Pronom personnel (Personal pronouns)

There are 4 categories of personal pronouns:

• subject pronouns
• object pronouns
• disjunctive pronouns
• reflexive pronouns

Subject pronouns

Note:

• je changes to j' before a vowel or a silent h

    -j'ai honte(I'm ashamed)
    -j'adore les frites(I love fries)
    -j'habite en Ecosse(I live in Scotland)
  

• tu and vous; vous can be plural or singular; it is used when speaking to more than one person(plural), or to a stranger or an older person(singular)

    -vous venez, les gars?(are you coming guys?)
    -vous parlez l'anglais, Monsieur?(do you speak English, sir?)
  

Note : tu is used when speaking to a friend, a relative, a younger person, or someone you know well

-tu viens, Marc?(are you coming, Marc?)

• il/ils, elle/elles may refer to people, animals or things, and must be of the same gender as the noun they replace

    -ton stylo? il est là(your pen? there it is)
    -ta montre? elle est là(your watch? there it is)
    -tes gants? ils sont là(your gloves? there they are)
    -tes lunettes? elle sont là(your glasses? there they are)
  

When referring to several nouns of different gender, french uses the masculine plural ils

-tu as vu le stylo et la montre de Marie? - oui, ils sont dans son sac(have you seen Marie's pen and watch? - yes, they are in her bag)

• On refer last section of chapter Adjectifs et pronoms indéfinis (Indefinite adjectives and pronouns)

Object pronouns

• direct object pronouns
• indirect object pronouns
• the pronouns en and y

*Note: *

• me, te, le and la change to m', t' and l' befoer vowel and silent h

  -il m'énerve!(he gets on my nerves!) -je m'habitueraià lui(I will get used to him)

• te and vous the same distinction should be made as between the subject pronouns tu and vous(previous section)

• le is sometimes used in an impersonal sense, when it refers to a fact, a statement or an idea which has already been expressed; it is usually not translated in English -j'irai en Amérique un jour; en tout cas je l'espère(I'll go to America one day; I hope so anyway) -elle a eu un bébé - je le sais, elle me l'a dit(she's had a baby - I know, she told me)

• moi and toi are used instead of me and te, except when en follows

    -écris-moi bientôt(write to me soon)
    -donne m'en(give me some)
  

Position

In French, object pronouns come immediately before the verb they refer to. With compound tense, they come before the auxiliary:

-on t'attendra ici(we'll wait for you here)
-je l'ai rencontrée en ville(I met her in town)

Note: When there are 2 verbs, the pronoun comes immediately before the verb it refers to

-j'aimerais lui demander(I would like to ask him)
-tu l'as entendu chanter ?(have you heard him sing?)

In positive commands(affirmative imperative) teh pronoun follows the verb and is joined to it by hyphen:

-regarde-les!(look at them!)
-parle-lui!(speak to him!)
-dis-nous ce qui s'est passé(tell us what happened)

Direct pronouns and indirect pronouns

• Direct object pronouns replace a noun which follows the verb directly, they answer the question 'who(m)?' or 'what'?

    -qui as-tu vu?(who(m) did you see?)
    -j'as vu mon ami; je l'ai vu(I saw my friend; I saw him)
    -tu me connais(you know me)
    -j'aime le voir danser(I like to see him dance)
    -je les ai trouvés(I found them)
    -ne nous ennuie pas!(don't bother us!)
  

• Indirect object pronouns replace a noun which follows the verb with ta linking preposition (usually à (to)), they answer the question 'who(m) to?'

    -à qui as-tu parlé?(who did you speak to?)
    -j'ai parlé à Marc; je lui ai parlé(I spoke to marc; I spoke to him)
    -elle lui a menti(she lied to him)
    -je te donne ce disque(I am giving this record to you)
    -je ne leur parle plus(I am not talking to them any more)
  

• le/la/les or lui/leur

Direct pronouns differ from indirect pronouns only in the 3rd person and that is important

English indirect object pronouns often look like direct object; this becomes obvious when the object is placed at the end of the sentence

    I showed him youe photo -> I showed your photo to him(je lui ai montré ta photo)

This particular case with the following verb

    acheter(to buy)         offrir(to offer)
    donner(to give)         prêter(to lend)
    montrer(to show)        vendre(to sell)

    -je lui ai acheté un livre(I bought him a book)
        I bought a book for him
    -ne leur prête pas mes affraires(don't lend the my things)
        don't lend my things to them

Some verbs take a direct object in English and an indirect object in French(future)

-je ne lui ai rien dit(I did not tell him anything)
-je leur demanderai(I will ask them)
-tu lui ressembles(you look like him)
-téléphone-leur(phone them)

Some verbs take a direct object in French and an indirect object in English(future)

je l'attends(I am waiting for him)
écoutez-les!(listen to them!)

• Order of object pronouns

When several object pronound are used together, they come in the following order

Before the verb

1. me, te, nous, vous
2. le, la, les
3. lui, leur

-il me l'a donné(he gave me it)
-je vais vous les envoyer(I will send them to you)
-ne la leur vends pas(do not sell it to them)
-je le lui ai acheté(I bought it for him)

After the verb

1. le, la, les
2. moi(m'), toi(t'), nous, vous
3. lui, leur

-apporte-les-moi!(bring them to me!)
-prête-la-nous!(lend us it!)
-dites-le lui!(tell him!)
-rends-la leur!(give it back to them!)

The pronoun En

en is used instead of de + noun. Since de has a variety of meanings, en can be used in number of ways

• It means 'of it/them' but also 'with it/them', 'about it/them', 'from it/there', 'out of it/there'

-tu es sûr du prix? - j'en suis sûr(are you of the price? - I'm sure of it)
-je suis content de ce cadeau; j'en suis content(I am happy with this gift; I'm happy with it)
-elle est folle des animaux ; elle en est folle(she is crazy about animaux; she is crazy about them)
-il est decendu du train; il en est descendu(he got off the train; he got off it)
-il revient de Paris; il en revient(he's coming back from Paris; he's coming from there)

• Verb construction

Particular care should be taken with verbs and expressions which are followed by de + noun. Since de is not always translated in the same way en may have a number of meaning

-il a envie de ce livre; il en a envie(he wants this book; he want it)
-je te remercie de ta carte; je t'en remercie(I thank you for your card ; I thank you for it)
-tu as besoin de ces papier? tu en as besoin?(do you need these papers? do you need them)
-elle a peur des chiens; elle en a peur(she's afraid of dogs; she's afraid of them)
-tu te souviens de ce film? tu t'en souviens?(do you remember this film? do you remember it?)

• 'some/any'

en replace the partitive article (du, de la, des) + noun; it means 'some/any'

-tu veux du café? - non, je n'en veux pas(do you want (any coffee)? - no, I don't want any)
-j'achète des fruits? - non, j'en ai chez moi(shall I buy (some) fruits? - no, I've got some at home)
-il y a de la place? - en voilà là-bas(is there's some over there)

• Expressions of quantity

en must be used with the expressions of the quantity not followed by a noun. it replaces de + noun and means 'of it/them', but is rarely translated in English

-tu as pris assez d'argent? tu en as pris assez?(did you take enough money? did you take enough (of it)?)
-vous avez combien de frères? - j'en ai deux(how many brothers so you have? - I've got two)
-j'ai fini mes cigarettes; je vais en acheter un paquet(I've finished my cigarettes; I'm gong to buy a packet)

Position

Like objects pronouns, en comes immediately before the verb, except with positive commands (affirmatve imperative), where it comes after the verbs and is linked by hyphen

-j'en veux un kilo(I want kilo(of it/them))
-j'en ai marre(I'm fed up(with it))
-prends-en assez(take enough(of it/them))
-laisse-en aux autres!(leave some for the others!)

when used in conjuction with other object pronouns, it always comes last

-ne m'en parlez pas!(don't tell me about it!)
-je vous en donnerai(I will give you some)
-prête-lui-en!(lend him some!)
-gardez-nous-en!(keep some for us!)

The pronoun Y

y is used instead of à + noun(not referring to a person). it is used

• as the indirect object of a verb. Since the preposition à is translated in a variety in English, y may have various meanings (it, of it/them, about it/them etc)

-tu oues au tennis? - non j'y joue rarement(do you play tennis? - no I rarely play (it))
-je pense à mes examens; j'y pense souvent(I'm thinking about my exams; I often think about them)
-il s'intéresse à la photo ; il s'y intéresse(he's interested in photography; he's interested in it)

• Meaning 'there'

-j'ai passé deus jour à Londres; j'y ai passé deus jours(I spent two days in London ; I spent two days there)
-il est allé en Grèce ; il y est allé(he went to Greece ; he went there)

Note : y must always be used with th verb aller(to go) when the place is not mentioned in the clause. It is often not translated in English

-comment vas-tu à l'école? - j'y vais en bus(how do you go to school? -I go (there) by bus)
-allons-y!(let's go!)
-on y va demain(we're going(ther) tomorrow)

• Replacing the prepositions en, dans, sur + noun; y then means 'there', 'in it/them', 'on it/them'

-je voudrais vivre en france; je voudrais y vivre(I'd like to live in France ; I'd like to live there)
-je les ai mis dans ma poche; je les y ai mis(I put them in my pocket; I put them there)
-sur la table? non, je ne l'y vois pas(on the table? no, I don't see it there)

• Position

Like other object pronouns, y comes immediately before the verb, except with a positive command where it must follow the verb

-j'y réfléchirai(I'll think about it)
-il s'y est habitué(he got used to it)
-pensez-y!(think about it!)
-n'y allez pas!(don't go!)

When used with other object pronouns, y comes last

-il va nous y recontrer(he will meet us there)
-je l'y ai vu hier(I saw him there yesterday)

Disjunction pronouons

Note:

• toi/vous the same difference should be made as between tu and vous

• soi is used in an impersonal, general sense to refer to indefinite pronouns and adejective(on, chacun, tout le monde, personne, chaque etc) it is mainly found in set phrases, such as

    -chacun pour soi(every man for himself)
  

• Disjunctive pronouns, also called emphatic pronouns, are used instead of object pronouns(only when refering to persons) in the following cases

  • In answer to a question, alone or in a phrase without a verb

    -qui est là? - moi(who is there? - me)
    -j'aime les pommes ; et toi? (I like apples ; do you?)
    -qui préfères-tu, lui ou elle? - elle, bein sûr(who do you prefer, him or her? - her, of course)
    

  • After c'est/ce sont, c'était/étaient etc

    -ouvrez, c'est moi!(open up, it's me!)
    -non, ce n'était pas lui(no, it wasn't him)
    

  • After a preposition

    -vous allez chez lui?(are you going to his place?)
    -tu y vas avec elle?(are you going with her?)
    -regard devant toi!(look in front of you!)
    -oh, c'est pour moi?(oh, is that for me?)
    

  • Verb construction

    -tu peux comter sur moi(you can count on me)
    -quoi! tu as peur de lui?(what! you are afraid of him?)
    -il m'a parlé de toi(he told me about you)
    -je pense souvent à vous(I often think about you)
    

Note: Emphatic pronouns are only used when referring to person. Otherwise use y or en

• for emphasis, particularly when two pronouns are contrasted.The unstressed subject pronoun is usually included

  -vous, vous m'énervez!(you get on my nerves!)
  -lui, il joue bien ; elle, non(him, he plays well ; she doesn't)
  -moi, je n'aime pas l'hiver(I don't like winter)
  -eux, ils sont partis(them, they left)
  

• In the case of multiple subjects (2 pronoouns or one pronoun and one noun)

  -lui et son frère sont dans l'équipe(he and his brother are in the team)
  -ma famille et moi allons très bien(my family and I are very well)
  

• As the second term of comparisons

  -il est plus sympa que toi(he is nicer than you)
  -elle chante mieux que lui(she sings better than he does)
  

• Before a relative pronoun

  -c'est lui que j'aime(he is the one I love)
  -c'est toi qui l'as dit(you're the one who said it)
  -lui qui n'aime pas le vin blanc en a bu six verres(he who doesn't like white wine drank six glasses of it)
  

• With même(s)(slef, selves), aussi(too), seul(alone)

  -faites-le vous-mêmes(do it yourselves)
  -j'irai moi-même(I will go myself)
  -lui aussi est parti(he also left)
  -elle seule le sait(only she knows)
  

• To replace a possessive pronouns(next chapters)

  -c'est le mien ; il est à moi(it is mine; il est à moi)