An indirect object comes after a preposition that follows the verb. It is called "indirect" because of the intervening preposition. Consider the following:
In a), Jean is a direct object since it follows the verb directly; in b) Jean is an indirect object since there is a preposition between it and the verb. Indirect object pronouns replace the second type of noun, for example:
An indirect object answer the question "to whom?". For example, in the previous example, we can ask "To whom did she speak?" (Robert). We know then that the pronouns that replace these are indirect object pronouns.
French indirect object pronouns appear in the following table:
Unlike English, French indirect object pronouns come immediately before the verb, e.g.:
When used in the passé composé, they precede the verb avoir, e.g.:
However, when used with other conjugated verbs followed by an infinitive, indirect object pronouns come after the first verb and before the infinitive, e.g.:
The one context where indirect object pronouns do in fact follow the verb is in an imperative (a command), e.g.:
Note that, as in the last example, me becomes moi (and te becomes toi) in an imperative. Note also that in imperatives, the indirect object is attached to the verb with a hyphen.
When an indirect object precedes the verb, the past participle does NOT agree with it in number or gender, e.g.:
You can find more information about past participle agreement here.
Q: Why is it je l'aime and NOT je lui aime?
When deciding to choose between lui/leur and le/la/les, replace the pronoun with a noun after the verb, e.g.: J'aime mon père, je parle à ma soeur. In the first sentence, we see that mon père comes right after the verb (there is no à in between). As such, we know that lui is not possible (since lui goes with verbs followed by à. In the second sentence (je parle à ma soeur) however, the verb is followed first by à. As such, lui is the correct pronoun (je lui parle).
Q: Why is it je leur parle and NOT je leurs parle?
There is never an "s" on the indirect object pronoun. The determiner leur can take an "s" if followed by a plural noun, e.g.: leurs amis.
Q: Why is it on lui parle and NOT on parle à elle?
Almost all verbs require that the indirect object pronoun precedes them.
Q: Why is it je pense à lui and NOT je lui pense?
This is an exception. While almost all verbs require that the pronoun precedes, the verb penser requires human direct objects to follow it.
Replace the noun in italics with the correct pronoun:
Replace the italicized word with a pronoun (direct or indirect):
Replace the italicized word with the correct pronoun:
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