Personal pronouns - Order of pronouns
1 General
As has been mentioned,
object pronouns
come before the
verb
in a
simple tense
or before the
auxiliary
verb
avoir or être in a
compound tense
:
Tu connais Paul? - Oui, je le
connais
Do you know Paul? - Yes, I know him
As-tu trouvé tes lunettes? - Oui, je les
ai trouvées
Did you find your glasses? - Yes, I did find them
2 Two pronouns
In cases where there are two
pronouns
the order is as follows:
Fig.1 Diagram showing the order of pronouns
This order is the same for
affirmative
sentences:
Elle me les a rendus
She gave them back to me
Ils nous en prêteront
They will lend us some
Il y en a encore
There are more of them
negative
sentences:
Je ne la lui ai pas envoyée
I didn't send it to him / her
Ils ne nous en prêteront pas
They won't lend us any
Il n'y en a plus
There aren't more of them
and all types of questions, including
negative
questions:
Me les a-t-elle rendus?
Did she give them back to me?
Nous en prêteront-ils?
Will they lend us some?
Ne la lui ai-je pas envoyée?
Didn't I send it to him / her?
Y en a-t-il encore?
Are there any more of them?
Il aime bien jouer de la guitare à ses enfants. Parfois il leur en joue pour les faire dormir.
He likes playing guitar to his children. Sometimes he plays it to them to help them go to sleep.
Pouvons-nous accorder à ce client la remise qu’il demande? Oui, nous pouvons la lui accorder.
Can we give this client the discount he’s asking for? Yes, we can give it to him.
Il volait de l’argent à sa propre mère? Oui, il lui en volait.
He was stealing money from his own mother? Yes, he was stealing it from her.
Ils ne savaient pas les règles de ce jeu, donc Pierre les leur a expliquées.
They didn’t know the rules of this game, so Pierre explained them to them.
C’est vrai qu’il a dédié le livre à ses parents? Oui, il le leur a dédié.
Is it true that he dedicated the book to his parents? Yes, he dedicated it to them.
3 Use before infinitives
When a
verb
is used with an
infinitive
, the
pronouns
tend to come directly
before the infinitive:
Je compte la leur présenter
I'm planning on introducing her to them
J'aurais bien aimé l'avoir
rencontrée
I really would have liked to have met her
4 Use in imperative
4.1 Affirmative imperative
In the
affirmative
imperative
, pronouns come after the
verb
and are linked
to it by a hyphen. Note that moi and toi
are used instead of me and te:
Tu veux du chocolat? Prends-en!
Do you want some chocolate? Take some!
Ce sera bientôt l'anniversaire de ta mère. Envoie-lui
une carte!
It will soon be your mother's birthday. Send her a card!
Tu as trouvé ses clefs? Donne-les-lui!
Have you found his / her keys? Give them to him / her!
Tu as des photos? Montre-les-moi!
Do you have some photos? Show them to me!
Ils viennent de déménager. Ecris-leur à leur nouvelle adresse.
They’ve just moved house. Write to them at their new address.
Ta mère a appelé ce matin. Téléphone-lui quand tu rentreras.
Your mother called this morning. Phone her when you get back.
Il conduit trop vite. Dites-lui de ralentir.
He’s driving too fast. Tell him to slow down.
Tes parents veulent savoir que tu es bien arrivé. Téléphone-leur quand tu arriveras à Manchester.
Your parents want to know if you arrived safely. Phone them when you arrive in Manchester.
Envoie-moi la facture et je te la payerai.
Send me the bill and I’ll pay it for you.
4.2 Negative imperative
In the
negative
imperative
, however, pronouns come before the
verb
. Moi
and toi revert to me and
te:
Ne les lui donne pas!
Don't give them to him / her!
Ne me les montre pas!
Don't show them to me!
Ne m'en donne pas!
Don't give me any!
Ne leur en achète
pas!
Don't buy them any!
Ne lui achète pas de cigarettes. Il ne fume plus.
Don’t buy him cigarettes. He doesn’t smoke any more.
Ne lui offre pas de chocolat. Elle y a renoncé pour le Carême.
Don’t offer her chocolate. She’s given it up for Lent.
Elle a une commission à faire pour sa mère, alors ne lui téléphone pas tout de suite.
She’s got an errand to do for her mother, so don’t phone her straightaway.
Martha a de la température. Ne l’envoyons pas à l’école aujourd’hui.
Martha has a temperature. Let’s not send her to school today.
Ne lui parle pas de football. Son équipe a perdu samedi.
Don’t talk to him about football. His team lost on Saturday.
