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?
Nous avons organisé une fête d’anniversaire surprise pour Chantal. Faites attention de ne rien lui en dire.
We've organized a surprise birthday party for Chantal. Be careful not to tell her anything about it.
Est-ce qu’Olivier sait qu’il y a une grève des trains? Tu devrais l’en avertir.
Does Olivier know there’s a train strike? You ought to warn him.
Qui a mis mes clefs de voiture dans ce pot de fleurs? Ce n’est pas moi qui les y ai mises.
Who put my car keys in this flower pot? It wasn’t me who put them in there.
Il faut absolument que je tonde la pelouse de mes grands-parents demain. Je le leur ai promis.
I absolutely must mow my grand-parents’ lawn tomorrow. I promised them.
Est-ce que tu as vu Paul au cinéma? Non, je ne l’y ai pas vu.
Did you see Paul in the cinema? No, I didn’t see him there.
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!
Les enfants n’ont rien à faire. Emmenons-les au cinéma.
The children have nothing to do. Let’s take them to the cinema.
Regarde-moi quand je te parle!
Look at me when I talk to you!
Leur musique est trop forte. Dites-leur de baisser le volume.
Their music is too loud. Tell them to turn it down.
Ils viennent de déménager. Ecris-leur à leur nouvelle adresse.
They’ve just moved house. Write to them at their new address.
J’ai perdu mes clefs. Cherchons-les tout de suite.
I’ve lost my keys. Let’s look for them straightaway.
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 me regarde pas comme ça. Ce n’est pas de ma faute!
Don’t look at me like that. It’s not my fault!
J’aimerais bien essayer cette robe. Ne la jette pas!
I’d like to try that dress on. Don’t throw it away!
Ne lui achète pas de cigarettes. Il ne fume plus.
Don’t buy him cigarettes. He doesn’t smoke any more.
Marie a beaucoup de travail. Ne lui demande pas de t’aider.
Marie has a lot of work on. Don’t ask her to help you.
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.
