Pronouns

Subject pronouns

Object pronouns

Object pronouns replace object nouns to allow for more free-flowing expression. There are direct object pronouns and indirect object pronouns.

• Direct object nouns or pronouns refer to “whom” or “what” the subject is acting upon: people, places, things, or ideas:

  • Cette chemise? Je la prends! (That shirt? I'll take it!)

  • Ils vont m' aider. (They are going to help me.)

  • Attends- nous. (Wait for us.)

• Indirect object nouns or pronouns refer to “to” or “for” whom the subject is doing something and refer only to people. As a clue, look for a form of the preposition à (to, for) followed by the name or reference to a person:

  • J'écris à Luc. Je lui écris. (I write to Luke. I write to him.)

  • Il va te donner un paquet. (He's going to give you a package.)

  • Lis- moi. (Read to me.)

Keep the following in mind about object pronouns:

• Make the conjugated verb agree with the subject rather than with the object pronoun.

• Place the object pronoun before the verb to which its meaning is tied, usually before the conjugated verb.

• When a sentence contains two verbs, place the object pronoun before the infinitive.

• In an affirmative command, place an object pronoun immediately after the verb and join it to the verb with a hyphen. In an affirmative command only, me changes to moi and te changes to toi.

The minitable below shows direct and indirect object pronouns:

The adverbial pronoun y

The adverbial pronoun y means “there” when the place has already been mentioned. Y can also mean “it,” “them,” “in it/them,” “to it/them,” or “on it/them.”

Y usually replaces the preposition à + the noun object of the preposition, but it may also replace other prepositions of location or position, such as chez (at the house [business] of), dans ( in), en ( in), sous (under), or sur (on) + noun. In familiar affirmative commands (the tu form), -er verbs retain their final -s:

The adverbial pronoun en

The pronoun en refers to previously mentioned things or places. En usually replaces de + noun and may mean “some,” “any,” “of it/them,” “about it/them,” “from it/them,” or “from there.” In familiar affirmative commands (the tu form), -er verbs retain their final - s:

Double object pronouns

Note the different order of the pronouns in the affirmative command:

• Il te l' offre. (He offers it to you.)

• Va-t-elle m'en donner? (Is she going to give me any?)

• Je la leur ai achetée. (I bought it for them.)

• Ne nous les montrez pas. (Don't show them to us.)

But note the difference in an affirmative command, where moi + en and toi + en become m'en and t'en, respectively:

• Dites-le-nous, s'il vous plaût. (Please tell it to us.)

• Donne-m'en. (Give me some.)

• Va t'en. (Go away.)

The invariable le

The pronouns le, la, and les are variable, meaning that they change according to gender and number when used to replace a previously mentioned modified noun:

• Es-tu la petite amie de Raymond? Oui, je la suis. (Are you Raymond's girlfriend? Yes, I am.)

BUT: The invariable le replaces a previously mentioned infinitive, clause, adjective, or unmodified noun, as the four examples below show:

• J'espère gagner le prix. Je l'espère aussi. (I hope to win the prize. I hope so, too.)

• Je pars tout de suite si tu le veux. (I'll leave immediately if you like.)

• Est-il occupé? Non, il ne l'est pas. (Is he busy? No, he isn't.)

• Êtes-vous actrices? Oui, nous le sommes. (Are you actresses? Yes, we are.)

Independent pronouns

Independent pronouns are used as follows:

• To stress the subject:

  • Lui, il est vraiment sérieux. (Him, he's really serious.)

• When the pronoun has no verb:

  • Qui parle? Elle. (Who is speaking? She is.)

• After prepositions to refer to a person or persons:

  • Dinons chez eux. (Let's eat at their house.)

• After c'est:

  • C'est moi qui paie. (I'm paying.)

• After the following verbs: avoir affaire à (to have dealings with), être à (to belong to), faire attention à (to pay attention to), penser à (to think about [of]), se fier à (to trust), and s'intéresser à (to be interested in).

  • Je pense à lui. (I think about him.)

• In compound subjects:

  • Elle et moi (nous) allons au café. (She and I [we] are going to the café.)

  • Marie et toi (vous) partez? (Are you and Marie [you plural] leaving?)

• With -même(s) to reinforce the subject:

  • Je suis allé au concert moi-même. (I went to the concert by myself.)

Relative pronouns

A relative pronoun (“who,” “which,” or “that”) joins a main clause to a dependent clause. This pronoun introduces the dependent clause that describes someone or something mentioned in the main clause. The person or thing the pronoun refers to is called the antecedent. A relative clause may serve as a subject, a direct object, or an object of a preposition.