Direct object pronouns (le, la, les)
Subject pronouns (je, tu, il...) · Definite articles (le, la, les) · The passé composé with avoir — talking about yesterday
A direct object pronoun replaces a noun that follows the verb with no preposition — so you do not repeat it.
- — Tu connais ce dossier ? — Oui, je le connais.
- — Tu as les clés ? — Oui, je les ai.
| me / m' | me | Il me regarde. |
|---|---|---|
| te / t' | you | Je te vois. |
| le / l' | him, it (m) | Je le prends. |
| la / l' | her, it (f) | Je la connais. |
| nous | us | Elle nous aide. |
| vous | you | Je vous écoute. |
| les | them | Je les envoie. |
The pronoun goes before the verb, which is the opposite of English: I see her → Je la vois. Never je vois la.
With an infinitive it attaches to the infinitive, not the conjugated verb: "Je vais le finir." · "Je dois les appeler."
Negation wraps the pronoun and the verb together: "Je ne le connais pas."
In the passé composé the participle agrees with a direct object placed before it — which is the only case where an avoir verb agrees at all:
- — Tu as vu la lettre ? — Oui, je l'ai vue.
- Les dossiers ? Je les ai envoyés.
Le and la both shorten to l' before a vowel, so je l'ai vue and je l'ai vu differ only in writing. Reading is where this matters.
What this unlocks
Knowing the rule is not the same as producing it.
This page explains the pattern. The track drills it: the point arrives inside a mini-dialogue, then production marked against a CEFR descriptor, then a module test that returns you to your two weakest sessions if you miss it.