Pronoms objets - French Object Pronouns
Advanced Topics
I. Direct vs Indirect Objects
When dealing with direct and indirect object pronouns, the very general rule is this: if the person is preceded by a preposition, that person is an indirect object. If the person or thing is not preceded by a preposition, it is a direct object.
However, some French verbs take a preposition even though their English equivalents do not, while some French verbs don't need a preposition even though the English verbs do. In addition, sometimes the preposition is only implied.
When trying to determine whether something is a direct or an indirect object in French, you have to consider whether there is a preposition in French, because what is a direct object in French can be an indirect object in English and vice versa (see last example).
Examples:
I told you (the truth) - Je vous ai dit (la verité).
There is no preposition visible in either language. However, if you look up the verb dire in the dictionary, it will say something like "to tell someone something" = "dire quelque chose à quelqu'un." Thus the French preposition is implied and the person you are telling (you) is in fact an indirect object while the thing being told (the truth) is the direct object.
She wrote me a letter - Elle m'a écrit une lettre.
The same thing is true here: "écrire quelque chose à quelqu'un."
I'm listening to the radio - J'écoute la radio.
Even though there is a preposition in English, the French verb écouter means "to listen to" - it is not followed by a preposition and thus in French radio is a direct object while in English it is an indirect object: Je l'écoute.
Additional information
II. Placement of object pronouns
Object pronouns go in front of the verb in simple and compound tenses. However, there are two exceptions:
- When there are two different verbs in the sentence, the object pronouns go in front of the second verb, not the first one.
- In the affirmative imperative, the object pronouns follow the verb.
Simple tenses
Je lui parle.
Il t'aime.
Nous le faisions.
Fais-le.
Compound tenses
Je lui ai parlé.
Il t'aurait aimé.
Nous l'avons fait.
Two different verbs (dual-verb construction)
Je dois lui parler.
Il peut t'aimer.
Nous détestons le faire.
Related lessons:
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