Placement of object pronouns

S. M.A2Kwiziq community member

Placement of object pronouns

 

 

Il va leur téléphoner.He's going to telephone themIl va appeler ses parents.  ->  Il va les appeler.

He's going to call his parents.  ->  He's going to call them.

In these above examples, why are both the direct and indirect object pronouns placed in between the verbs instead of in front of both of them? 

 

Merci.

Asked 1 month ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi S.M.

I can confirm that in the case of two verbs, both the direct and indirect pronouns go directly before the verb in the infinitive as if you have a negative ( or an adverb) for instance as in -

 

Il ne peut jamais lui dire la vérité = He can never tell him/her the truth

Elle ne peut jamais la rattraper She can never catch her up 

Ils ne savent pas leur parler  = They don't know how to speak to them

Nous avons toujours voulu lui faire plaisir = We always wanted to please her/him

Hope this helps!

Maarten K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

SM,

The object pronoun (whether indirect or direct ) goes immediately in front of the verb it complements in the constructs of " (conjugated) verb followed by verb infinitive " as in these examples. 

See attached lesson for discussion:

Position of French Object Pronouns - with infinitives

S. M. asked:View original

Placement of object pronouns

 

 

Il va leur téléphoner.He's going to telephone themIl va appeler ses parents.  ->  Il va les appeler.

He's going to call his parents.  ->  He's going to call them.

In these above examples, why are both the direct and indirect object pronouns placed in between the verbs instead of in front of both of them? 

 

Merci.

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
I'll be right with you...