French Direct Objects and Direct Object Pronouns

French Direct Objects and Direct Object Pronouns Direct objects are the people or things in a sentence that receive the action of the verb. To find the direct object in a sentence, ask the question Who? or What?: Je vois Pierre. – I see Pierre. (Who do I see? – Pierre)Je mange le pain. – Im eating the bread. (What am I eating? – bread) Direct object pronouns are the words that replace the direct object to avoid repetition. If it werent for direct object pronouns, we would be saying things like Marie was at the bank today. When I saw Marie, I smiled. Instead, we usually say Marie was at the bank today. When I saw her, I smiled. The use of direct object pronouns makes sentences sound more natural. The Direct Object Pronouns The French direct object pronouns are: Me / m  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  meTe / t  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ youLe / l   Ã¢â‚¬â€œ him, itLa / l  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  her, itNous  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  usVous  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  youLes  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ them Me and te change to m and t, respectively, in front of a vowel or mute H. Le and la both change to l. Like indirect object pronouns, French direct object pronouns are placed in front of the verb. Je le mange. – Im eating it.Il la voit. – He sees her.  Je taime. – I love you.Tu maimes. – You love me. General Rules Four main constructions use the French neuter object pronoun. 1. To Replace or Refer to an Idea Contained in an Adjective, Noun, or Clause This is the case in the following examples: Si tu es  satisfait, je  le  suis aussi. – If youre  satisified, I am too.Êtes-vous  amà ©ricain?  Oui, je  le  suis. – Are you  American? Yes, I am.Il est  espion!  Non, il ne  lest pas. –  Hes a  spy!  No, hes not.Il taime. Jespà ¨re que tu  le  comprends. – He loves you. I hope you understand  that.  Ã‚  Je vais me venger. Je  le  jure! – ​I will get revenge. I swear  it! 2. In the Second Clause of a Comparison This is the case after  the words aussi,  autre,  autrement,  comme,  plus,  moins,  mieux. Note that the  ne  which shows up in the second clause of many of these examples is also optional. Il est plus  grand  que je ne  le  croyais. – Hes  taller  than I thought.Cela  vaut  moins que tu ne  le  penses. – Thats  worth  less than you think.Elle est  autre  quil ne  lespà ©rait. – Shes  different  than he hoped.Il nest pas aussi  stupide  quon  le  croit. – Hes not  as stupid  as people think.Ce nest pas gentil de  parler des autres  comme tu  le  fais. – Its not nice to  talk about others  like you do. 3. With Negative Expressions of Opinion and Desire: Ne Pas Penser, Ne Pas Vouloir, Ne Pas Croire Va-t-il  venir?  Je ne  le  pense pas. – Is he going to come?  I dont think so.Allez,  viens  avec nous!  Je ne  le  veux pas. – Come on, come with us! I dont want to. 4. With the Verbs Croire, Devoir, Dire, Falloir, Oser, Penser,  Pouvoir,  Savoir,  Vouloir Comme vous  le  dites,  ce  nest pas juste. – As you say,  its not fair.Viens  quand tu  le  pourras. – Come  when you can.Il pourrait  aider  sil  le  voulait. –  He could  help  if he wanted to. Tips and Notes When a direct object precedes a verb conjugated into a compound tense such as the passà © composà ©, the past participle has to agree with the direct object.   If youre having trouble deciding between direct and indirect objects, the general rule is that if the person or thing is preceded by a preposition, that person is an indirect object. If its not preceded by a preposition, it is a direct object.