French Pronouns
French pronouns replace noun phrases and must agree with the noun they replace in gender, number, and grammatical function. The key structural difference from English: object pronouns in French go before the conjugated verb, not after it.
1. Subject Pronouns (Pronoms sujets)
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | je (I) | nous (we) |
| 2nd | tu (you, informal) | vous (you, formal/plural) |
| 3rd masc. | il (he, it) | ils (they, masc.) |
| 3rd fem. | elle (she, it) | elles (they, fem.) |
| Impersonal | on (one/we/people) | — |
Tu vs. Vous: tu is used with friends, family, children, and peers. vous is used with strangers, superiors, older people, or to address a group. Getting this wrong is a social error.
On: widely used in spoken French to mean we: On va au cinéma? — Shall we go to the cinema? It always takes a 3rd-person singular verb even when meaning we.
Il/Elle for things: French uses il or elle for inanimate nouns based on grammatical gender: Le livre? Il est sur la table. — The book? It’s on the table.
2. Direct Object Pronouns (Pronoms objets directs)
Replace the direct object (answers who? or what?):
| Person | Pronoun |
|---|---|
| me (me) | me / m’ |
| you (informal) | te / t’ |
| him / it (masc.) | le / l’ |
| her / it (fem.) | la / l’ |
| us | nous |
| you (formal/pl.) | vous |
| them (masc./mixed) | les |
| them (fem.) | les |
Position: directly before the conjugated verb (or before the infinitive when the direct object belongs to it).
Je vois Marie. → Je la vois. — I see her. Il mange le pain. → Il le mange. — He eats it. Je veux voir ce film. → Je veux le voir. — I want to see it.
In compound tenses: pronoun precedes the auxiliary; past participle agrees with preceding direct object:
J’ai vu les filles. → Je les ai vues. — I saw them. (vues agrees: fem. pl.)
3. Indirect Object Pronouns (Pronoms objets indirects)
Replace à + person (the recipient; answers to whom?):
| Person | Pronoun |
|---|---|
| to me | me / m’ |
| to you (informal) | te / t’ |
| to him / to her | lui |
| to us | nous |
| to you (formal/pl.) | vous |
| to them | leur |
Note: lui and leur are the key differences from direct object pronouns. There is no gender distinction: lui = to him AND to her.
Je parle à Pierre. → Je lui parle. — I talk to him. Elle écrit à ses amies. → Elle leur écrit. — She writes to them.
No agreement: past participles do NOT agree with indirect objects.
Verbs that govern indirect objects (à + person): parler à, téléphoner à, écrire à, donner à, demander à, dire à, répondre à, obéir à, ressembler à
4. Adverbial Pronoun y
Replaces: à + place or à + thing (when not a person)
Je vais à Paris. → J’y vais. — I’m going there. Il répond à la question. → Il y répond. — He answers it. Tu penses à tes vacances? → Tu y penses? — Are you thinking about them?
Important: y cannot replace à + person — use lui/leur for people.
Common fixed expressions: Il y a (there is/are), On y va! (Let’s go!)
5. Adverbial Pronoun en
Replaces: de + noun, quantities, partitives
Je veux du café. → J’en veux. — I want some. Il parle de son voyage. → Il en parle. — He talks about it. J’ai trois livres. → J’en ai trois. — I have three (of them). Elle revient de Paris. → Elle en revient. — She’s coming back from there.
With quantities, the number or expression remains: J’en ai deux. — I have two of them.
6. Double Object Pronouns (Order)
When two object pronouns appear before the same verb, they follow a strict order:
me / te / nous / vous → le / la / les → lui / leur → y → en
Il me le donne. — He gives it to me. (me before le) Elle nous les a envoyés. — She sent them to us. Je l’y ai trouvé. — I found him/it there. Donne-m’en. — Give me some.
In imperatives (affirmative): pronouns follow the verb with hyphens, order changes slightly:
le / la / les → moi / toi / lui / nous / vous / leur → y → en
Donne-le-moi. — Give it to me. Apporte-les-lui. — Bring them to him.
7. Disjunctive (Stressed) Pronouns (Pronoms disjoints)
Used after prepositions, for emphasis, in comparisons, and when no verb follows:
| Person | Pronoun |
|---|---|
| me | moi |
| you (informal) | toi |
| him | lui |
| her | elle |
| us | nous |
| you (formal/pl.) | vous |
| them (masc.) | eux |
| them (fem.) | elles |
After prepositions:
chez moi — at my place | avec toi — with you | pour eux — for them | sans elle — without her
Emphasis:
Moi, je ne sais pas. — Me, I don’t know. C’est elle qui a raison. — She is the one who is right.
Comparison:
Il est plus grand que moi. — He is taller than me.
After c’est / ce sont:
C’est moi. — It’s me. | Ce sont eux. — It’s them.
With même(s) (self):
Il l’a fait lui-même. — He did it himself.
8. Reflexive Pronouns (Pronoms réfléchis)
Used with pronominal verbs (where the subject acts on itself):
| Person | Pronoun |
|---|---|
| je | me / m’ |
| tu | te / t’ |
| il/elle/on | se / s’ |
| nous | nous |
| vous | vous |
| ils/elles | se / s’ |
Je me lève. — I get up. | Il se lave. — He washes himself. Nous nous parlons. — We talk to each other.
Compound tenses of pronominal verbs use être:
Elle s’est levée à sept heures. — She got up at seven.
Agreement: past participle agrees with the reflexive pronoun when it is the direct object (usually the case):
Ils se sont regardés. — They looked at each other.
Exception: if there is a separate direct object, no agreement:
Elle s’est lavé les mains. — She washed her hands. (mains is the DO; se is indirect)
9. Relative Pronouns (Pronoms relatifs)
Connect a subordinate clause to a noun (antecedent) in the main clause.
qui — who, which, that (subject of the relative clause)
L’homme qui parle est mon père. — The man who is speaking is my father. La voiture qui est rouge est à moi. — The car that is red is mine.
que / qu’ — whom, which, that (direct object of the relative clause)
Le livre que je lis est intéressant. — The book that I’m reading is interesting. La femme que tu connais est médecin. — The woman whom you know is a doctor.
Tip: qui is always the subject (followed by a verb); que is always the object (followed by a subject + verb).
dont — whose, of whom, of which, about which
Replaces de + noun in the relative clause:
L’homme dont je parle est célèbre. — The man I’m talking about is famous. Le livre dont j’ai besoin est épuisé. — The book I need is out of print. (avoir besoin de) La femme dont le mari est médecin… — The woman whose husband is a doctor…
où — where, when (place or time)
La ville où j’habite est grande. — The city where I live is large. Le jour où il est arrivé… — The day when he arrived…
Compound relative pronouns (lequel, laquelle, lesquels, lesquelles)
Used after prepositions (other than de) when referring to things:
| Masc. sing. | Fem. sing. | Masc. pl. | Fem. pl. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | lequel | laquelle | lesquels | lesquelles |
Contracts with à: auquel, à laquelle, auxquels, auxquelles Contracts with de: duquel, de laquelle, desquels, desquelles
La table sur laquelle j’écris est ancienne. — The table on which I write is old. Le projet auquel il travaille est ambitieux. — The project he is working on is ambitious.
For persons after prepositions, qui is preferred:
La personne avec qui je travaille… — The person with whom I work…
10. Interrogative Pronouns
| Refers to | Subject | Object | After preposition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Persons | qui | qui | qui |
| Things | qu’est-ce qui | que / qu’est-ce que | quoi |
Qui vient? — Who is coming? Qui as-tu vu? — Whom did you see? Que fais-tu? — What are you doing? À quoi penses-tu? — What are you thinking about?
Summary: Pronoun Placement Rules
| Context | Position |
|---|---|
| Normal sentence | Before conjugated verb |
| Compound tense | Before auxiliary (avoir/être) |
| Infinitive construction | Before infinitive (when object belongs to inf.) |
| Affirmative imperative | After verb, with hyphen |
| Negative imperative | Before verb (ne te lève pas) |
Source: heminway-2018-complete-french-all-in-one (Ch 26–27)