Verb drill
French direct-object pronouns: practise le, la, l’ and les
Replace known people and things with le, la, l’ or les, then practise their position in negatives, the passé composé and infinitive phrases.
- A2
- 8 answers
- Checked all at once
- Accents count
- Learn this in the A2 notebook →
In short
Use le, la or les to replace a known direct object: Je regarde la série → Je la regarde. Before a vowel or mute h, le and la become l’. In statements, the pronoun goes before its verb: je l’invite, je vais l’inviter.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learnRed watch out
| Frame | Example | Where the pronoun goes |
|---|---|---|
| Present | Le film ? Je le regarde. | before the conjugated verb |
| Negative | Le film ? Je ne le regarde pas. | inside the negative frame |
| Compound past | Le film ? Je l’ai regardé. | before the auxiliary |
| Near future | Le film ? Je vais le regarder. | before the infinitive |
Check the French verb’s construction. Regarder un film, écouter une chanson and attendre une amie all take direct objects. English “listen to” and “wait for” add prepositions that these French patterns leave out. The object can be a person: Léa ? Je l’attends.
| Person | Pronoun | Example |
|---|---|---|
| me | me / m’ | Elle m’invite. |
| you, singular informal | te / t’ | Je te connais. |
| us | nous | Ils nous attendent. |
| you, plural or polite | vous | Je vous écoute. |
When do you use le, la, l’ or les?
For the first four gaps, write the missing pronoun. For the last four, write the whole verb group requested in the hint. Keep any remaining words in their printed positions. The feminine letter in the past-tense pair needs a written agreement ending.
1 · Choose and elide
- Ce film ? Je regarde ce soir. (replace ce film)
- Cette série ? Je regarde le dimanche. (replace cette série)
- Ces amis ? Nous invitons samedi. (replace ces amis)
- Léa ? Je attends devant le cinéma. (replace Léa)
2 · Place the pronoun
- Les billets ? Je ne pas. (trouver, present: I cannot find them)
- La lettre ? Je hier. (lire, passé composé: I read it)
- Le message ? Je vais maintenant. (lire: read it)
- Les photos ? Tu peux ce soir. (envoyer: send them)
A known set or a quantity?
Je les ai.I have them.
Focus: the tickets already being discussed
Les billets pour samedi ? Je les ai.
The tickets for Saturday? I have them.
J’en ai deux.I have two.
Focus: a quantity, with the number retained
Tu as des billets ? Oui, j’en ai deux.
Do you have any tickets? Yes, I have two.
In an ordinary compound tense with avoir, a preceding direct object controls the past participle’s agreement: la chanson → je l’ai écoutée; les films → je les ai regardés. Positive commands have a separate pattern: Regarde-le ! Compare the command page for pairs of pronouns.