---
title: "French object pronouns: le, la, lui, leur (direct and indirect)"
description: "When to use le, la, les, lui and leur in French: direct vs indirect objects, where the pronouns go and the mistakes English speakers make."
url: "https://laclassefrancaise.es/en/blog/french-object-pronouns"
lang: "en"
author: "Thierry Gustin"
published: "2026-10-30"
updated: "2026-11-07"
---

# French object pronouns: le, la, lui, leur (direct and indirect)

> **Key takeaways** — In French, le, la and les replace the direct object (COD), with no preposition: je vois Marie, je la vois (I see her). Lui and leur replace an indirect object referring to a person introduced by à (COI): je parle à Marie, je lui parle (I talk to her). The trick is to check whether the French verb takes à, because it does not always match English: écouter quelqu'un (listen to someone), but téléphoner à quelqu'un (phone someone).

English uses the same pronoun whether the object is direct or indirect: "I see **him**", "I talk to **him**", "I give **him** the book". French does not. In French, the choice between **le, la, les** and **lui, leur** depends on whether the verb takes **à** or not. And that construction does not always match the English one, which is where most mistakes come from.

## What is the difference between a COD and a COI?

- The **COD** (*complément d'objet direct*, direct object) has **no preposition**: *Je regarde **le film**.* (I am watching the film.)
- The **COI** (*complément d'objet indirect*, indirect object) is introduced by a preposition, almost always **à**: *Je parle **à mon frère**.* (I am talking to my brother.)

**Direct and indirect object pronouns**

| Person | COD (direct) | COI (indirect) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| I | me (m') | me (m') |
| you (informal) | te (t') | te (t') |
| he / she | **le / la (l')** | **lui** |
| we | nous | nous |
| you (plural or formal) | vous | vous |
| they | **les** | **leur** |

Only the third-person forms change: **le, la, les** for the direct object and **lui, leur** for the indirect object.

## When do you use le, la, les?

With verbs that take **no preposition** in French:

- *Tu connais Pierre ? — Oui, je **le** connais.* (Yes, I know him.)
- *Tu as vu la série ? — Oui, je **l'**ai vue.* (Yes, I have seen it.)
- *Tu invites tes amis ? — Oui, je **les** invite.* (Yes, I am inviting them.)

## When do you use lui, leur?

With verbs that take **à + person**: *parler à, téléphoner à, écrire à, répondre à, demander à, donner à, dire à, sourire à, plaire à*.

- *Tu as parlé à ta mère ? — Oui, je **lui** ai parlé.* (Yes, I talked to her.)
- *Tu écris à tes clients ? — Oui, je **leur** écris.* (Yes, I am writing to them.)

*Lui* is used for both masculine and feminine: *je lui parle* can mean "I talk to him" or "I talk to her".

## The verbs that trip up English speakers

Some verbs do not have the same construction in the two languages:

**Verbs with a different construction in French and English**

| In French | Pronoun | Compared with English |
| --- | --- | --- |
| *écouter quelqu'un* | *je l'écoute* | listen **to** someone (no à in French) |
| *attendre quelqu'un* | *je l'attends* | wait **for** someone (no preposition in French) |
| *chercher quelqu'un* | *je le cherche* | look **for** someone (no preposition in French) |
| *téléphoner à quelqu'un* | *je lui téléphone* | phone someone (à in French) |
| *répondre à quelqu'un* | *je lui réponds* | answer someone (à in French) |
| *demander à quelqu'un* | *je lui demande* | ask someone (à in French) |
| *obéir à quelqu'un* | *je lui obéis* | obey someone (à in French) |

The English preposition is not a reliable guide: "listen to", "wait for" and "look for" take a direct object in French (*le, la*), while "phone", "answer" and "ask" take *à* and therefore *lui*.

## Where do the pronouns go?

- **Before the conjugated verb**: *Je le vois.* (I see him.) *Je lui parle.* (I talk to him / her.)
- **Before the auxiliary** in compound tenses: *Je l'ai vu.* (I saw him.) *Je lui ai répondu.* (I answered him / her.)
- **Before the infinitive**: *Je vais le voir.* (I am going to see him.) *Je veux lui parler.* (I want to talk to him / her.)
- **After the verb in the affirmative imperative**: *Regarde-le ! Parle-lui !* (and *me* becomes *moi*: *Aide-moi !*).

## Does the past participle agree?

With *avoir*, the past participle agrees with the direct object **if it comes before the verb**: *La série ? Je l'ai vu**e**. Les photos ? Je les ai pris**es**.* There is no agreement with an indirect object: *Je lui ai parlé.* In speech you can hardly hear it, but in writing and in the DELF it counts.

## Typical mistakes English speakers make

1. ✗ *Je lui écoute* (from "I listen to him") → ✓ *Je l'écoute.*
2. ✗ *J'attends pour lui* (from "I am waiting for him") → ✓ *Je l'attends.*
3. ✗ *Je le téléphone* → ✓ *Je lui téléphone.*
4. ✗ *Je le dis la vérité* (from "I tell him the truth") → ✓ *Je lui dis la vérité.*
5. ✗ *Je lui le donne* → ✓ *Je le lui donne.* With two pronouns, *le / la / les* come before *lui / leur*.

To check how a verb is constructed, look it up in [Le Robert](https://dictionnaire.lerobert.com/): it shows whether it takes *quelqu'un* or *à quelqu'un*. And remember that for places and things introduced by *à* or *de*, you use [the pronouns y and en](https://laclassefrancaise.es/en/blog/french-pronouns-y-and-en).

## Frequently asked questions

### Is lui masculine or feminine?

Both. *Je lui parle* can refer to a man or a woman. Only the context makes it clear.

### Is it "je l'écoute" or "je lui écoute"?

*Je l'écoute*, because French says *écouter quelqu'un*, with no preposition, even though English says "listen to".

### What order do two pronouns go in?

*Me, te, nous, vous* come first; then *le, la, les*; then *lui, leur*; and finally *y* and *en*: *Il me le donne. Je le lui donne. Je leur en parle.*

### Why is it "parle-lui" but "ne lui parle pas"?

In the affirmative imperative the pronoun goes after the verb with a hyphen; in the negative imperative it goes back to its usual place, before the verb.

— Thierry Gustin, Profesor nativo de francés · November 7, 2026