how do you know when to use a direct or an indirect object pronoun?

Direct object pronouns: me, te, le, la, nous, vous, les me, you, him, her, us, you (pl), themIndirect object pronouns: me, te, lui, nous, vous, leur to me, to you, to him/her, to us, to you (pl), to themObject pronouns replace the noun in a sentencee.g. I see the book= je vois le livreWe must replace the noun le livre. As it is masculine we use the masculine object pronoun "le".Therefore: I see it (the book)= je le voisThis is replaced by a direct object as there is no preposition before the nounAn example of an indirect object is:I am calling John with my mobile= Je téléphone à Jean avec mon mobileBefore our object in this case we have the preposition à so we must use an indirect object pronoun, in this case lui.I am calling him with my mobile= Je lui téléphone avec mon mobileIndirect objects can be thought of as though you have to take a stop in the sentence before you arrive at the subject whereas with direct objects you arrive straight there without stopping in between subject and object.

LS
Answered by Lauren S. French tutor

1756 Views

See similar French A Level tutors

Related French A Level answers

All answers ▸

How to form questions in French and which register should I use in different situations?


Décrivez un thème important traité dans le livre, le film ou la pièce que vous avez étudié(e)


When do you know when you're supposed to add the female marker at the end of the past participle.


'Nous' or 'on'?


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