Le, la, lui or leur? Ditch the sports analogies! 🇫🇷
Did you ever have an English teacher who used the football example to teach grammar?
You know, “You throw the football to your brother.” Then “You throw it to him.”
I remember sitting through English class and being bored out of my mind with this example. How was this supposed to explain direct and indirect objects, and why is it always about SPORTS?!
If you’re studying French and you’re like most of my students, chances are that hearing about sports might not be your #1 favorite thing.
So instead of learning through sports examples, let’s get down to brass tacks.
Learning through context is USUALLY a great way to learn grammar. But when it comes to deciding whether you need le, la, les, or lui, or leur, this is where you need to learn two sets of common verbs and make your own contextual examples.
So throw out any examples about who throws the football to whom and let’s dig into this lesson. Make sure to take some notes so you’re ready for the practice examples at the end!
What’s the difference between a direct object and an indirect object in French?
Indirect objects in French go with verbs that require à + person. Here’s the most common verbs that require à + person. By memorizing these 7 verbs, you’ll know that these require indirect objects.
Parler à quelqu’un
Dire (quelque chose) à quelqu’un
Donner (quelque chose) à quelqu’un
Offrir (quelque chose) à quelqu’un
Téléphoner à quelqu’un
Envoyer (quelque chose) à quelqu’un
Écrire (quelque chose) à quelqu’un
Par exemple:
Je donne un livre à mon frère.
À mon frère is the indirect object (le complément d’objet indirect - COI).
Ok, so why do we care about indirect objects?
Because when we want to replace the person that we’re talking about, we’ll need to use a new word.
We do this to avoid repetition, just like we do in English.
So if you already know I’m talking about my brother, you can just say “Je lui donne un livre” (I give a book to him).
These are the indirect pronouns we’ll use in French with the verbs above:
À + moi = me
Tu me donnes un livre = You give me a book
À + toi = te
Je te donne un livre = I give you a book
À + elle/il = lui
Nous lui donnons un livre = We give her a book
Notice that LUI in this context can mean “to him” or “to her,” and we use the context to determine which one we’re talking about.
À + nous = nous
Tu nous donnes un livre = You give us a book
À + vous = vous
Je vous donne un livre = I give you all a book
À + ils/elles = leur
Elle leur donne un livre = She gives them a book.
Notice that LEUR here can refer to a masculine, feminine, or mixed gender group.
And what’s a direct object?
A direct object comes after verbs that do not require à + personne. While an indirect object always refers to a person in French, a direct object can be a person or a thing.
The best way to know you’re dealing with a direct object is through the process of elimination. Learn the verbs that require à + personne, and any verb that does NOT fall into this category requires a direct object.
There’s one caveat: Notice all the quelque chose (something) in the verb list above. Often times verbs can take both a direct and indirect object. The direct object is the one that does not require à + personne.
Some common verbs that require direct objects include:
Donner quelque chose
Inviter quelqu’un
Vouloir quelque chose
Lire quelque chose
Exemple:
Tu invites ta soeur à la fête
You invite your sister to the party.
When we replace the direct object, we call it the complément d’objet direct (C.O.D). Once again, we do this to avoid repetition.
Here are the direct object pronouns that we use to replace who we’re talking about:
Je → Me
Tu m’invites à la fête. You invite me to the party
Notice that me becomes m’ before a vowel.
Tu → te
Je t’invite au restaurant. I’ll treat you to the restaurant.
Notice that te becomes t’ before a vowel.
Il → le
Est-ce que tu vas l’inviter ce soir?
Are you going to invite him tonight?
Notice that le becomes l’ before a vowel
Elle → la
Est-ce que tu vas l’inviter ce soir?
Are you going to invite her tonight?
Notice that la becomes l’ before a vowel
Nous → Nous
Est-ce que tu nous invite au bar?
Are you inviting us to the bar?
Vous → Vous
Venez, je vous invite!
Come on, it’s my treat!
Ils/elles → Les
Je ne les invite pas parce qu’ils ne viennent jamais.
I’m not inviting them because they never come.
So there you have it. You’re ready to dive into practicing with direct and indirect objects, without any reference to sports (unless that’s your thing!).
Here’s your next steps:
Practice writing out two sentences with each verb you just learned. The first sentence should include whatever or whomever you’re referring to. In the second sentence, replace with the correct word. For direct objects: me, te, nous, vous, le, la, les, l. For indirect objects: me, te, nous, vous, lui, leur.
Exemple: lire quelque chose
Ce week-end, je vais lire le livre que j’ai acheté au Québec.
Hint: think “What am I replacing?”
Ce week-end, je vais le lire.
Are you looking for more confidence with other intermediate grammar concepts? Perhaps you feel confident filling in the blanks or writing the sentences, but you’re looking for more confidence actually incorporating grammatical structures while speaking without feeling like you’re this meme:
I remember feeling just like that with grammar while speaking. That’s why I’ve designed my new workshop: Mastering the Subjunctive in Everyday French. Spaces are limited for this live workshop because you’re going to get live speaking practice to crack the code of confidence while speaking, one step at a time.
Sign up for the date and time that works for you before space runs out!
Merci de l’opportunité de t’enseigner le français - c’est ma grande passion dans la vie!
