Here are in the table bellow the different indirect object pronouns in the French language and their equivalent in English:
| Personal pronouns | Indirect object pronouns | Pronouns in English |
|---|---|---|
| Je | Me, t’ | Me |
| Tu | Te, t’ | You |
| Il, elle, on | Lui | His, her, its |
| Nous | Nous | Us |
| Vous | Vous | You |
| Ils, elles | Leur | 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 “à qui ?” (to who) or “à quoi ?” (to what) after the verb.
For examples:
- Je parle à mon ami. Je parle (à qui ?) à mon ami. Je lui parle.
- I talk to my friend. I talk (to whom?) to my friend. I talk to him.
The following table shows the phrase structure for the main French tenses:
| Présent | Personal pronoun | Indirect object pronouns | Verb | |||
| Je | lui | parle | ||||
| Passé composé | Personal pronoun | Indirect object pronouns | Auxiliary | Past participe | ||
| Je | lui | ai | parlé | |||
| Imparfait | Personal pronoun | Indirect object pronouns | Verb | |||
| Je | lui | parlais | ||||
| Futur proche | Personal pronoun | Verb | Indirect object pronouns | Infinitive | ||
| Je | vais | lui | parler | |||
| Futur simple | Personal pronoun | Indirect object pronouns | Verb | |||
| Je | lui | parlerai |
Here is a list of common verbs which use the indirect object pronouns:
- Parler à (to talk)
- Téléphoner à (to call)
- Demander à (to ask)
- Répondre à (to answer)
- Dire à (to say)
- Écrire à (to write)
Read my post about direct object pronouns here.
You can practise using indirect object pronouns here or using different types of pronouns here.
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