Indirect Object Pronouns

Indirect Object Pronouns
Indirect object pronouns (IOPs) are words that can replace other nouns or people. In English,
they would be the way we say ‘to me/you/him/her’ etc. This changes a sentence, such as
‘John gave chocolates to Mary’ to ‘John gave chocolates to her’.
We will discuss these pronouns further in this article by exploring their formation, the
grammatical difference between ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’ object pronouns and examples in the
tenses.
I. Formation and Meanings
You will notice that the formation of indirect object pronouns is very similar to that of direct
object pronouns. The main exceptions are ‘lui’ instead of ‘le/la’ and ‘leur’ instead of ‘les’.
Me/m’
To me
Te/t’
To you
Lui
To him/to her
Nous
To us
Vous
To you (plural)
Leur
To them (masculine or
feminine)
Example:
‘Je donne les fleurs à Sandra’ (I am giving the flowers to Sandra) becomes ‘Je lui donne les
fleurs’ (I am giving the flowers to her).
Be careful!
1
In English, we can also translate the sentence above as ‘I am giving him/her the flowers’.
II. ‘Direct’ and ‘Indirect’ Object Pronouns
So, how can we differentiate between ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’ object pronouns?
An easy way of knowing whether to use an indirect object pronoun is to see the preposition
that follows the French verb. French verbs that are followed by the preposition ‘à’ take
indirect object pronouns. The examples shown in the next section are mainly taken from
verbs with ‘à’, although indirect object pronouns can also be used if ‘pour’ follows the verb.
III. Using Tenses
The indirect object pronoun is found before the verb. In compound tenses, it is found before
the conjugated être/avoir verb. See the examples provided below:
1.
Present tense
The IOP is found before the verb.
E.g. Je pose des questions au professeur. (I am asking the teacher some questions)
This becomes:
Je lui pose des questions.
I am asking him some questions.
Negative: Je ne lui pose pas de questions.
2.
Perfect tense
The IOP is found before the auxiliary verb (avoir/etre) and the past participle (e.g. demandé).
E.g. J’ai demandé à ma mère de cuisiner avec moi. (I asked my mother to cook with me)
2
This becomes:
Je lui ai demandé de cuisiner avec moi.
I asked her to cook with me.
Negative : Je ne lui ai pas demande de cuisine avec moi.
3.
Imperfect tense
The IOP is found before the verb in the imperfect.
E.g. Il rappelait aux élèves de ne pas fumer à l’école. (He used to remind the pupils not to
smoke at school)
This becomes:
Il leur rappelait de ne pas fumer à l’école.
He used to remind them not to smoke at school.
Negative: Il ne leur rappelait pas de ne pas fumer a l’école.
4.
Conditional tense
Like the imperfect tense, the IOP is placed before the verb.
E.g. Elle offrirait un cadeau à Michel. (She would give a present to Michel)
This becomes :
Elle lui offrirait le cadeau.
She would give him the present.
Negative: Elle ne lui offrirait pas le cadeau.
5. Future tense
Again, the IOP comes before the verb.
3
E.g. Nous organiserons la fête pour son fils. (We will organise the party for his/her son)
This becomes:
Nous lui organiserons la fête.
We will organise the party for him.
Negative: Nous ne lui organiserons pas la fête.
6. Immediate future tense
The IOP is placed between the verb ‘aller’ and the infinitive!
E.g. Il va parler à vous. (He is going to talk to you (plural))
This becomes:
Il va vous parler.
He is going to talk to you.
Negative: Il ne va pas vous parler.
4
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What are indirect object pronouns?
a) They are the same as direct object pronouns.
b) They are the same as subject pronouns.
c) They are pronouns that mean ‘me/you/him/her/us’ etc.
d) They are pronouns that mean ‘to me/you/him/her/us’ etc.
2. How are IOPs formed?
a) They are formed the same way as direct object pronouns.
b) They are formed the same way as direct object pronouns, but ‘le/la’ is replaced with ‘lui’
and ‘les’ is replaced with ‘leur’.
c) They are formed the same way as subject pronouns.
d) They are formed the same way as reflexive pronouns.
3. How can we translate this sentence in English?: ‘Luc nous a offert des
cadeaux’.
a) We gave Luc some presents.
b) Luc gave us some presents.
c) Some presents were given to us by Luc.
d) Some presents were given to Luc buy us.
4. What is the IOP that means ‘to her’?
a) Lui
b) Elle
c) La
d) Le
5
5. What does ‘leur’ mean as an indirect object pronoun?
a) To you (plural)
b) To you (singular)
c) To them
d) To us
6. Which preposition typically follows a verb that can take an IOP?
a) De
b) No preposition
c) A
d) Any of the above
7. Where is the IOP placed in the perfect tense?
a) Between the subject pronoun (je, tu etc.) and the auxiliary verb ‘etre/avoir’.
b) After ‘etre/avoir’.
c) At the beginning of the sentence.
d) At the end of the sentence.
8. Where is the IOP found in the immediate future tense?
a) After the subject pronoun (je, tu etc.).
b) After the conjugated verb ‘aller’.
c) After the infinitive verb.
d) At the beginning of the sentence.
9. Which of the following is correct?
a) Je ne lui ai pas donné mes clés.
b) Je lui n’ai pas donné mes clés.
c) Je n’ai pas lui donné mes clés.
d) Je n’ai pas donné lui mes clés.
6
10. What does this mean?: ‘Elle va nous demander de faire la vaisselle’
a) She will ask us to do the washing up.
b) We will ask her to do the washing up.
c) She is going to ask us to do the washing up.
d) We are going to ask her to do the washing up.
Answers:
1. D
2. B
3. B
4. A
5. C
6. C
7. A
8. B
9. A
10. C
7