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Object Pronouns
| Subject |
Direct Object |
Indirect Object |
Disjunctives |
| je |
I |
me (muh) |
me |
me |
to me |
moi (mwah) |
me |
| tu |
you |
te (tuh) |
you |
te |
to you |
toi (twah) |
you |
| il |
he |
le |
him |
lui (lwee) |
to him |
lui |
him |
| elle |
she |
la |
her |
lui |
to her |
elle |
her |
| nous |
we |
nous |
us |
nous |
to us |
nous |
us |
| vous |
you |
vous |
you |
vous |
to you |
vous |
you |
| ils |
they |
les |
them |
leur |
to them |
eux (uh) |
them |
| elles |
they |
les |
them |
leur |
to them |
elles |
them |
Note: You have already learned the subject pronouns. They go before the conjugated verb forms. The Direct and Indirect Object pronouns go before the verb even though in English they go after it. They also go after the ne in a negative sentence and right before the verb. The disjunctive always go after prepositions, or can be used alone for emphasis.
Sample Sentences:
| I buy some pants. |
J'achète des pantalons. |
| I buy them. |
Je les achète. |
| I give the box to you. |
Je vous donne la boîte. |
| I give it to you. |
Je vous la donne. |
| After you. (familiar) |
Après toi. |
| We go with her. |
Nous allons avec elle. |
| He doesn't leave her. |
Il ne la part pas. |
| He leaves her. |
Il la part. |
| I love you. |
Je t'aime. or Je vous aime. |
| She doesn't love him. |
Elle ne l'aime pas. |
Note: When you have more than one pronoun; me, te, nous, or vous come first, then le, la, or les, then lui or leur. Me, te, le, and la contract to m', t', and l' when they precede a vowel, the same way je does. In commands, the pronouns go after the verb, connected with a hyphen. And the pronoun order changes a little too: Le, la, or les come first; then moi, toi, (Me and te become moi and toi in commands) nous, or vous; then lui, or leur.
If you have pronouns, they go before the complete verb in regular sentences; but after the ne and before the form of avoir in negative sentences.
| Nous lui avons parlé. |
We spoke to him/her. |
| Vous en avez écouté trois. |
You've listened to three of them. |
| Je t'ai demandé du pain. |
I asked you for some bread. |
| Il ne l'a pas aimé. |
He didn't like it/her/him. |
| Tu n'y as pas habité. |
You didn't live there. |
| Je ne vous ai pas parlé. |
I didn't speak (or haven't spoken) to you. |
| Nous ne l'avons pas fini. |
We didn't finish (or haven't finished) it. |
In the passé composé with avoir, direct object pronouns only must agree in gender and number with the past participle.
| Je les ai aimés. |
I liked them. |
| Il l'a regardée. |
He watched her. |
| Elles nous ont écouté(e)s. |
They listened to us. |
Note: Add an e if the pronoun is feminine, and an s if it is plural. The l' could mean him or her, so you might not need to put the extra e on the past participle. The same for nous and vous. They must have an s because they are plural, but it is unclear as to whether they are masculine or feminine.
Asking Questions
1) Invert the subject and verb form and add a hyphen. Instead of Vous parlez anglais? use Parlez-vous anglais? But if you invert il, elle, or on, you must put a t between the verb form (if it ends in a vowel) and the subject for ease of pronunciation. Parle-il anglais? is incorrect and must become Parle-t-il anglais? And je is usually only inverted with pouvoir or devoir. However, if je is inverted with pouvoir, you don't use peux, but puis. Puis-je? (pweezh) is Can I?
2) Add n'est-ce pas? (ness pah) to the end of the sentence. It is equivalent to isn't it, don't you, aren't we, won't you, etc.
3) If the question requires a yes or no answer, put Est-ce que (ess kuh) at the beginning. It contracts to Est-ce qu' before a word beginning with a vowel, such as elle, il or on. You can also use interrogative words (quand, comment, où, etc.) at the beginning of the sentence and then add est-ce que.
4) With interrogative words, you can also use inversion: Quand tes parents partent-ils en vacances? Or you can use an interrogative with est-ce que and normal word order: Pourquoi est-ce que vous êtes ici?
5) Quel (which, what) agrees with the noun it modifies. It precedes the noun or the verb être, it may follow a preposition, and it can be used with inversion or with est-ce que. Quelle est la date? A quelle heure partez-vous? Quels bagages est-ce que vous prenez? Notice that the forms of quel can also be used in exclamatory sentences. Quel beau jour! What a beautiful day!
6) With negative questions, negative expressions remain in their usual place (i.e. around the verb, or verb and subject if inverted). Tu ne travailles pas? Est-ce que te ne travailles pas? Ne travailles-tu pas? Pourquoi n'as-tu pas travaillé?
Asking Questions with the Passé Composé
Only the auxiliary verb (avoir or être) and the subject pronoun are inverted. The past participle follows.
A-t-il été surpris? Was he surprised? T'es-tu amusé? Did you have fun?
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