me and te become m' and t' before a vowel: elle m'aide.
Use lui for to him and to her
Verbs like parler à, téléphoner à, donner à and dire à take an indirect object, so him or her becomes lui: je lui parle, je lui donne un cadeau. Lui is the same for a man and a woman.
Put the pronoun in the right place
The pronoun stays before the verb inside a negative: je ne le vois pas. With a modal or the near future, it goes before the infinitive: je vais le faire, je peux t'aider. In the perfect, it goes before avoir: je l'ai acheté.
Use moi and toi after a preposition
After words like avec, pour, chez and sans, use moi and toi: viens avec moi, c'est pour toi, chez moi.
Use nous, vous, les and leurHigher only
In the plural, the direct object pronouns are nous, vous and les, and the indirect ones nous, vous and leur: je les connais, je leur écris. Never put two of them together.
Use y for there and en for someHigher only
Y replaces a place, or à with a thing: je vais à Paris becomes j'y vais. En replaces de with a noun, often with a number: j'en ai deux (I have two of them), il y en a (there are some).
Use lui, elle, eux and elles after a prepositionHigher only
The other emphatic pronouns work like moi and toi: avec lui, chez elle, sans eux, pour elles, avec nous, pour vous.
Object pronouns, y and en key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Direct object pronoun
- A pronoun for the person or thing the verb acts on, such as le in je le vois, I see him or it.
- Indirect object pronoun
- A pronoun meaning to someone, such as lui in je lui parle, I speak to him or to her.
- lui
- To him or to her, before the verb. After a preposition it means him: avec lui.
- Emphatic pronoun
- The pronoun used after a preposition: moi and toi at Foundation, and lui, elle, nous, vous, eux and elles at Higher.
- yHigher only
- There, or to it, replacing a place or à with a thing: j'y vais means I am going there.
- enHigher only
- Some, of it or of them, replacing de with a noun: j'en veux trois means I want three of them.
- il y en aHigher only
- There are some, or there is some: il y en a beaucoup means there are lots of them.
- leur as a pronounHigher only
- To them, before the verb: je leur téléphone means I phone them. As a pronoun it never takes an s.
Common mistakes in Object pronouns, y and en
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Putting the pronoun after the verb, as in je vois le.
Object pronouns go before the verb: je le vois, je la regarde, il me parle.
Using le or la with verbs that take à, as in je le parle.
Parler à, téléphoner à and donner à take lui for him or her: je lui parle, je lui téléphone.
Using lui with attendre, écouter or regarder, as in je lui attends.
These verbs take a direct object in French, though English adds for, to or at: je l'attends means I am waiting for him or her, and je l'écoute means I am listening to him or her.
Putting the pronoun before the modal, as in je le veux faire.
With a modal or aller, the pronoun goes before the infinitive: je veux le faire, je vais la voir.
Using je or me after a preposition, as in avec je or pour me.
After a preposition, use moi and toi: avec moi, pour toi, chez moi.
Practice
Try a Object pronouns, y and en question
A GCSE-style original question from this topic. Have a go before you open the working - deciding on an answer first is what makes the working stick.
Which pronoun completes the sentence? Ma tante ? Je ___ ai écrit une lettre.
- l'
- lui
- la
- elle
Show the answer and the working
Answer: lui
You write to someone (écrire à), so to her is lui, before ai: je lui ai écrit une lettre, I wrote her a letter.
- The thing written is une lettre.
- My aunt receives it: écrire à, so lui.
- So je lui ai écrit.