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.
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?
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.
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:
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m’y
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nous y
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t’y
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vous y
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l’y
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les y
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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:
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m’en
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nous en
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t’en
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vous en
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lui en
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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.
Merci à vous !
Courtney
Learn French Avec Moi 