PrepMyFrench
PrepMyFrench
Personal pronouns (pronoms personnels) are used to refer to people or to replace a noun or phrase that has already been mentioned. The personal pronoun changes depending on its role in the sentence.
Subject pronouns indicate who or what is performing the action of the verb.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| 1je (j') | I |
| 2tu | you (singular, informal) |
| 3il / elle / on | he / she / one |
| 4nous | we |
| 5vous | you (plural / formal) |
| 6ils / elles | they (masc. / fem.) |
Stressed pronouns (pronoms toniques) are used for emphasis, after prepositions, or when the pronoun stands alone.
Object pronouns replace the direct or indirect object of a verb. They are placed before the conjugated verb.
Object pronouns are placed before the conjugated verb in French, not after it like in English.
Je le vois. = I see him.
Je te vois tous les matins au café.
I see you every morning at the café.
Elle lui a donné son numéro de téléphone.
She gave him/her her phone number.
Nous les avons invités à la fête.
We invited them to the party.
Tu peux me passer le sel, s'il te plaît ?
Can you pass me the salt, please?
Je ne le sais pas encore.
I don't know it yet.
Donne-la-moi !
Give it to me!
Je vois elle.
Je la vois.
Direct object pronouns go BEFORE the verb in French: Je la vois, not Je vois elle. The only exception is the affirmative imperative, where they go AFTER: Regarde-la! This is the single most common word-order error English speakers make.
Je lui ai donné le livre à Marie.
J'ai donné le livre à Marie. / Je le lui ai donné.
Don't use both an indirect object pronoun AND the prepositional phrase: 'Je lui ai donné à Marie' is redundant. Either keep the full phrase (à Marie) OR replace it with lui — not both. This is called 'pronoun doubling' and is ungrammatical.
Me et te, nous sommes amis.
Toi et moi, nous sommes amis.
Me, te, le, la, etc. are OBJECT pronouns only — they cannot be subjects. For compound subjects, use the stressed pronouns: Toi et moi (NOT Me et toi), Lui et elle (NOT Le et la). Object pronouns are never in subject position.
🎉 The Pronoun Party Line
Think of French object pronouns like guests arriving at a party — they always arrive BEFORE the verb (the main event). The order they enter: first come the 'me/te/se/nous/vous' crowd, then 'le/la/les,' then 'lui/leur,' then 'y,' finally 'en' at the back. In commands (impératif), the party reverses — pronouns follow the verb with hyphens: Donne-le-moi!
Pronoun placement is heavily tested at A2 and B1 in TEF/TCF. At A2, examiners check direct/indirect object pronoun placement (before the verb). At B1, double object pronoun order is tested: me/te/se/nous/vous → le/la/les → lui/leur → y → en. B2 adds pronoun placement with the imperative (Donne-le-moi vs Ne me le donne pas). The me/te → moi/toi transformation in affirmative commands is a classic B1 exam trap.
Two friends after a party:
Tu as vu Marie hier soir ? Je ne l'ai pas trouvée.
Si, je l'ai vue ! Elle m'a parlé de toi. Elle te cherche partout.
Vraiment ? Je lui enverrai un message. Tu peux me donner son numéro ?
Bien sûr, je te le donne tout de suite.
Practice French personal pronouns (subject, object, stressed) with 25 interactive questions on PrepMyFrench. Instant scoring with explanations for each answer.
Write a text using French object pronouns (le, la, lui, leur, y, en) in the correct position. Get instant AI feedback from PrepMyFrench, scored to TEF/TCF criteria.