In English we have different pairs of words like I/me, he/him, she/her, we/us, you/you which we use depending on which 'side' of a verb they're on:
e.g. She admires her
I give it to him (or, I give him it)
He gives it to me (or, He gives me it)
(Notice that in the cases with 'to', the words can switch around and the 'to' vanishes, and something very similar happens in French with verbs that have à in them)
These are called subject pronouns (left) and object pronouns (right).
French has similar pairs which we use:
| Subject Pronoun | Object Pronoun |
| je | me |
| tu | te |
| nous | nous |
| vous | vous |
See how they get used in real sentences:
Grammar note: Remember verbs always have a subject (je/tu etc.) but only some have objects. Use object pronouns to replace nouns that are the object of the verb.
Tip: If the words "object pronoun" strike horror and panic into your heart, take a look at the cartoon video in the examples which explains them. They're actually pretty easy to figure out.
See also Position of direct and indirect object pronouns with negation
I have a question about the following quiz question:
Elle pardonne à Paul et elle _________
The translation was "She forgives Paul and she forgives us"
The correct answer was "nous pardonne"
I am confused why the first part is "pardonne à Paul" but the second part has the pronoun in front of the verb, "nous pardonne". Is there a general rule to follow for this placement?
H Maggie
Elle nous pardonne = She forgives us
Il vous pardonne = He forgives you
Elle me pardonne = She forgives me
If you take another look at the lesson you will see that it says that these indirect pronouns go before the verb.
In the case of -
Pardonner à quelqu'un = To forgive someone
You don't need a pronoun so it will be a Christian name or a noun representing a person or persons -
Il pardonne aux enfants = He forgives the children
Elle pardonne à Céline = She forgives Céline
Nous pardonnons au docteur = We forgive the doctor
etc.
Hope this helps!
Bonjour Maggie !
The sentence you quote ->
“ Elle pardonne à Paul et elle nous pardonne.
Here, the first part of the sentence was just given to make the learners familiar with the expression-
Pardonner à quelqu’un - To forgive someone
And, accordingly, we had to use the indirect object pronoun in the second part.
You could also say -
Il téléphone à John et ensuite il nous téléphone.
However, there is no such rule regarding this placement that one will use a noun in the first clause and pronoun in the second.
Hope that helps !
When you replace an actual name with a pronoun, the placement changes, and the pronoun goes before the verb.
Je pardonne à Paul. -- I forgive Paul
Je lui pardonne. -- I forgive him.
I have a question about the following quiz question:
Elle pardonne à Paul et elle _________
The translation was "She forgives Paul and she forgives us"
The correct answer was "nous pardonne"
I am confused why the first part is "pardonne à Paul" but the second part has the pronoun in front of the verb, "nous pardonne". Is there a general rule to follow for this placement?
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Hi Rod,
If it is plaira it will be the singular- 'il'
il plaira à vous------> il vous plaira = You will like it
If it was in the plural, it would be -ils
Ils vous plairont ( Ils plairont à vous) = You will like them
Hope this helps!
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Which type of sentence structure does French use?
I am confused tho, I think my question is more like '' Why would the object pronoun come immediately after a subject pronoun?)
Hm. I can't think of a reason except for "that's just how it is". Word order is usually very specific in French.
Which type of sentence structure does French use?
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but towards the ending of the video, everything got even more confusing.
but towards the ending of the video, everything got even more confusing.
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The question was:
Je décris les gens et je ________ parfaitement.
I describe people and I describe you perfectly.
Since the English "you" could be translated as either "tu" or "vous", the following two answers should be correct:
te décris
vous décrivez
I wrote the second one but was marked as incorrect.
Now I see my error! The second option "vous décrivez" should be "vous décris" so that the whole sentence would be:
Je décris les gens et je vous décris parfaitement.
The question was:
Je décris les gens et je ________ parfaitement.
I describe people and I describe you perfectly.
Since the English "you" could be translated as either "tu" or "vous", the following two answers should be correct:
te décris
vous décrivez
I wrote the second one but was marked as incorrect.
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ll envoie les fleurs à Sophie
to
ll les lui envoie. Why not
ll lui les envoie
is this totally wrong? Please clarify. Thank you.
Hi Ca,
This is because of the order of multiple pronouns in a French sentence-
The direct object pronouns (les) will be before the indirect object ones (lui).
Take a look at the following lesson for further examples:
Using direct and indirect object pronouns together
Hope this helps!
Hi, I just check that.
ll envoie les fleurs à Sophie
To
ll les lui envoie.
ll te la envoie.
Is the only way say this?
is ll lui... In any situation would be wrong?
Hi Ca,
Il les lui envoie = Il envoie les fleurs à Sophie
Il te l'envoie = Il envoie la lettre/le livre à toi
Il te les envoie = Il envoie les fleurs à toi
Il lui parle/envoie = he speaks /sends to him/her
Hope this helps, let me know if still unclear....
Here is a nice self contained article which explains the pronomial order in French:
https://www.dummies.com/languages/french/object-pronoun-word-order-in-french/
Hi Cécile,
Do you mean ll lui is possible to use like ll lui parle/ll lui envoie
but if ll les lui that's the only way to explain ll envoie les fleurs à Sophie.
ll lui les, les can't be the indirect object here?
ll envoie les fleurs à Sophie
to
ll les lui envoie. Why not
ll lui les envoie
is this totally wrong? Please clarify. Thank you.
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Bonjour Kyaw,
Je le lui ai donné = I gave it to him ( it 'being singular and male in French e.g. le stylo)
Je la lui ai donnée = I gave it to him ( it being singular and female e.g. la valise )
Hope this helps!
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Only context would tell. No way to tell from this sentence alone.
-- Chris (not a native speaker).
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