Preceding direct objects 1 Preceding direct objects In a
compound tense
like the perfect, the
past participle
of avoir
verbs only takes an
agreement
if there is a
direct object
coming before
the participle. This is called a preceding direct object
agreement and is generally only used in more formal writing or speech.
A preceding direct object can take several forms:
1.1
The relative pronoun que The
relative pronoun
que and
the
noun
it replaces:
Voilà la veste que j'ai achetée
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Here's the jacket I bought
Les décisions qu'il a prises
étaient bonnes
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The decisions (that) he made were good
On nous a encouragés à mettre sur papier les émotions que nous avons ressenties.
We were encouraged to put down on paper the emotions we felt.
C’est bien ta mère que nous avons aperçue au supermarché, n’est-ce pas?
It was your mother we saw at the supermarket, wasn’t it?
Les questions que les journalistes lui ont posées étaient très directes.
The questions that the reporters asked him were very direct.
Les sacrifices que le ministre nous a demandés n’étaient pas exagérés.
The sacrifices that the minister asked from us were not unreasonable.
Il dit que la rédaction que tu as écrite n’est pas assez longue.
He said that the essay you wrote wasn’t long enough.
1.2 Question words Certain question words : lequel ,
laquelle etc., combien
+ noun, quel , quelle etc.
+ noun:
Laquelle des deux maisons as-tu préférée ?
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Which of the two houses did you like best?
Combien de feuilles de papier a-t-il prises ?
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How many sheets of paper did he take?
Quelles raisons a-t-il données ?
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What reasons did he give?
1.3 Personal pronounsThe
personal pronouns
le , la
and les , and me , te ,
nous , vous where these
act as a
direct object
:
La lettre? Je l'ai envoyée
la semaine dernière
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The letter? I sent it last week
- Avez-vous vu mes lunettes? - Oui, je les ai vues
sur la table
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- Have you seen my glasses? - Yes, I saw them on the table
Comme elle portait des lunettes noires personne ne l’a reconnue.
As she was wearing dark glasses nobody recognized her.
Le film l’a émue jusqu’aux larmes.
The film moved her to tears.
Ma voiture? Je l’ai vendue à un ami.
My car? I sold it to a friend.
Elle a attrapé la rougeole et l’a passée à son frère.
She caught the measles and passed it on to her brother.
Il nous a réconfortés pendant cette période difficile.
He was a comfort to us during that difficult period.
As the pronouns me , te ,
nous , vous can be
direct
or
indirect
, it is easy to confuse the two and get the wrong p.d.o.
agreement:
Elle nous a donné un conseil
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[and not *Elle nous a donnés un conseil]
She gave us a piece of advice
Le concert nous a beaucoup plu
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[and not *Le concert nous a beaucoup plus]
We very much enjoyed the concert
Here donné and plu
do not take an agreement because they are both indirect (i.e. donner
qch à qn - to give sb sth , plaire
à qn - to please sb ).
