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PrepMyFrench
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COD (complément d'objet direct) pronouns — me, te, le/la, nous, vous, les — replace a direct object noun. COI (complément d'objet indirect) pronouns — me, te, lui, nous, vous, leur — replace an indirect object (introduced by à). Both go before the conjugated verb (or auxiliary). When both appear together, the order is me/te/se/nous/vous before le/la/les before lui/leur. In the imperative affirmative, they follow the verb: donne-le-moi.
| Person | COD | Replaces |
|---|---|---|
| 1st sing. | me (m') | me — Tu me vois. |
| 2nd sing. | te (t') | you — Je te comprends. |
| 3rd sing. masc. | le (l') | him / it — Je le vois. |
| 3rd sing. fem. | la (l') | her / it — Je la connais. |
| 1st pl. | nous | us — Il nous appelle. |
| 2nd pl. | vous | you — Je vous aide. |
| 3rd pl. | les | them — Je les ai vus. |
| Person | COI | Replaces (à + person) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st sing. | me (m') | à moi — Tu me parles. |
| 2nd sing. | te (t') | à toi — Je te téléphone. |
| 3rd sing. | lui | à lui/elle — Je lui parle. |
| 1st pl. | nous | à nous — Il nous écrit. |
| 2nd pl. | vous | à vous — Je vous réponds. |
| 3rd pl. | leur | à eux/elles — Je leur donne. |
SUBJECT + COD/COI + VERB | SUBJECT + COD/COI + AUX + PAST PART.
Object pronouns always go immediately before the verb they depend on. In compound tenses, that means before the auxiliary: je l'ai vu, je lui ai parlé. With an infinitive, the pronoun goes before the infinitive: je veux le voir, je dois lui parler.
Je le vois tous les jours.
I see him every day.
Elle leur a envoyé un message.
She sent them a message.
Nous les avons aidés.
We helped them.
Il ne m'écoute pas.
He isn't listening to me.
Tu veux la rencontrer ?
Do you want to meet her?
la before the infinitive, not before veux
me/te/se/nous/vous → le/la/les → lui/leur → y → en
When two pronouns appear together, they follow a fixed order. The most common combinations are COI + COD: il me le donne (he gives it to me), and COD + COI with lui/leur: je le lui ai dit (I told it to him). This double-pronoun order is one of the hardest things to master but it appears in virtually every B2 exam.
Il me l'a donné.
He gave it to me.
Je le lui ai expliqué.
I explained it to him/her.
Elle nous les a montrés.
She showed them to us.
past participle agrees with les (COD before auxiliary)
COD vs COI depends on the verb, not on English. Téléphoner à quelqu'un takes COI: je lui téléphone (not "je le téléphone"). Regarder quelqu'un takes COD: je le regarde (not "je lui regarde"). Always check whether the French verb uses à or not.
Past participle agreement: with avoir, the past participle agrees with a COD that precedes it: les pommes que j'ai achetées, je les ai vues. This rule does not apply to COI — no agreement with lui or leur.
In affirmative imperatives, pronouns follow the verb and me/te become moi/toi: donne-le-moi, assieds-toi. In negative imperatives, normal order resumes: ne me le donne pas.
COD/COI pronouns are the backbone of B1–B2 speaking and writing. In TEF speaking tasks, you gain points by replacing repeated nouns with pronouns: instead of saying "j'ai vu le film, le film est intéressant," say "je l'ai vu, il est intéressant." In writing, correct double-pronoun placement (je le lui ai dit) is a strong competence signal. In comprehension, understanding what le, la, les, lui, leur refer to is essential — many multiple-choice questions test exactly this.
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Check whether the verb is followed by à + person. If yes, use COI (lui/leur): parler à → je lui parle. If the verb takes a direct noun with no preposition, use COD (le/la/les): voir quelqu'un → je le vois. A good dictionary always indicates this.
Before the infinitive, not before the conjugated verb: je veux le faire (not "je le veux faire"). The pronoun attaches to the verb it logically belongs to.
No. Past participle agreement with avoir only applies to a preceding COD. With COI (lui, leur), there is never agreement: je leur ai parlé (not parlés). This is a very common exam trap.