French Pronouns: Complete Guide
Pronouns are essential in French because they avoid repetition and signal register. From subject pronouns to direct and indirect object pronouns, relative pronouns and adverbial pronouns, this guide covers every type that appears in the DELF.
Subject personal pronouns
The subject pronouns are: je (I), tu (you, informal), il/elle/on (he/she/one), nous (we), vous (you plural / formal singular), ils/elles (they). The pronoun on deserves special attention: in casual French it replaces nous (On mange ensemble = We eat together). Vous can be plural or a formal singular. In the DELF oral exam, using tu with an examiner is a serious error of register: always use vous.
Direct object pronouns (COD)
Direct object pronouns replace the direct object: me/m' (me), te/t' (you), le/la/l' (him/it/her/it), nous (us), vous (you), les (them). They are placed BEFORE the conjugated verb: Je lis le livre → Je le lis. In the affirmative imperative, they go AFTER the verb with a hyphen: Lis-le! In the negative, they return to their earlier position: Ne le lis pas. With an infinitive, they go before the infinitive: Je vais le lire.
Indirect object pronouns (COI)
Indirect object pronouns replace a complement introduced by the preposition 'à': me/m', te/t', lui (to him/her), nous, vous, leur (to them). Examples: Je parle à Marie → Je lui parle. Il obéit à ses parents → Il leur obéit. Watch out: avec, chez, pour + person use stressed pronouns (moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles), not COI pronouns: Je pense à lui (not *Je lui pense).
The pronouns y and en
Y replaces a location phrase or a complement introduced by the preposition à (when it doesn't refer to a person): Je vais à Paris → J'y vais. Il pense à son projet → Il y pense. En replaces a complement introduced by de (quantity, origin, or the partitive): Tu veux du café? → Oui, j'en veux. Il parle de son travail → Il en parle. Their position is the same as other pronouns: before the conjugated verb.
Relative pronouns: qui, que, dont, où
Relative pronouns join two clauses. Qui is the subject of the subordinate verb: L'homme qui parle est mon père (The man who is speaking is my father). Que is a direct object: Le livre que je lis est intéressant (The book I'm reading is interesting). Dont replaces a complement introduced by de: Le film dont je parle est sorti hier (The film I'm talking about came out yesterday). Où indicates place or time: La ville où je suis né (The city where I was born), Le jour où il est arrivé (The day he arrived). At DELF B2, using dont correctly (instead of incorrectly using *de qui or *duquel) shows advanced command.
Practice exercises
1Replace the direct object: 'Est-ce que tu connais ___ cette chanson? (cette chanson)'
2Which is correct? 'Je parle ___ mes parents tous les jours.'
3Elige el pronombre relativo: 'C'est le problème ___ tout le monde parle.'
4Pronombre 'y': '_____ tu vas souvent au gymnase?'
Common mistakes to avoid
- Placing the pronoun after the verb, as English word order would suggest: *Je lis le (incorrect) instead of Je le lis — French pronouns go before the verb, unlike English object pronouns.
- Confusing lui (singular COI) with le (masculine singular COD): Je lui donne vs Je le vois.
- Missing that leur can be both a possessive adjective and a pronoun: leur ami (their friend, possessive) vs je leur parle (I speak to them, pronoun).
- Not using dont when the verb requires the preposition de — English relative clauses don't distinguish this the way French does: *C'est l'homme que je parle instead of dont je parle.
DELF exam tips
- Word order with two pronouns: me/te/nous/vous (COI) come BEFORE le/la/les (COD): je te le donne. But with lui/leur it's reversed: le/la/les come first: je le lui donne. Learn it as: me/te/nous/vous + le/la/les; le/la/les + lui/leur.
- In the DELF oral exam, using COD/COI pronouns correctly avoids repetition and raises your linguistic level.
- Dont appears very frequently in formal texts and comprehension tests: recognize it and remember it replaces 'de + noun phrase'.
- In the affirmative imperative: Donne-moi (give me, not *me donne), but in the negative: Ne me donne pas.