Les pronoms compléments

In connection with Chapter 15 of French Made Simple, we had an overview of the French object pronouns. This is not an easy topic and we'll re-visit it later, but for now I hope this series of lessons was helpful and didn't confuse you all too badly...

I. Class Handouts 

• Direct Object (COD) and Indirect Object (COI) Pronouns. This handout combines two documents created by osfr at ISLCollective.com: a quick lesson on the two types of object pronouns and a page of exercises. I also added an answer sheet to the document - hopefully it will come in handy.

• The pronoun Y - lesson and exercise: this handout comes from the Podcast Français Facile website. You'll find the same exercise with answers in interactive form on their webpage.

• The pronoun EN - lesson and exercises: this handout is adapted from a document created by lolha at ISLCollective.com. We didn't do all the exercises in class but I included an answer sheet at the end of the pdf.

• The pronouns - aka "the caterpillar": this handout is adapted from a document created by labelle at ISLCollective.com. The caterpillar picture at the top is a great reminder about how to combine several pronouns. The exercise uses the COD, COI and EN pronouns (but not Y). Answers are included at the end.

• EN and Y: this diagram, created by Agathe77 at ISLCollective.com, summarizes when to use EN or Y.

II. Extra resources

• List of French verbs followed by DE (use pronoun EN if complement is a THING) 
• List of French verbs followed by À (use pronoun Y if complement is a THING) 

The lists are probably not comprehensive, but they're a good start.
(Note: qn = quelqu'un = someone and qch = quelque chose = something)


For more information or practice, I'd recommend that you check out Podcast Français Facile's lessons and exercises on the topic. The site is in French but it's geared towards learners, so it isn't hard to understand.

• Direct Object Pronouns - exercise. This is Exercise 1. Follow the links in the page (below the introduction paragraph) to access the other exercises. (Exercise 5 deals with the passé composé, which we haven't formally studied yet.)
• Indirect Object Pronouns - exercise 1 and exercise 2. Exercise 2 deals with indirect pronouns in sentences that have a conjugated verb + an infinitive.
• EN - lesson. After studying the lesson, follow the links at the top (under the introduction paragraph) to access the exercises.
• Y - lesson. This page explains the pronoun Y more comprehensively than the other PFF page I used for the class handout. Follow the links at the top and after each section to access the exercises.

If you'd rather have explanations in English, I also recommend the grammar lessons from the website Lawless French. I find them both comprehensive and clear (let me know if you agree or not...)

• Introduction to Pronouns. From this page you can travel to all their grammar pages about the pronouns, including:
• Direct object
• Indirect object
• Adverbial pronoun EN
• Adverbial pronoun Y

You can also check out Tex's French grammar. It's a bit more advanced but all explanations are in English and there are exercises at the end of each lesson.

• Direct Object Pronouns
• Indirect object Pronouns
• The pronoun EN
• The pronoun Y

Here are a few more online exercises to practice what you've learned:

• Direct Object Pronoun Exercise
• Choose the right Direct Object Pronoun
• Direct Object Pronoun Quiz
• Indirect Object Pronoun Quiz
• Quiz: Direct or Indirect Object?
• Lawless French-Indirect Object Quiz
• Indirect Object Pronouns
• En and Y pronoun Quiz
• Y/EN quiz
• Another Y/EN quiz
• Y/EN exercice with full sentences

And finally, if you'd prefer a video lesson, here is a series that explains the French object pronouns simply and clearly. (There is a little more to EN and Y than what she explains, as you well know, but this is still a very good rule of thumb.) Explanations are in English and there are subtitles for everything, so I think these are great for beginners.