Introduction
Introduction
Indirect objects are the nouns in a phrase for whom or to whom the action of the verb happens. In the sentence “I brought him an apple” the indirect object is “him”. “An apple” is the direct object and “I” is the subject.
Like with direct objects in French, when the indirect object is a personal pronoun - such as him or her - it can often be different from the personal subject pronoun. For instance il (he) becomes le (him) and elle (she) becomes la (her).
While most of the indirect object pronouns are the same as the direct object pronouns, they are different for the third-person masculine singular and third-person plural:
lui
le
him; her; it (people)
les
leur
them (people)
When a sentence contains both direct and indirect objects the words are positioned in the order described in the chart below in nearly all tenses and moods:
In the case of the affirmative imperative tense, they are using the following order and are connected with hyphens:
In this lesson we also include three special case object pronouns:
Like with direct objects in French, when the indirect object is a personal pronoun - such as him or her - it can often be different from the personal subject pronoun. For instance il (he) becomes le (him) and elle (she) becomes la (her).
While most of the indirect object pronouns are the same as the direct object pronouns, they are different for the third-person masculine singular and third-person plural:
lui
le
him; her; it (people)
les
leur
them (people)
When a sentence contains both direct and indirect objects the words are positioned in the order described in the chart below in nearly all tenses and moods:
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| me tese nous vous |
le la les |
lui leur |
y | en | (verb) |
In the case of the affirmative imperative tense, they are using the following order and are connected with hyphens:
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (verb)- | le la les |
moi/m’ toi/t’ lui |
nous vous leur |
y | en |
In this lesson we also include three special case object pronouns:
en
The word en in French can be translated in a variety of ways. The most common is “of it” or “of them”. Elle en a peur most means “She is scared of it”. However the “it” in that sentence can not be a person. It’s best to think of some en as de + something.y
Similar to en, the word y in French translated in multitude of ways, but the best of thinking of it is like “to it” to “to them” where “it” and “them” are only things, not people. For example, Nous y allons means “we are going to it”. As you can see, this could just as easily translate as “we are going there” too, but it’s best to think of it as à + something or place.se
You may have already encountered some reflexive verbs while studying. The se and s’ that these employ are actually an object pronouns. They simply means “oneself, herself or himself” when the action of a verb applies to a person. Usually se is used as a direct object, but can sometimes be an indirect object too.Vocabulary
Vocabulaire
en
of it
of them
about it
about them
any
some
y
to it
to them
there
there
it
se
himself
herself
itself
oneself
lui
him
her
it
leur
them