Indirect Object Pronouns
Indirect object pronouns signal to whom or for whom an action is done, and they streamline sentences by replacing noun phrases that receive an action indirectly.
Pronouns
The basic French indirect object pronouns each correspond to an indirect recipient like a person or sometimes an animal, and they normally come before the verb.
| French Pronoun | English Pronoun |
|---|---|
| me (m’) | me |
| te (t’) | you (informal) |
| lui | him / her |
| nous | us |
| vous | you (formal/plural) |
| leur | them |
| French Example | English Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ☝️ Il me parle. | He is speaking to me. | First person singular |
| ✋ Je te donne le livre. | I am giving you the book. | Second person singular |
| 👋 Elle lui écrit une lettre. | She is writing him/her a letter. | Third person singular |
| 👨👩👧 Nous vous envoyons un message. | We are sending you (pl./form.) a message. | Second person plural/formal |
| 📬 Ils leur répondent. | They are replying to them. | Third person plural |
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Placement
In simple tenses the pronoun appears before the conjugated verb; in compound tenses it appears before the auxiliary; and in affirmative commands it follows the verb with hyphens.
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Examples
| French Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| ☀️ Je te donne le café. | I am giving you the coffee. |
| 🌇 Il me parle avant de partir. | He speaks to me before leaving. |
| 🌙 Je lui dis bonne nuit. | I say good night to him/her. |
| 🍪 Donne- + -moi + les biscuits. | Give me the cookies. |
| 📧 Je vais lui envoyer un email. | I am going to send him/her an email. |
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Special Cases
When an indirect object pronoun would be ambiguous or when the preposition is required for clarity, the noun can be retained or repeated for emphasis.
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Double Object Pronouns
When both direct and indirect object pronouns appear, the indirect object pronoun normally comes first; French has a set order and some forms change to disyllabic pronouns like moi and toi.
| French Example | English Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 🍊 Je te l'ai donné. | I gave it to you. | I gave it to you. (DO before IO) |
| 🥐 Il m' a prêté un croissant. | He lent me a croissant. | IO attached to auxiliary |
| 🍰 Donne- + -m' + le gâteau. | Give me the cake. | Imperative with pronoun |
| 🍓 Elle me le tend.* | She is handing it to me. | IO before DO |
| 🍌 Ne lui donne pas la banane.* | Don’t give him/her the banana. | Negative with pronoun |
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Summary
Indirect object pronouns make sentences more concise by replacing to-whom or for-whom phrases; learn the small set of pronouns and practice their placement in different tenses and commands.
Last updated: Sun Sep 14, 2025