Indirect Object Pronouns - Me, Te, Lui, Nous, Vous, Leur

These pronouns replace people introduced by the word à. Think of à as a bridge between the verb and the person. If your verb uses this bridge, you need an indirect pronoun. It is not about the object itself. It is about who receives the action. For example, in "I give the bread to him," the bread is the direct object. The person receiving it is the indirect object. In French, we focus on that "to" part. If you see à followed by a person, a light should go off. That is your cue to use a COI (Complément d'Objet Indirect). It is like a grammar traffic light. Green means there is an à, so go ahead and use these pronouns. Red means there is no à, so stop and use something else.

1. 1Identify the person receiving the action after the word à.
2. 2Choose the pronoun that matches that person.
3. 3Me (or m') means "to me."
4. 4Te (or t') means "to you" (singular/informal).
5. 5Lui means "to him" or "to her."
6. 6Nous means "to us."
7. 7Vous means "to you" (plural/formal).
8. 8Leur means "to them."
9. 9Place the pronoun directly before the conjugated verb.
10. 10If there are two verbs, put it before the infinitive. It is like a little pronoun sandwich. The pronoun is the filling between the two verb slices.

Use these pronouns for communication verbs. Parler à (to talk to) is a classic. Téléphoner à (to call) is another. Use them for giving or sending things. Donner à (to give to) or Envoyer à (to send to). Imagine you are at a job interview. You want to say, "I will give you my resume." You would use vous. Or imagine a birthday party. You are telling a story about the guests. "I told them a joke." You would use leur. These pronouns handle the "to whom" part of your life. They are perfect for ordering food too. "I'm asking him for the check." It makes you sound decisive and fluent. Even native speakers rely on these to keep stories moving fast.

Do not use these for direct actions. If you see someone, you use le or la. You don't "see to someone." So, Je le vois is correct. Je lui vois is a disaster. Also, watch out for verbs that don't use à in French but do in English. Or vice versa. Some verbs are rebels. For example, Penser à (to think about) does not use these pronouns. It uses a different set called stressed pronouns. You would say Je pense à lui, not Je lui pense. It is a bit annoying, I know. Think of these verbs like that one friend who never follows the group chat rules. You just have to memorize the exceptions. Most of the time, the à rule will guide you safely home.

The biggest trap is the word lui. In English, we distinguish between "him" and "her." In French COI, lui is the ultimate multitasker. It works for both genders. Do not try to use elle as an indirect pronoun. It won't work. Another common slip-up is leur. Students often want to add an 's' because it means "them." Resist the urge! As an indirect pronoun, leur is always plural but never has an 's'. Also, watch your placement. In English, we say "I tell him." In French, we say "I him tell." It feels backwards at first. Just remember: the pronoun likes to hug the verb. It wants to be as close as possible.

Compare these to Direct Object Pronouns (COD). COD answers "What?" or "Who?". COI answers "To whom?". If I say "I eat the apple," the apple is a COD. If I say "I give the apple to Mark," Mark is the COI. It is a subtle shift in focus. Think of COD as the target and COI as the destination. Some verbs can take both. "I send it to him." In French, that becomes Je le lui envoie. It looks like a puzzle, but it follows a strict order. Don't worry about stacking them yet. Just focus on the "to whom" part for now. Once you master the destination, the rest falls into place.