What does PDO stand for, and what does it mean?

This stands for Preceeding Direct Object, and is a grammatical term. Basically, you must always agree a past participle if there is a direct object that comes before it in the sentence. For example, 'il avait une poupée. Il l'a aimée beaucoup' meaning ' he had a doll. He loved it very much'. Ask yourself, 'he loved what?' and if the object comes before - here, 'une poupée' - then you must make the verb in the past tense agree with this object.

Remember to agree with gender and number, for example 'As-tu envoyé les lettres? Oui, je les a envoyées ce matin' because 'lettres' is feminine plural, so the past participle envoyer (to send) must agree with them.

As-tu aimé les films? Non, je ne les a aimés du tout. Did you like the films? No, I did not like them at all. Here, aimé becomes plural, because film is masculine plural.

HE
Answered by Hannah E. French tutor

6456 Views

See similar French A Level tutors

Related French A Level answers

All answers ▸

Which tense of the subjunctive should I use if I am referring to the future?


When do I use the subjunctive?


How do I know when to use the passé composé and when to use the imparfait?


How do you form the perfect tense in the subjunctive mood and when is it used?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning