Get Acquainted With French Pronouns & Add Flow To Your Sentences

Ready to boost your grammar skills with the help of French pronouns? Then let’s get to it!

Personal Pronouns

Pronoms personnels (personal pronouns) act as a replacement for nouns. They refer either to people (who) or things (what), and take on a variety of different forms depending on whether they correspond to a subject or an object.

Personal Subject Pronouns

Also known as pronoms personnels sujets, these are the most basic pronouns which majorly contribute towards conjugation in French. They replace the subject in a sentence, and can be used when talking about someone whose name is unknown or to avoid repetition.

Example:

Michelle se repose car elle est fatiguée (Michelle is resting as she is tired)

Stressed Pronouns

Also known as pronoms disjoints/toniques, their purpose is to place emphasis on the speaker or whoever is being spoken about. Let’s see in which instances they’re used.

• If a sentence is comprised of more than one subject

Example:
Vous et moi devrions regarder un film ensemble (You and I should watch a film together)

• Following prepositions

Example:
Tu es assis derrière elle (You are sitting behind her)

• Following C’est / Ce sont

Example:
C’est nous qui t’avons oublié (It’s us who forgot you)

• For comparisons

Example:
Becca est plus douce que lui (Becca is sweeter than him)

• For interrogation

Example:
J’y vais, et vous? (I’m going, are you?)

• To imply possession

Example:
C’est leur chat (This is their cat)

From all these examples, let’s curate a table for French stressed pronouns.

Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns ( pronoms réfléchis ) are always accompanied by a reflexive verb and agree with the subject. Reflexive verbs depict an action that someone does to themselves. Reflexive pronouns are always placed between the subject and the verb.

Example:
Il s’habille maintenant (He’s getting dressed now)

Direct Object Pronouns

Direct object pronouns ( pronoms objets directs ) replace the object (who/what) of the verb in a sentence. They are always placed before the verb in question, and have to agree with the gender and number of the object.

Example:
Tu as vu la robe en premier, mais je l’achète (You saw the dress first, but I’m buying it)

Watch the video below for a quick recap on Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns

Indirect Object Pronouns

The way to distinguish these from the direct object pronouns is to remember that indirect object pronouns  ( pronoms objets indirects )  only replace the object (who/what) in a sentence when they’re before a preposition.

Example:
Elle leur donnera les clés (She will give them the keys)

If you look carefully, the third person singular ( Le/La/L’ and Lui ) and the third person plural ( Les and Leur ) of direct and indirect pronouns are the most different. Keep an eye out for them as to not mix them up!

Impersonal Pronouns

While personal pronouns agree with the grammatical person, impersonal pronouns ( pronoms impersonnels ) do not.

Relative Pronouns

Relative pronouns  ( pronoms relatifs ) act as conjunctions between a main clause ( proposition principale ) and a subordinate clause ( proposition subordonnée )

•  Qui (who/that)

Replaces the subject (a person or a thing) in the subordinate clause.

Example:
Elle voudrait quelqu’un qui croit en elle
(She would like someone who believes in her)

• Dont (whose/that)

Replaces de + person/thing in a subordinate clause.

Example:
Le noir est la seule chose dont j’ai peur  instead of Le noir est la seule chose j’ai peur de which is incorrect.
(The dark is the only thing that I’m afraid of)

• Lequel/Laquelle/Lesquels/Lesquelles (Which)

Replaces an indirect object that comes after a preposition.

Example:
Quelle pomme veux-tu? Laquelle veux-tu?
(Which apple do you want? Which one do you want?)

• Où (Where)

Used to refer to a place.

Example:
Où se trouvent les toilettes?
(Where is the bathroom?)

• Que (That)

Replaces the direct object in a subordinate clause.

Example:
C’est la bague qu’il a donnée
(That’s the ring that he gave)

Indefinite Pronouns

When it comes to indefinite pronouns ( pronoms indéfinis ) they can act as the subject of a sentence, a preposition or as an object of a verb. They’re basically multi-purpose which couldn’t be more useful! Let’s look at a few:

Example:
Je ne vois rien (I don’t see anything) -> rien is the indefinite pronoun

Adverbial Pronouns

Since there is no such thing as these in English, they unfortunately can’t be directly translated for the sake of easier understanding. That being said, they might sound tricky to get your head around but they are pretty straightforward when you get to the bottom of them.

‘ Y ‘

This adverbial pronoun ( pronom adverbial ) replaces any indirect object only if it’s introduced by à (+ its variants = à l’, à la, au, aux ). It’s always placed before the conjugated verb.

Two instances in which this pronoun is used:

a) replacing a designated place (most common)
b) inanimate objects

Example:
J’étudie à Berlin -> J’y étudie
(I study in Berlin) -> (I study there)

‘ En ‘

En replaces any indirect object only if it’s introduced by de ( + its variants = du, de la, de l’, des )

Example:
Il écrit deux lettres -> Il en écrit deux
(He writers two letters) -> (He writes two of them)

It can also be used to replace a designated place.

Il vient du magasin -> Il en vient
(He comes from the shop) -> (He comes from there)

Impersonal Subject Pronouns

There are two impersonal subject pronouns which are used in French: ce and il. The first one is usually used in an informal context, and both replace the impersonal pronoun “it”.

Example:
C’est fait (It is done)

And that brings the chapter on French pronouns to an end!

See you next lesson – and in the meantime, don’t forget to practice!  If you do need any help, don’t hesitate to get into contact with one of our online French Tutors.