Understanding Direct Object Pronouns
French direct object pronouns replace direct objects - the person or thing that directly receives the action of the verb.
They answer the question "who?" or "what?" after the verb, and they avoid repetition by replacing nouns that have already been mentioned.
Direct object pronouns must be placed before the conjugated verb in most cases.
Examples
Je vois Marie. → Je la vois. (I see Marie. → I see her.)
La replaces the direct object Marie
Nous achetons le livre. → Nous l'achetons. (We buy the book. → We buy it.)
Le replaces the direct object le livre
The Seven Direct Object Pronouns
French has seven direct object pronouns:
Complete Direct Object Pronoun System
All French direct object pronouns:
French Direct Object Pronouns
| Pronoun | Conjugation | English |
|---|---|---|
| me (m') | 1st person singular | me |
| te (t') | 2nd person singular | you (informal) |
| le (l') | 3rd person masculine singular | him/it |
| la (l') | 3rd person feminine singular | her/it |
| nous | 1st person plural | us |
| vous | 2nd person plural/formal | you (formal/plural) |
| les | 3rd person plural | them |
Pronoun Placement Rules
Direct object pronouns go before the conjugated verb in most tenses:
Examples
Je le vois. (I see him.)
Present tense - pronoun before verb
Elle nous a invités. (She invited us.)
Passé composé - pronoun before auxiliary
Tu la verras. (You will see her.)
Future tense - pronoun before verb
Placement with Different Tenses
Pronoun placement varies by tense:
Present: Je te comprends. (I understand you.)
Imperfect: Je te comprenais. (I understood you.)
Passé composé: Je t'ai vu(e). (I saw you.)
Future: Je te verrai. (I will see you.)
First and Second Person Pronouns
Me, te, nous, vous refer to people in the conversation:
ME and NOUS (Me, Us)
First person direct object pronouns:
Il me voit. (He sees me.)
Elle me connaît. (She knows me.)
Vous nous aidez. (You help us.)
Ils nous invitent. (They invite us.)
TE and VOUS (You)
Second person direct object pronouns:
Je te vois. (I see you.) - informal
Je vous vois. (I see you.) - formal/plural
Elle t'aime. (She loves you.) - informal
Elle vous aime. (She loves you.) - formal/plural
Contractions with Vowels
Me and te become m' and t' before vowels:
Il m'aide. (He helps me.) - not me aide
Tu t'appelles. (You call yourself.) - not te appelles
Third Person Pronouns (Le, La, Les)
Le, la, les replace people or things being talked about:
LE - Masculine Singular
Le replaces masculine singular direct objects:
Je vois Pierre. → Je le vois. (I see Pierre. → I see him.)
Le replaces masculine person
J'achète le livre. → Je l'achète. (I buy the book. → I buy it.)
Le replaces masculine thing
LA - Feminine Singular
La replaces feminine singular direct objects:
Je connais Marie. → Je la connais. (I know Marie. → I know her.)
La replaces feminine person
Il regarde la télé. → Il la regarde. (He watches TV. → He watches it.)
La replaces feminine thing
LES - Plural
Les replaces all plural direct objects:
Je vois les enfants. → Je les vois. (I see the children. → I see them.)
Les replaces plural people
Elle achète les livres. → Elle les achète. (She buys the books. → She buys them.)
Les replaces plural things
L' Before Vowels
Le and la become l' before vowels or silent h:
Je l'aime. (I love him/her/it.) - le/la + aime
Tu l'as vu? (Did you see him/her/it?) - le/la + as
Agreement with Past Participles
When using direct object pronouns with passé composé, the past participle agrees with the pronoun:
Examples
J'ai vu Marie. → Je l'ai vue. (I saw Marie. → I saw her.)
Vue agrees with feminine la (Marie)
Il a acheté les voitures. → Il les a achetées. (He bought the cars. → He bought them.)
Achetées agrees with feminine plural les (voitures)
Agreement Rules
Past participle agreement with direct object pronouns:
Past Participle Agreement
| Pronoun | Conjugation | English |
|---|---|---|
| le (masculine) | no change | Je l'ai vu. (I saw him.) |
| la (feminine) | add -e | Je l'ai vue. (I saw her.) |
| les (masc. plural) | add -s | Je les ai vus. (I saw them.) |
| les (fem. plural) | add -es | Je les ai vues. (I saw them.) |
Agreement Examples
More examples of past participle agreement:
Les livres? Je les ai lus. (The books? I read them.)
Lus agrees with masculine plural les
Les lettres? Je les ai écrites. (The letters? I wrote them.)
Écrites agrees with feminine plural les
Special Placement Cases
In some constructions, direct object pronouns have different placement:
With Infinitives
Pronouns go before the infinitive, not the conjugated verb:
Je veux le voir. (I want to see him.)
Pronoun before infinitive voir
Elle va nous aider. (She is going to help us.)
Pronoun before infinitive aider
With Imperatives
In positive commands, pronouns go after the verb:
Regarde-le! (Look at him!)
Positive imperative - pronoun after
Ne le regarde pas! (Don't look at him!)
Negative imperative - pronoun before
Common Direct Object Pronoun Mistakes
Here are frequent errors students make:
1. Wrong placement: Putting pronouns after conjugated verbs
2. Missing agreement: Forgetting past participle agreement
3. Wrong pronoun choice: Using wrong gender/number
4. Infinitive placement: Wrong position with infinitive constructions
Examples
❌ Je vois le → ✅ Je le vois
Wrong: pronoun must go before verb
❌ Je l'ai vu (for Marie) → ✅ Je l'ai vue
Wrong: must agree with feminine
❌ Je veux voir le → ✅ Je veux le voir
Wrong: pronoun goes before infinitive
❌ Je la vois (for le livre) → ✅ Je le vois
Wrong: livre is masculine, needs le