Here are in the table bellow the different direct object pronouns in the French language and their equivalent in English:
| Personal pronouns | Direct object pronouns | Pronouns in English |
|---|---|---|
| Je | Me, t’ | Me |
| Tu | Te, t’ | You |
| Il, elle, on | Le, la, l’ | His, her, its |
| Nous | Nous | Us |
| Vous | Vous | You |
| Ils, elles | Les | Them |
To find out wether or not a verb need a direct object pronouns or an indirect object pronouns you can ask yourself the question “qui ?” (who?) or “quoi ?” (what?) after the verb.
For examples:
- J’aide mon ami. J’aide (qui ?) mon ami. Je l’aide.
- I help my friend. I help (who?) my friend. I help him.
- Je mange un fruit. Je mange (quoi ?) un fruit. Je le mange.
- I eat a fruit. I eat (what?) a fruit. I eat it.
The following table shows the phrase structure for the main French tenses:
| Présent | Personal pronoun | Direct object pronouns | Verb | |||
| Je | l’ | aide | ||||
| Passé composé | Personal pronoun | Direct object pronouns | Auxiliary | Past participe | ||
| Je | l’ | ai | aidé | |||
| Imparfait | Personal pronoun | Direct object pronouns | Verb | |||
| Je | l’ | aidais | ||||
| Futur proche | Personal pronoun | Verb | Direct object pronouns | Infinitive | ||
| Je | vais | l’ | aider | |||
| Futur simple | Personal pronoun | Direct object pronouns | Verb | |||
| Je | l’ | aiderai |
Read my post about indirect object pronouns here.
You can practise using direct object pronouns here.
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