Double object pronouns

Double object pronouns

Two pronouns in a row: je le lui donne, il m’en parle.

⚡Key points

Order: me te se nous vous→→ le la les → lui leur → y → en
Je le lui donne→I give it to him/her
Il m’en parle→he talks to me about it
In the passé composé — before avoir/être→Il me l’a dit.
Agreement with the direct object→Je les lui ai données.

The order of pronouns

When a verb has two pronouns, they go before the verb in a fixed order. Remember the five “columns”: reflexive/indirect 1st-2nd person, then direct le/la/les, then indirect lui/leur, then y, then en.

Order before the verb

1
me / te / se / nous / vous
me, you, oneself, us, you
2
le / la / les
it / them (direct)
3
lui / leur
to him/her / to them (indirect)
4
y
there / about it (à)
5
en
of it / some (de)

Combinations in action

Pronouns from different columns combine. You cannot join two from the same column. Common pairs: me + le, le + lui, m’ + en, l’ + y.

Examples

1

me/te + le/la

Tu me prêtes ce livre ? — Je te le prête. (I lend it to you.)

2

le/la + lui/leur

Tu donnes la clé à Paul ? — Je la lui donne. (I give it to him.)

3

me/te + en

Il me parle de son projet. — Il m’en parle. (He tells me about it.)

4

le/la + y

Je l’emmène à l’école. — Je l’y emmène. (I take him/her there.)

💡⚠️ In compound tenses and with agreement

In the passé composé both pronouns go before the auxiliary: Il me l’a dit. Je les lui ai données. The past participle agrees with the preceding direct object (le/la/les): les lettres → je les lui ai écrites.
Tu le lui as rendu ? (passé composé)
Les photos, je les leur ai montrées. (agreement -es)

Dialogue: lending a book

SarahTu as rendu le roman à Julie ?
LéoOui, je le lui ai rendu hier.
SarahEt les notes, tu me les passes ?
LéoBien sûr, je te les envoie ce soir.

Sarah: Did you return the novel to Julie? | Léo: Yes, I gave it back to her yesterday. | Sarah: And the notes, will you pass them to me? | Léo: Of course, I’ll send them to you tonight.