French almost always come in a particular order relative to each other and relative to other words in the sentence. Most importantly, when we use more than one object pronoun in a sentence, some object pronouns (such as me, te, nous, vouswill always come before others (like le, la, les).
French object pronouns are a great tool to reduce repetition because they replace the direct object or indirect object of a sentence.
But can you spot a difference between the French and the English?
Nous le regardons.
We are looking at him.
Unlike English, French object pronouns are usually placed before the verb. You’ll want to commit this structure to memory:
subject
pronoun
verb
But what happens in other kinds of sentences, like commands, or when you are using several pronouns within one sentence? Read on and find out! In this post, we’ll review how to order direct and indirect object pronouns in French, along with how to order pronouns in negative sentences and sentences with two verbs. Let’s take a look!
To order French and , there’s a particular sequence to follow. When using pronouns, here are the two paths to take (depending on how many pronouns you are using):
Place the object pronoun before the verb if you are using one object pronoun only.
Il m’aime.
He loves me.
Je le veux.
I want it.
Tu nous emmènes ?
Are you taking us?
Tu l'as pris en photo ?
Did you take a picture of it?
If you use two different object pronouns (and usually you only use a maximum of two within a sentence), here is the order to follow:
SUBJECT
me
te
nous
vous
le
las
les
lui
leur
y
en
VERB
Check out this fun horsey song (aka, the finale to Rossini’s “William Tell Overture”) to memorize the pronoun order!
Keep in mind that the object pronouns follow the same order as the object in the sentence: direct object then indirect object!
La maman chante la chanson à son bébé. → La maman la lui chante.
The mother sings the song to her baby. → She sings it to her.
Look at the table below. Can you work out the exception by yourself? When should you not put the pronoun before the verb?
Tense | French | English |
|---|---|---|
Present | Je le lui donne. | I give it to him. |
Perfect | Je le lui ai donné. | I gave it to him. |
Future | Je le lui donnerai. | I will give it to him. |
Imperative affirmative | Donne-le-lui! | Give it to him! |
Imperfect | Je le lui donnais. | I used to give it to him. |
Conditional | Je le lui donnerais. | I would give it to him. |
Well done! You’re a superstar! 🤩 It’s the French imperative affirmative. When you feel bossy and you want to give an order or a command, remember this sentence structure:
Verb
(in the imperative)
le
la
les
moi*
toi*
lui
nous
vous
leur
When I remind my students about their homework assignments, I say:
Rendez-les-moi avant vendredi !
Hand them in to me before Friday!
In the perfect tense (passé composé in French), if the pronoun is in front of the auxiliary, the past participle must agree with the direct object.
J’ai pris les photos. → Je les ai prises
I took the pictures. → I took them.
In a French negative sentence, always place the pronoun after ne (not). C’est facile, non?(It’s easy, isn’t it?). And you're going to love this: it works in all tenses, and in the imperative!
Tense | French | English |
|---|---|---|
Perfect | Je ne le lui ai pas donné. | I haven't given it to him. |
Past Perfect | Je ne le lui avais pas donné. | I hadn’t given it to him. |
Present | Je ne le lui donne pas. | I won’t give it to him. |
Future | Je ne le lui donnerai pas. | I won’t give it to him. |
Imperfect | Je ne le lui donnais pas. | I didn't use to give it to him. |
Conditional | Je ne le lui donnerais pas. | I wouldn't give it to him. |
Imperative negative | Ne le lui donne pas! | Don't give it to him. |
This article has some examples of negative sentences with object pronouns.
There are also rules for placing object pronouns when it comes to sentences made up of two verbs in French.
Certain verbs, like vouloir(to want), pouvoir(to be able to, can), or aimer(to love) are followed by a French infinitive verb. We call them semi-auxiliary verbs. In this situation, the object pronoun goes between the conjugated semi-auxiliary verb and the infinitive verb.
Je veux leur rendre visite à Pâques.
I want to visit them at Easter.
Nous pouvons les apprendre par cœur !
We can learn them by heart!
Il aime lui offrir des fleurs.
He loves offering her flowers.
It is the same when you use:
the near future: "I'm going to verb"
aller(present tense) + object pronoun + infinitive
Je vais le lui dire.
I’m going to tell (it) to him
the recent past: "I've just verbed"
venir(present tense) + de + object pronoun + infinitive
Elle vient de vous les vendre.
She has just sold them to you.
Here is a list of common French semi-auxiliary verbs.
When using multiple object pronouns in French, remember the rules as they are summarized in the list below:
Using one pronoun:
subject
pronoun
verb
Using double pronouns in all tenses but the imperative affirmative
SUBJECT
me
te
nous
vous
le
las
les
lui
leur
VERB
Using the imperative affirmative
Verb
le
la
les
moi
toi
nous
vous
Using a negative structure:
ne
pronoun
verb
pas
Using semi-auxiliaries:
subject
semi auxiliary
pronoun
infinitive verb
Are you feeling confident about using double object pronouns? Test your skills with our exercises on ordering object pronouns in French!
