The concept of direct object pronouns in French or French direct object pronouns is the same as it is in English. A direct object pronoun replaces the direct object in a sentence. It directly receives the action of the verb. Read the following two example sentences:
I am buying the TV. → I am buying it.
Thomas sees Ashley across the street. → Thomas sees her across the street.
In the first example, the direct object pronoun “it” replaces the direct object “the TV.” In the second example, the direct object pronoun “her” replaces the direct object “Ashley.”
A direct object is usually identified by asking the questions “What?” or “Who?” with regard to the verb found in the sentence. For the first sentence example, the question you could ask is, “I am buying what?” and the response (or the direct object) would be “the TV.” For the second example sentence, the question you could ask is, “Thomas sees who?” and the response (or the direct object) would be “Ashley.”
In French, direct object pronouns function the same. The major difference is where they’re placed in the sentence. Direct object pronouns are placed before the conjugated verb in a sentence. Also, the direct object pronoun that is used depends on the gender and number of the direct object it’s replacing.
| Person | Singular | English |
| First | me / m’ | me |
| Second | te / t’ | you |
| Third, masculine | le / l’ | him / it |
| Third, feminine | la / l’ | her / it |
| Person | Plural | English |
| First | nous | us |
| Second | vous | you |
| Third | les | them |
Steps to Using a Direct Object Pronoun:
- Identify the direct object in the original sentence by asking “What?” or “Who?” in relation to the verb.
- Identify whether that direct object is masculine or feminine, and plural or singular.
- Choose the appropriate direct object pronoun from the chart above.
- Rewrite the French sentence placing the direct object pronoun before the conjugated verb unless there are two verbs in the sentence (like le futur proche). In that case, put the direct object pronoun between the two verbs.
Example:
Béatrice voit la fleur dans le jardin.
- Direct object: la fleur (Béatrice sees what? The flower…)
- la fleur = feminine, singular
- Direct object pronoun: la
- Béatrice la voit dans le jardin.
*Don’t forget to take out the direct object from the sentence when you replace it with a pronoun!
If you wanted to make this sentence negative, you would place the “ne” and the “pas” around both the direct object pronoun and the verb: Béatrice ne la voit pas dans le jardin.
Example Sentences:
Tu n’attends pas le bus. → Tu ne l’attends pas.
Allez-vous regarder les films ce soir? → Nous allons les regarder ce soir.
Élise prend le biscuit du panier. → Élise le prend du panier.
Le prof voit sa classe à 11 h 50 du matin. → Le prof la voit à 11 h 50.