Complex pronoun order/placement
A. Pronoun categories (alphabetical)
Direct object pronouns (COD)
Replace the direct object of a verb (answers who/what, directly affected by the action)
Forms: me (m’), te (t’), le/la (l’), nous, vous, les
Je lis le livre - Je le lis (I read it)
N.B.: me/te/le/la are elided when followed by a vowel or mute h- (j'habite VS je hais)
En
Replaces a noun introduced by de (including partitives and quantities).
Il parle de ses projets - il en parle (he speaks about it)
Indirect object pronouns (COI)
Replace the indirect object; noun preceded by à, usually indicating to/for whom
Forms: me (m’), te (t’), lui, nous, vous, leur
J’écris à ma sœur - je lui écris (I write to her)
N.B.: je lui vends X - I sell X to... VS je la vends - I sell her
Reflexive pronouns
Used with reflexive verbs (actions performed on oneself)
Forms: me (m’), te (t’), se (s’), nous, vous, se (s’)
Elle se brosse les cheveux - she brushes her hair
Relative pronouns
Introduce subordinate clauses
Forms: qui, que, dont, où, lequel...
Le pain que j’achète est bon - the bread that I buy is tasty
Stress pronouns (pronoms toniques)
Used for emphasis, after prepositions or in isolation
Forms: moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles
C’est pour lui - it’s for him
Y (pronom adverbial)
Replaces a location or a thing introduced by à (except for people)
Je pense à mon travail - j’y pense (I think about it)
B. Pronoun order rules
1. Before a conjugated verb
Subject + (ne) + pronouns in order + verb + (pas)
First group: me, te, se, nous, vous (reflexive/object pronouns for 1st/2nd persons)
Second group: le, la, les (direct object pronouns)
Third group: lui, leur (indirect object pronouns for 3rd persons)
Fourth group: y
Fifth group: en
Il me le donne - he gives it to me
Tu nous les montres - you show them to us
Elle ne lui en parle pas - she doesn’t talk to him about it
Je le lui explique - I explain it to him
N.B.: the direct object (le) precedes the indirect (lui)
2. Before an infinitive
Pronouns are placed directly before the infinitive: conjugated verb + pronouns in order + infinitive
Je vais te le dire - I am going to tell it to you
Il doit nous en parler - he must talk to us about it
3. In the imperative
Affirmative imperative: pronouns follow the verb+are hyphenated; verb + le/la/les + moi/toi/lui/nous/vous/leur + y + en
N.B.: me becomes moi, te becomes toi
Donne-le-moi - give it to me
Parlez-nous-en - talk to us about it
Vas-y - go (there)
Negative imperative: pronouns revert to the standard order before the verb (in the infinitive form)
Ne me le donne pas - don’t give it to me
Ne nous en parle pas - don’t talk to us about it
C. Special cases/exceptions
Adverbial pronouns: when y and en appear together, y comes first; il y en a trois - there are three of them
Reflexive pronouns: the reflexive pronoun comes first; je me le demande - I wonder about it
Causative faire (faire+infinitive; used when the subject has a second person do a job for them): object pronouns precede faire; je le lui fais réparer - I have him repair it
Imperative with en: when following a pronoun ending in a vowel, an apostrophe is used; donne-m’en - give me some (not donne-moi-en)
Negation: pronouns remain between ne + verb (or + infinitive in compound structures); je ne le lui ai pas donné - I didn’t give it to him
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