Grammaire: pronoms objets indirects
On étudie !
Direct object pronouns: a review
We have already learned about direct object pronouns (les pronoms objets directs) which are shortcuts allowing us to not repeat nouns in a series of sentences or when answering questions.
J’aime mon chat, je l’adore! (I like my cat, I love *him*!)
Tu vois la tarte? Oui, je la vois! (Do you see the pie? Yes, I see *it*).
We call them direct objects because ‘mon chat‘ and ‘la tarte‘ follow directly the verbs (‘J’aime’ and ‘Je vois’) in those sentences and we replace them with direct object pronouns according to the gender and number of the nouns (see full table below).
Pronoms objets directs:
| Français | Anglais |
|---|---|
| me, m’ | me |
| te, t’ | you |
| le, l’ | him, it |
| la, l’ | her, it |
| nous | us |
| vous | you |
| les | them |
(For a review of those and their placement, see section 5 of this textbook)
Indirect object
An indirect object, on the other hand, receives the action of a verb through the preposition à or pour, thus indirectly. It indicates *to* whom or *for* whom an action is performed. For example:
1- Je donne le ballon à Thierry. (I give the ball to Thierry.)
[‘Thierry’ is the indirect object to the verb ‘to give (to)’.]
2- Je l’achète pour mes parents. (I’m buying it for my parents.)
[‘My parents’ is the indirect object to the verb ‘to buy (for)’.]
3- Le prof explique le problème aux étudiants. (The professor explains the problem to the students.)
[‘Students’ is the indirect object to the verb ‘to explain (to)’.]
Remember these characteristics of indirect objects:
(a) They are connected to the verb with a preposition (usually à or pour).
(b) They tell you “to whom” or “for whom” something is done.
(c) The indirect object can be found by asking “to whom?” or “for whom?”:
To whom are you giving the ball? (To Thierry.)
For whom am I buying it? (For my parents.)
Indirect object pronouns
Now that we have a better understanding of an indirect object, let’s use some pronoun shortcuts with the three sentence examples above:
1- Je lui donne le ballon. (I give the ball to him.)
2- Je leur achète (le dîner). (I’m buying the lunch for them.)
3- Le prof leur explique le problème. (The professor explains the problem to them.)
Here are all the indirect object pronouns you need to know in French:
Pronoms d’objet indirect
| Pronoms d’objet indirect | Anglais |
|---|---|
| me, m’ | (to, for) me |
| te, t’ | (to, for) you |
| lui | (to, for) him |
| lui | (to, for) her |
| nous | (to, for) us |
| vous | (to, for) you |
| leur | (to, for) them |
- The first and second indirect object pronouns me (m’), te (t’), nous and vous are identical to the first and second person direct object pronouns me (m’), te (t’), nous and vous.
Placement of indirect object pronouns
Indirect object pronouns, just like reflexive and direct object pronouns, are placed before the verb it is linked with; this verb could be conjugated (examples 1, and 2 below) or left in the infinitive form if part of of such an infinitive construction (see example 3).
- Il donne le livre à nous. ➔ Il nous donne le livre. [‘donner à’]
- J’obéis à ma mère. ➔ Je lui obéis. [‘obéir à ma mère’]
- J’aime répondre à mes amis. ➔ J’aime leur répondre. [‘répondre à mes amis’]
Notice how in English, the indirect object follows the verb: He gives *us* the book, I obey *her*, I like to answer *them*.
Attention ! Don’t get used to translating from English all the time. Just because you see “for him” in the sentence I am looking for him, it does not mean that it is an indirect object. In this case, “him” is the direct object of the verb to look for. That’s why in French we would use the direct object pronoun with the verb chercher:
Je le cherche. I am looking for him.
Below are some common verbs you should memorize as that require indirect objects :
Verbes qui nécessitent des objets indirects
| Français | Anglais | |
|---|---|---|
| acheter à | to buy for | |
| donner à | to give to | |
| dire à | to say to, to tell | |
| écrire à | to write to | |
| expliquer à | to explain to | |
| obéir à | to obey | |
| offrir à | to offer to | |
| parler à | to talk, speak to | |
| poser une question à | to ask a question to | |
| répondre à | to respond to | |
| téléphoner à | to phone to |
Ressources supplémentaires
You can review and practice using indirect object pronouns at the following sites:
