An object identifies the person or thing affected by the action of a verb. It may connect directly to the verb or through a preposition. In English, pronouns such as me, him, her, us, and them can replace object nouns.
French uses direct object pronouns for the same purpose, but they usually appear before the conjugated verb.
Direct object pronoun forms and placement
A direct object connects to a verb without a preposition. It answers whom? or what? after the verb.
French uses these direct object pronouns:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| me | me |
| te | you |
| le | him, it |
| la | her, it |
| nous | us |
| vous | you |
| les | them |
In ordinary statements, the direct object pronoun appears before the conjugated verb:
subject + direct object pronoun + verb
The placement stays the same with different subjects and verbs:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Je la vois. | I see her. |
| Il le prend. | He takes it. |
| Nous les regardons. | We look at them. |
| Il me voit. | He sees me. |
| Je te connais. | I know you. |
A direct object pronoun can replace a noun that has already been identified:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Je vois Marie. Je la vois tous les jours. | I see Marie. I see her every day. |
| Il prend le livre. Il le met dans son sac. | He takes the book. He puts it in his bag. |
| Nous regardons les photos. Nous les montrons à nos amis. | We look at the photos. We show them to our friends. |
Me and te become m' and t' before a vowel sound or silent h, as in il m'écoute and je t'appelle.
Le, la, and les for people and things
Le, la, and les replace third-person direct objects. They can refer to either people or things.
Le replaces a masculine singular noun, la replaces a feminine singular noun, and les replaces a plural noun:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Je connais Paul. Je le connais. | I know Paul. I know him. |
| Je vois le bus. Je le vois. | I see the bus. I see it. |
| Je connais Marie. Je la connais. | I know Marie. I know her. |
| Elle connaît la ville. Elle la connaît. | She knows the city. She knows it. |
| Je vois mes amis. Je les vois. | I see my friends. I see them. |
The French pronoun follows the grammatical gender and number of the noun it replaces. The distinction between a person and a thing does not determine the form.
Le and la become l' before a vowel sound or silent h:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Je l'écoute. | I listen to him, her, or it. |
| Je l'attends. | I am waiting for him, her, or it. |
The shortened form l' does not show gender. The surrounding context identifies what the pronoun refers to.
Neutral le
Le can also replace an idea, fact, description, or complete statement. In this use, it does not refer to a masculine noun.
The neutral pronoun le often corresponds to English it or to an idea that English leaves unstated:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Tu sais qu'il arrive demain ? Oui, je le sais. | Do you know that he's arriving tomorrow? Yes, I know. |
| Elle est prête ? Oui, elle l'est. | Is she ready? Yes, she is. |
| Ils sont contents ? Oui, ils le sont. | Are they happy? Yes, they are. |
| Il faut partir, je le comprends. | We have to leave. I understand that. |
Neutral le remains le regardless of the gender or number of the subject. In elle l'est and ils le sont, it refers to the description rather than to a noun.
From learning to practice
In conversation, listen for short pronouns immediately before familiar verbs such as voir, connaître, attendre, and regarder. Notice which noun or idea the pronoun replaces when a speaker avoids repeating it.