5 Les compléments d’objet direct vs Les compléments d’objet indirect

1. Similar to English, we use direct object pronouns, les compléments d’objet direct, to replace chunks of information after we have established what it is that we are talking about. We do this in order to avoid repetition in speech and in writing.It is crucial to remember that the verb determines the article that follows and it dictates the pronoun that replaces the chunk of information in the sentence once that information has been identified.When we are replacing le, la, l’, or les + noun in a sentence, we will replace the whole phrase with the correct complément d’objet direct before verbs of preference and other verbs that take a direct object.

   Ma mère m’écoute quand j’ai des problèmes. Qui te connaît ici ?

   My mom listens (to me) when I have problems. Who knows you here?

   Ses grands-parents l’aiment beaucoup. Hélène vous cherche.

   Her grandparents love her a lot. Helen is looking for you all.

   Est-ce que tu vois ces mignons chiots là-bas ? Je les adore ! La prof nous aide.

   Do you see those adorable puppies over there? I love them! The professor helps us.

   • To use les compléments d’objet direct, remember to conjugate the verb based on the person doing the action just like always. Then, place the pronoun in front of the conjugated verb in a one-verb phrase.Je t’aime.
   • If you have a two-verb phrase where one verb is conjugated and the other is in the infinitive in the present or future tense, you can place the pronoun directly between the verbs.Elle veut m’aider.
   • In the passé composé past tense, it will come before the conjugated être or avoir and will require agreement.

   Ils l’ont vu. Ils l’ont vue.

   Recap : COD

   • Answer the questions “Who?” or “What?” with transitive-direct verbs
   • Are used with verbs of preference
   • Come before the conjugated verb except for in two-verb phrases ormeme

     te

     you

     le/l’, la/l’

     Direct Object Pronouns

     nous

     us

     vous

     you

     les

     passé composé

     him, her (also “it” in English)

     them

     Les compléments d’objet indirect

     Indirect objects answer the questions “to whom” or “for whom.” When we are clarifying our indirect object for the first time in a conversation or writing, we will often use a person’s name, a defining title or relationship, or an emphatic pronoun (generally in the third person).

     Je dis toujours la vérité à mes parents.

     After the person has been established, we can replace their name, title, or pronoun with the corresponding indirect object pronoun and place it before the conjugated verb.

     Je leur dis toujours la vérité.

     This functions in a similar way as it does in English where we use indirect object pronouns to say “to me, to you, to him, to her, to us, to them.” Indirect object pronouns are only used with transitive-indirect verbs. These verbs are generally identified with an à after them when you look them up in the dictionary.

     Many are similar to their English equivalents; think of these as verbs of exchange/communication:

     parler à to talk to

     écrire à to write to

     donner à to give to

     envoyer à to send to

     offrir à to offer to

     However, some take à in French that do not take to in English:

     téléphoner à to call répondre à, to answer obéir à, to obey

     pardonner à, to forgive (someone) rendre visite à, to visit (someone)

     • To use les compléments d’objet indirect, remember to conjugate the verb based on the person doing theaction just like always. Then, place the pronoun in front of the conjugated verb in a one-verb phrase:Il me parle. Elle nous envoie des textos.
     • If you have a two-verb phrase in the present or future tense, you can place the pronoun directly between the verbs. Elle veut vous téléphoner. Nous voulons lui écrire une lettre.
     • In the passé composé, it will come before the auxiliary verb. Je t’ai téléphoné. Il nous a offert un travail.Recap: COI
   • Answer the questions “To whom?” or “For whom?” with transitive- indirect verbs, those that take à
   • Are used with people only, not other nouns
   • Come before the conjugated verb except in two-verb and simple future
   • Often thought of as “verbs of exchange”

me

to me

te

to you

lui

to him, to her

Indirect Object Pronouns

nous

to us

vous

to you

leur

to them

Recap: Les compléments d’objet direct et indirect

CODs and COIs replace information in sentences once we have established what and who we are talking about. Having the versatility to replace different chunks of information allows us to build diverse sentences:

I give the flowers to my mom. I give them to my mom. I give the flowers to her.

Word order in French is different. The COD and COI come before the conjugated verb…

Je donne les fleurs à ma mère. Je les donne à ma mère. Je lui donne les fleurs.

Unless we have a two-verb construction or are using the futur proche:

Je veux lui donner les fleurs. Je veux les donner à elle. Tu vas leur donner les fleurs? Tu vas les donner à eux?

Direct Object Pronouns (CODs)

• Answer the questions “Who?” or “What?” with transitive-direct verbs
• Used with verbs of preference; used with definite articles
• Corresponding adverbial pronoun: en (used with quantities; used with de, de l’, de la, des, du)
• Generally come before conjugated verbmeme

  te

  you

  le/l’, la/l’

  Compléments d’objet direct

  nous

  us

  vous

  you

  les

  him, her (also “it” in English) them

  Indirect Object Pronouns (COIs)

• Answer the questions “To whom?” or “For whom?” with transitive-indirect verbs, those that take à
• Are used with people only, not other nouns
• Come before the conjugated verb except in two- verb and simple futuremeto me

  te

  to you

  lui

  Compléments d’objet indirect

  nous

  to us

  vous

  to you

  leur

• Often thought of as “verbs of exchange”to him, to herto them

Les pronoms toniques

Certain verbs do not allow us to use the COIs before the verb. In those situations, we must use emphatic pronouns, les pronoms toniques. Some of the more common verbs that function this way are: penser à to think about, rêver à to dream about, croire à to believe in, and être à to belong to.

Emphatic Pronouns

• Used for emphasis
• Follow c’est or ce sont
• Follow chez to say “at home”
• After prepositions: à, avec, de, sans, etc.
• Used in comparisons; follow que

moi

me/I

toi

you

lui, elle

he/him, she/her

Pronoms toniques

nous

we/us

vous

you

eux, elles

they/them

Word Order: Multiple Pronouns

Sometimes, we want to replace multiple chunks of information in a sentence. Let’s look at the example we were using on the previous page and use both a direct and indirect object pronoun in the same sentence:

I give the flowers to my mom. I give them to my mom. I give the flowers to her.

I give them to her.

When combining various pronouns in a sentence, the word order can get a little complicated. Here is a chart to help you as you gain more exposure and get a feel for what sounds right. The good news is, you will generally only have two pronouns in a row at any given time. Notice that this chart only deals with pronouns that come before the conjugated verb.

E x E r c i c E 8 . 6

On range les mots. Below, you will read a question in French and must rearrange the answer so that it makes sense. All of the words are there for you, but they are in the wrong order.

Modèle : As-tu lu le roman aux enfants ? je Oui, leur ai lu le. Oui, je le leur ai lu.

1. Vas-tu à la bibliothèque ? J’ / vais / y / maintenant.
2. Combien de cours as-tu ce trimestre ? J’ / trois / en / ai.
3. Est-ce que tu regardes la télé ? je / Oui, / la / regarde.
4. A-t-il acheté de la glace pour les enfants ? Oui, / il / en / leur / a / acheté.
5. Veux-tu aller à Paris ? Non, / je / y / veux / pas / aller / cette / ne / année.
6. Allez-vous mettre vos affaires dans la valise ? Oui, / je / les / mettre / y / vais.
7. Vous êtes-vous brossé les dents ? se / les / Oui, / on / est / brossé.

E x E r c i c E 8 . 7

On traduit. Read the following sentences in French, then give their English equivalents in the blank provided. Modèle : Les fleurs ? Je les lui donne. The flowers? I give them to her/him.

1. L’argent ? Il ne me le donne pas.
2. La vérité ? Nous la leur demandons.
3. Les vêtements ? Elle ne les lui achète pas.
4. Mon café au lait ? Je ne vous l’offre pa s!

E x E r c i c E 8 . 8

On traduit. Fill in the blanks to complete the translations below. Use the clues in parentheses to help you. Then, label each word you wrote in as COD, COI, pronom tonique, y, or en and draw a line to the word it references.

Modèle : I read (present tense) it (a book) to them. Je   le    leur  lis.

COD COI

1. The professor teaches us a lot of it (de vocabulaire). Le prof              enseigne beaucoup.
2. My girlfriend prepares some for me (du café). Ma petite amie     ’      prépare.
3. My dad ordered some (de la pizza) for you. Mon père     ’       a commandé.
4. I rent it to them (une maison). Je                   loue.
5. We go there with them (pronom tonique). Nous       allons avec         .
6. Who’s that? It’s me! Qui ça? C’est           !
7. You bought it (le gâteau) for her, right? Tu           as acheté, n’est-ce pas ?

E x E r c i c E 8 . 9

Combien en reste-t-il ? How many are there left? Use “il m’en reste + quantité” to answer the following questions.

Modèle : Si tu as neuf pommes et tu en manges trois, combien en reste-t-il ?

Il m’en reste six.

1. Si tu as deux chaussures et tu en perds une, combien en reste-t- il ?
2. Si tu as vingt-quatre poissons et onze meurent, combien en reste-t-il ?
3. Si tu as deux carottes et tu en donnes une au lapin, combien en reste-t-il ?
4. Si tu as trois dominos et tu en casses un, combien en reste-t-il ?

E x E r c i c E 8 . 1 0

Est-ce que cette activité t’intéresse ? For each of the activities below, use one of the following phrases from the phrase bank to describe how you feel about the activity. Phrase bank:

1. Ça ne m’intéresse pas.
2. Ça m’intéresse beaucoup.
3. Ça m’énerve.
4. Ça me manque.
5. Ça m’intrigue.
6. Ça me fascine.
7. Ça m’inquiète.
8. Ça m’importe beaucoup.
9. Ça m’importe un peu.
10. Ça ne m’importe pas du tout.
    1. Lire des bandes dessinées :
    2. Jouer au jeux vidéo :
    3. Ranger la maison :
    4. Voyager :
    5. Aller au cinéma :
    6. Sortir avec des amis :
    7. Cuisiner :
    8. Faire du bénévolat :E x E r c i c E 8 . 1 1

       Questions personnelles. Respond to these questions making sure to change the “to you” in the question to “to me” in the answer. Here are some additional phrases you might find useful:

       1. bien sûr of course
       2. mais si on the contrary, yeah huh
       3. mais non on the contrary, nuh uh
       4. ni…ni neither…nor
       5. les deux both

1. Faire du shopping pendant ton temps libre t’intéresse ?
2. Les films d’horreur te fascinent, n’est-ce pas ?
3. Quelle matière t’intéresse plus, l’histoire ou la littérature ?
4. Quel cours t’ennuie le plus ?
5. Est-ce que les gens qui conduisent trop rapidement t’énervent ? Ou est-ce que les gens qui conduisent trop lentement t’énervent ? Ou peut-être les deux t’énervent ?
6. Est-ce que le réchauffement climatique t’inquiète ?