Reference · module 10
Him, her, them
Everything this module explains, on one page.
Le, la, les
Replace a noun with le, la or les to avoid repeating it.
- Le, la and les also mean him, her, it and them. Tu vois le bus ? — Oui, je le vois. The pronoun replaces the noun that the verb acts on.
- The pronoun goes before the verb, not after it: je la connais — I know her; nous les aimons — we like them. In the negative: je ne la connais pas.
- Before a vowel le and la become l': je l'aime, tu l'attends. With aller + infinitive the pronoun goes before the infinitive: je vais le faire.
The mistake you are about to make
Je vois le.
Je le vois.
English says I see it, with it after the verb. French puts the pronoun before the verb: je le vois.
Lui and leur
Say to him, to her and to them with lui and leur.
- When a verb takes à before a person, the pronoun is lui for one person and leur for several: je parle à Marie → je lui parle; je parle à mes parents → je leur parle.
- Lui means both to him and to her. Common verbs with à: parler à, téléphoner à, donner à, écrire à, répondre à, demander à.
- Like le and la, lui and leur come before the verb: je leur écris. Do not confuse leur the pronoun with leur, their: leur maison — their house.
The mistake you are about to make
Je la téléphone.
Je lui téléphone.
English call her takes a direct object. French téléphoner à takes à, so the pronoun is lui.
Y and en
Use y for places and en for quantities.
- Y replaces a place introduced by à, en or chez: tu vas à Paris ? — Oui, j'y vais. It means there, and like other pronouns it goes before the verb.
- En replaces a noun after du, de la, des or a number: tu veux du café ? — Oui, j'en veux. Tu as des enfants ? — J'en ai deux.
- Il y en a means there is some or there are some: il y a du pain ? — Oui, il y en a. Il n'y en a plus — there is none left.
The mistake you are about to make
J'ai deux.
J'en ai deux.
English I have two stands alone. French needs en to stand for the missing noun: j'en ai deux.