Scribd
Upload
74 views3 pages

The Direct Object Pronouns: Me and Te Change To M' and T', Respectively, in Front of A Vowel or

Direct objects are nouns that receive the action of the verb in a sentence. Direct object pronouns replace direct objects, such as using "her" instead of repeating the name. In French, direct object pronouns include me, te, le, la, nous, vous, and les. These pronouns come before the verb. There are four main uses of the neuter direct object pronoun le: to replace an idea in an adjective/noun, in comparisons, with negative opinions/desires, and with certain verbs like croire and pouvoir.

Uploaded by

Beatriz Medeiros
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
74 views3 pages

The Direct Object Pronouns: Me and Te Change To M' and T', Respectively, in Front of A Vowel or

Direct objects are nouns that receive the action of the verb in a sentence. Direct object pronouns replace direct objects, such as using "her" instead of repeating the name. In French, direct object pronouns include me, te, le, la, nous, vous, and les. These pronouns come before the verb. There are four main uses of the neuter direct object pronoun le: to replace an idea in an adjective/noun, in comparisons, with negative opinions/desires, and with certain verbs like croire and pouvoir.

Uploaded by

Beatriz Medeiros
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

COD

Direct objects are the people or things in a sentence which receive the
action of the verb. To find the direct object in a sentence, ask the question
"Who?" or "What?"

 Je vois Pierre. > I see Pierre. (Who do I see? – Pierre)


 Je mange le pain. > I'm eating the bread. (What am I eating? –
bread)

Direct object pronouns are the words that replace the direct object so that
you don't say things like "Marie was at the bank today. When I saw Marie,
I smiled." It's much more natural to say "Marie was at the bank today.
When I saw her, I smiled."

The Direct Object Pronouns

The French direct object pronouns are:

 Me / m' > me
 Te / t'  > you
 Le / l'  > him, it
 La / l' > her, it
 Nous > us
 Vous > you
 Les >them

Me and te change to m' and t', respectively, in front of a vowel or mute


H. Le and la both change to l'.

Like indirect object pronouns, French direct object pronouns are placed


in front of the verb.

 Je le mange. > I'm eating it.


 Il la voit. > He sees her. 
 Je t'aime. > I love you.
 Tu m'aimes. > You love me.

General Rules

There are four main constructions that use the French neuter object
pronoun.

1. To replace or refer to an idea contained in an adjective, noun,


or clause

This is the case in the following examples:


 Si tu es satisfait, je le suis aussi. > If you're satisified, I am too.
 Êtes-vous américain? Oui, je le suis.> Are you American? Yes, I
am.
 Il est espion! Non, il ne l'est pas.> He's a spy! No, he's not.
 Il t'aime. J'espère que tu le comprends. > He loves you. I hope you
understand that.  
 Je vais me venger. Je le jure! < I will get revenge. I swear it!

2. In the second clause of a comparison

This is the case after the


words aussi, autre, autrement, comme, plus, moins, mieux. Note that
the ne which shows up in the second clause of many of these examples is
also optional.

 Il est plus grand que je ne le croyais.> He's taller than I thought.


 Cela vaut moins que tu ne le penses. > That's worth less than you
think.
 Elle est autre qu'il ne l'espérait. > She's different than he hoped.
 Il n'est pas aussi stupide qu'on le croit. > He's not as stupid as
people think.
 Ce n'est pas gentil de parler des autres comme tu le fais. > It's not
nice to talk about others like you do.

3. With negative expressions of opinion and desire: ne pas


penser, ne pas vouloir, ne pas croire

 Va-t-il venir? Je ne le pense pas. > Is he going to come? I don't


think so.
 Allez, viens avec nous! Je ne le veux pas. > Come on, come with
us! I don't want to.

4. With the verbs croire, devoir, dire, falloir, oser, penser, 

pouvoir, savoir, vouloir

 Comme vous le dites, ce n'est pas juste. > As you say, it's not fair.


 Viens quand tu le pourras.> Come when you can.
 Il pourrait aider s'il le voulait. > He could help if he wanted to.

Tips and Notes

When a direct object precedes a verb conjugated into a compound


tense such as the passé composé, the past participle has to agree with the
direct object. 
If you're having trouble deciding between direct and indirect objects, the
general rule is that if the person or thing is preceded by a preposition, that
person is an indirect object. If it's not preceded by a preposition, it is
a direct object.

You might also like