The Imperative of Reflexive Verbs

Reflexive pronouns follow the same rules in commands as direct and indirect object pronouns. Review the imperative here.

In negative commands, reflexive pronouns appear in their usual position before the verb.

• Ne t’inquiète pas. | Don’t worry.
• Ne nous dépêchons pas. | Let’s not hurry.
• Ne vous fâchez pas. | Don’t get angry.

In affirmative commands, reflexive pronouns are placed after the verb and attached to it by a hyphen in writing. The pronoun te changes to toi when it follows the verb in an affirmative command.

• Lève-toi et mets-toi en route. | Get up and start your trip.
• Approchons-nous de la place. | Let’s go over to the plaza.
• Asseyez-vous avec moi. | Sit down with me.

Additional reflexive verbs often used in the imperative:

• s’organiser | to get organised
• se disputer | to quarrel, argue
• se faire mal | to hurt each other
• se préparer | to get ready
• se salir | to get dirty

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Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Merci à vous !

Courtney

Sentence Building – Sentences with Direct Object Pronouns

Direct object nouns can be replaced by direct object pronouns.

The direct object pronouns for first and second person:

	Singular	Plural
First Person	me	nous
Second Person	te	vous

The pronouns me and te become m’ and t’ before a vowel.

• Tu veux m’accompagner ? | Do you want to go with me?
• Oui, je t’accompagne volontiers. | Yes, I’ll go with you gladly.

Direct object pronouns in French precede the conjugated verb.

• Vous me quittez maintenant ? | Are you leaving me now?
• Non, je vous raccompagne. | No, I’ll walk you home.

If there are two verbs, one conjugated and one in the infinitive form, the direct object pronoun follows the conjugated verb and precedes the infinitive.

• Tu peux nous déposer en ville ? | Can you drop us off downtown?
• Oui, bien sûr. Je vais vous laisser près de la gare. | Yes, of course. I’ll leave you near the train station.

In a negative sentence, the direct object pronoun follows ne.

• Vous ne me reconnaissez pas ? | You don’t recognise me?
• Non, je regrette, mais je ne vous reconnais pas du tout. | No, I’m sorry, but I don’t recognise you at all.

In verb + infinitive constructions, direct object pronouns follow pas when the conjugated verb is negative.

• Ce film ne m’intéresse pas. Je ne vais pas t’accompagner au cinéma.
  • That movie doesn’t interest me. I’m not going to go with you to the movies.
• Je ne sais pas pourquoi il ne veut pas vous contacter.
  • I don’t know why he doesn’t want to get in touch with you.

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In the third person, direct object pronouns are the same for people and things.

	Singular	Plural
Third Person Masculine	le (l’)	les
Third Person Feminine	la (l’)	les

Masculine singular direct object nouns are replaced by le. Feminine singular direct object nouns are replaced by la. All plural direct object nouns are replaced by les. The direct object pronouns le and la become l’ before a vowel.

• Tu ne manges pas le yaourt ? | Aren’t you eating the yogurt?
  • Non, je ne le mange pas. Il est abîmé. | No, I’m not eating it. It’s spoiled.
• Tu emmènes David au cinéma ? | Are you taking David to the movies?
  • Non, je l’emmène au cirque. | No, I’m taking him to the circus.
• Voici la note. | Here’s the bill.
  • Moi, je vais la régler. | I’ll pay (= settle) it.
• Ce cadeau est de Marylène ? | Is this gift from Marylène?
  • Oui, je dois la remercier. | Yes, I have to thank her.
• Ils comprennent les exemples ? | Do they understand the examples?
  • Oui, ils les comprennent. | Yes, they understand them.
• Tu vas voir tes amis aujourd’hui ? | Are you going to see your friends today?
  • Oui, je vais les retrouver au café. | Yes, I’m going to meet them at the café.

All direct object pronouns can be used before voici and voilà.

• Tu n’as pas la photo ? | You don’t have the photo?
  • Si, je l’ai. La voici. | Yes, I do have it. Here it is.
• Je cherche les enfants. Tu les vois ? | I’m looking for the children. Do you see them?
  • Oui, les voilà, dans le jardin. | Yes, there they are, in the garden.

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I hope everyone has a great week!

Merci à vous !

Courtney

The Pronoun “En” – Questions & Responses

Today we’re going even further with the pronoun en.

Questions with an Indefinite Noun	Responses with the Pronoun “en”
Est-ce que tu as une sœur ?	Oui, j’en ai une.
Est-ce que tu as un frère ?	Oui, j’en ai deux.
Est-ce que tu as des enfants ?	Non, je n’en ai pas.
Est-ce que tu fais de la natation ?	Oui, j’en fais de temps en temps.
Est-ce que tu fais du jogging ?	Non, je n’en fais pas.
Est-ce que vous allez avoir des enfants quand vous serez mariés ?	Oui, probablement, nous allons en avoir.
Est-ce que vous allez beaucoup d’enfants quand vous serez mariés ?	Non, probablement, nous n’allons pas en avoir beaucoup.
Est-ce que tu as des cousins en Californie ?	Oui, j’en ai en Californie.
Est-ce que tu as des cousins au Canada ?	Non, je n’en ai pas au Canada.

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Have a great week, everyone!

Merci à vous !

Courtney

Expressions with “Tout”

Tout à coup

• Soudainement, brusquement
  • English translation: suddenly

Tout à fait

• Absolument, exactement conforme à sa pensée
  • English translation: absolutely

Tout à l’heure

• à l’instant, aussitôt, dans un instant, tout de suite
  • English translation: just now

Tout comme

• de la même façon que
  • English translation: just like

Tout court

• sans rien ajouter après
  • English translation: just, plain, simply, plainly

Tout un chacun

• n’importe qui, sans distinction
  • English translation: every one of us/you/them

Tout d’abord

• en priorité, avant toute chose
  • English translation: first, in the first place

Tout de même

• malgré tout, néanmoins, cependant
  • English translation: all the same

Tout de suite

• immédiatement, en ce moment
  • English translation: immediately

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Would it be interesting for my readers if we read some news articles? It wouldn’t be all the time and it would take the place of a weekly lesson. Let me know! Have a great week, everyone!

Merci à vous !

Courtney

Titles and Modes of Address

All (adult) strangers should be addressed as Monsieur, Madame, Mademoiselle. This rule applies to both adults and children.

• Pardon, Madame, vous pourriez m’indiquer la gare ?
• Excuse me, ma’am, could you show me the way to the station?

People in particular professional positions – priest, mayor, M.P. – should be addressed as:

• Monsieur le curé
• Madame le maire
• Monsieur le deputé

When addressing someone you have already met, you may have to choose between surname and first name. While the younger generation tend to use first names as freely a the English/Americans, with older people, be cautious about dropping courtesy titles unless you are invited to do so. Because of the complexity of the choice between tu and vous, some older people may be reluctant to rush onto first-name terms.

To make a polite reference in the third person to someone, use the following:

• le monsieur | the gentleman/the man
• la dame | the lady
• la jeune femme | the lady/young lady (approximately 18-40 years old)
• la jeune fille | the young lady (approximately 12-20 years old)

Note: la fille is not a polite way to refer to a girl (roughly translated as “chick”). But groups of young people may be described as les gars (the guys) and les filles (the girls).

For more on this topic, check out my previous post Tu or Vous.

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Enjoy your week!

A la prochaine…

Courtney

Order & Placement of Double Object Pronouns

English doesn’t allow a direct and indirect object pronoun to occur together – the indirect object appears in a prepositional phrase beginning with to or for when a direct object is present. Ex: I gave it to him.

In French, double object pronouns are very common.

When the indirect object pronoun is a first or second person pronoun, the indirect object pronoun precedes the direct object pronoun. Thus, me, te, nous, and vous precede le, la, l’, and les.

• J’ai besoin du livre de biologie. Tu me le prêtes ? | I need the biology book. Will you lend it to me?
  • Je te le passe demain. | I’ll give it to you tomorrow.
• On dit que vous avez fait de belles photos pendant votre voyage. Vous pouvez nous les montrer ? | They say you took some beautiful photos during your trip. Can you show them to us?
  • Bien sûr. On va vous les envoyer par e-mail. | Of course. We’ll send them to you by email.

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When the indirect object is third-person singular or plural, it follows the direct object pronoun. Thus, le, la, and les precede lui and leur.

• Ils ne comprenaient pas la leçon, mais le prof la leur a expliquée. | They didn’t understand the lesson, but the teacher explained it to them.
• Elle voulait voir tes logiciels. Est-ce que tu les lui a envoyés ? | She wanted to see your software packages. Did you send them to her?

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Double object pronouns follow the same rules of position as single object pronouns. They precede the conjugated verb unless there is also an infinitive, in which case they occur between the conjugated verb and the infinitive.

Direct object pronouns cause agreement of the past participle when they appear in double object pronoun constructions.

• Les documents ? Vous ne me les avez pas envoyés. | The documents? You didn’t send them to me.

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The pronouns y and en also appear in double object pronoun constructions. The pronoun y usually appears with a direct object pronoun, and the direct object pronoun precedes the word y. Possible combinations are as follows:

m’y	nous y
t’y	vous y
l’y	les y

Note the elisions of me, te, le, and la before y.

• J’étais à la bibliothèque aujourd’hui. | I was at the library today.
  • Je sais. Je t’y ai vue. | I know, I saw you there.
• Les enfants aiment aller à la piscine. | The children like to go to the pool.
  • Je les y emmène souvent. | I often take them there.

The pronoun en usually appears with an indirect object pronoun, and the indirect object pronoun precedes the word en. Possible combinations are as follows:

m’en	nous en
t’en	vous en
lui en	leur en

Note the elisions of me, te, le, and la before en. The pronouns y and en may also occur together. When they do, y precedes en.

• Tu trouve des occasions dans ce magasin ? | Did you find bargains at that shop?
  • Oui, j’y en trouve toujours. | Yes, I always find some there.

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Merci à vous !

Courtney

Object Pronouns with the Imperative

In negative commands, object pronouns have their usual position before the verb.

• Ce programme antivirus n’est pas bon. Ne le télécharge pas. | That antivirus program is no good. Don’t download it.
• Cette carte de crédit n’est pas valable. Ne l’accepte pas. | That credit card isn’t valid. Don’t accept it.
• Ces données sont très importantes. Ne les perdons pas. | This data is very important. Let’s not lose it.

In affirmative commands, however, object pronouns follow the command form and are joined to it in writing by a hyphen.

• Ce chapeau est jolie. Essaie-le. | This hat is pretty. Try it on.
• Cette assiette est sale. Lave-la. | This plate is dirty. Wash it.
• Ces fichiers sont importants. Sauvegardons-les. | These files are important. Let’s save them.
• Si vous voulez ce meuble, commandez-le. | If you want this piece of furniture, order it.
• Hélène et Marie veulent rentrer. Raccompagnez-les. | Hélène and Marie want to go home. Walk them home.
• Dites-lui que nous sommes en retard. | Tell him that we’re late.
• Il faut les mettre au courant. Téléphonez-leur. | We have to inform them. Phone them.

The object pronouns me and te (as both direct and indirect object pronouns) become moi and toi when they follow affirmative commands.

• Aide-moi, s’il te plaît. | Help me, please.
• Envoyez-moi un e-mail pour me tenir au courant. | Send me an email to keep me informed.

Toi as an object pronoun appears only with reflexive verbs.

• Lave-toi. | Wash up.
• Brosse-toi les dents. | Brush your teeth.

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Have a great week, everyone!

A la prochaine…

Courtney