When two or more object pronouns belong to the same verb, they appear in a fixed order. In English, several object pronouns can appear together, as in Give it to me or Show them to her.
French uses the same kind of combinations, but the pronouns follow a fixed grammatical sequence.
Order before the verb
When two object pronouns belong to the same conjugated verb, both appear before it. Their order depends on the indirect object pronoun.
With me, te, se, nous, or vous as the indirect object, the indirect object pronoun comes first:
subject + indirect object pronoun + direct object pronoun + verb
These combinations place the indirect object before the direct object:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Il me le donne. | He gives it to me. |
| Je te les montre. | I show them to you. |
With lui or leur, the direct object pronoun comes first:
subject + direct object pronoun + indirect object pronoun + verb
These combinations place the direct object before the indirect object:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Nous le lui expliquons. | We explain it to him. |
| Elle les leur envoie. | She sends them to them. |
French keeps this order regardless of the order used in the English translation.
Object pronouns with y and en
Y and en also have fixed positions when they appear with another pronoun.
When y appears with another object pronoun, y follows it:
subject + object pronoun + y + verb
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Je l'y mets. | I put it there. |
| Elle m'y accompagne. | She accompanies me there. |
When en appears with another object pronoun, en normally comes last:
subject + object pronoun + en + verb
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Il nous en parle. | He talks to us about it. |
| Je lui en donne. | I give him some. |
When y and en appear together, y comes before en:
subject + y + en + verb
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Nous y en achetons. | We buy some there. |
The meaning of each pronoun comes from the phrase it replaces. Its position follows the pronoun-order pattern.
Order with affirmative commands
Affirmative commands place object pronouns after the verb. The pronouns connect to the command with hyphens.
With a direct and indirect object pronoun, the direct object comes first:
command + direct object pronoun + indirect object pronoun
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Donne-le-moi. | Give it to me. |
| Montrez-la-lui. | Show it to him. |
| Envoyez-les-leur. | Send them to them. |
When en follows moi or toi, these forms shorten to m' and t':
command + indirect object pronoun + en
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Donne-m'en deux. | Give me two. |
| Va-t'en. | Go away. |
From learning to practice
Listen for groups of short pronouns before a verb and after affirmative commands. Notice which pronoun comes first when a speaker combines two objects or adds y or en.