Lui/leur vs le/la/les - direct vs indirect

The secret is all in the preposition à. In French, some verbs connect directly to people. Other verbs need a little bridge called à. If you see à before a person, you use the Indirect side. If there is no à, you use the Direct side.

• Direct: You see the person. Je vois Marie. (I see Marie). No à.
• Indirect: You talk *to* the person. Je parle à Marie. (I talk to Marie). There is an à.

Think of à like a tiny wall. If the action has to jump over the à to reach the person, that person is an indirect object. We use lui for "to him" or "to her." We use leur for "to them." If there’s no wall, we use le, la, or les. It’s like a grammar traffic light. Red light (the à) means stop and use an indirect pronoun. Green light (no à) means go direct.

1. 1Follow these steps to pick the right word every single time:
2. 2Identify the verb in your sentence.
3. 3Ask yourself: "Does this verb take à when followed by a person?"
4. 4If NO à: Use le (him/it), la (her/it), or les (them).
5. 5If YES à: Use lui (to him/her) or leur (to them).
6. 6Place the pronoun directly before the conjugated verb.
7. 7For example, take the verb appeler (to call). You say J'appelle Paul. No à is needed. So, you use le. Result: Je l'appelle. Now take téléphoner (to call on the phone). In French, you say téléphoner à. So, you use lui. Result: Je lui téléphone. Same meaning in English, different pronouns in French. It’s a classic French curveball, but you’ve got this!

You use these pronouns when you want to avoid sounding like a broken record. Use them in daily conversations like when you're ordering food or talking about friends.

• Use le, la, les for verbs like aimer (to love), voir (to see), aider (to help), or inviter (to invite).
• Use lui, leur for verbs of communication or giving.
• Common "bridge" verbs include dire à (to tell to), donner à (to give to), montrer à (to show to), and répondre à (to answer to).

Imagine you are in a job interview. Instead of saying "I gave the manager the report," you say "I gave it to him." That’s Je lui ai donné le rapport. It sounds professional and smooth. Using the right pronoun shows you understand how French verbs actually connect to people.

Don't use lui for things! If you're talking about an object like a car or a book, stick to le or la. Even if the verb usually takes à, A1 learners should mostly use lui and leur for people.

Also, watch out for verbs that use the preposition de instead of à. Verbs like avoir besoin de (to need) use different rules entirely. This isn't a free-for-all! Another "no-go" zone is when you have a stressed pronoun after a preposition, like pour lui (for him). That’s a different family of words. Today, we only care about the ones that sit right before the verb. Think of it like a VIP club. Only the pre-verb pronouns are invited to this party.

The biggest trap is using elle for "to her." In English, we say "I talk to her." Many students try to say Je parle à elle. This is a rookie move! In French, lui covers both "to him" AND "to her." It’s a gender-neutral superstar in the indirect world.

Another classic mistake is the "Them" Confusion. In French, les is for direct objects (I see them), and leur is for indirect objects (I talk to them). Don't confuse this leur with the one that means "their" (like leur maison). They look the same but do totally different jobs. It's like a word having a secret double life as a spy. Finally, remember the placement. Never put the pronoun after the verb like in English. It’s Je lui parle, not Je parle lui. Putting it after the verb is a surefire way to make a French person’s head tilt like a confused puppy.

In English, we are lazy. We use "him" for everything. "I see him" and "I talk to him." French is more specific. It cares about the relationship between the verb and the person.

Think of it like this:

• Direct (le): You are acting directly on the person.
• Indirect (lui): You are sending something (a message, a gift, a look) *toward* them.

This is different from Spanish or Italian, though they have similar systems. In French, the à is the ultimate decider. If you can't remember if a verb takes à, just think: is it a "giving" or "speaking" verb? If yes, it’s probably lui. If it’s a "doing" verb (hitting, seeing, loving), it’s probably le.