Les Pronoms Objets Directs (direct object pronouns)
Video
Notes
IN ENGLISH
- A pronoun is a word which replaces a noun to avoid repetition; in English and French there are two different types of pronouns that we have encountered so far. These pronouns are used to make complex sentences simpler and avoid repetition.
Subject pronoun: a pronoun which replaces the subject of the sentence to avoid repetition
> I eat the cake.
Object pronoun: a pronoun which replaces the object of a sentence to avoid repetition
> I eat the cake. - Watch the video below up to 2:50 to learn about subject and object pronouns in English.
IN FRENCH
- In French, we also have subject, and object pronouns. If you remember, this is the structure of a French sentence:
Subject (subject pronoun) + verb + object
Subject: whoever/whatever is doing the action of a sentence
Verb: the action of a sentence
Object: whoever/whatever is receiving the action of the verb - For example:
Je mange le chocolat.
Ask yourself:
Who is doing the action? (subject)
What is the action? (verb)
What is being "action-ed?" (object) - Subject : je
Verb: mange
Object: le chocolat - We have already learned about subject pronouns in French 1.
- We can have many different types of object pronouns in French, but today we will focus mainly on direct object pronouns.
- Remember: a direct object receives the action of the verb with nothing in between.
- Ex: I eat the cake.
The cake is being directly eaten.
Ex: I send my mother the letter.
The direct object is the letter, because it is being sent, but your mother is the indirect object because she is receiving the action of getting a letter, but she is not being directly sent, something happens in between. We will cover indirect objects later on in the course. - A direct object pronoun will replace a direct object. The possible direct object pronouns are listed below:
- In terms of where our object pronoun will be placed, it will always go BEFORE the verb describing the action it is receiving. This is the opposite of object pronoun placement in English, so be careful!
Ex: She eats the chocolate and she likes it.
Elle mange le chocolat et elle l'aime.
NOTE: If there are two verbs, make sure you are putting your object pronoun before the verb giving the object the action.
Ex: She is going to eat the cake.
Elle va manger le gâteau. > Elle va le manger.
Because "manger" (to eat) is what is being done to the cake, you must but "le" (the object pronoun) before manger. - Make sure you remember to contract me/te/le/la if your verb begins with a vowel.
- To help you to choose the correct object pronoun, you can also use this flow chart:
Activities
Introducing students to objects and object pronouns in French and English
Directions:
Notes for teaching:
This portion of the activity is intended to be completed after initially introducing object pronouns in English.
This portion of the activity is intended to be completed after teaching ONLY direct object pronouns in French. This can be repeated for indirect object pronouns.
Materials:
Premier Rond:
French.About: Self-correcting practice quiz
Directions:
Conjuguemos Self-correcting Practice Activities
Activity 1 (present-tense)
Activity 2 (passé composé)
Directions:
Le Chemin: Kyo
Use the song Tu le sais by Vianney to help students to see direct object pronouns in action.
Directions:
Notes for teaching:
- I will generally teach the first portion of this lesson on English object pronouns and complete Round 1 of the activity below.
- Then I have my kids take notes on direct object pronouns in French (they do this for homework in my class), and complete Round 2 of the activity after reviewing the notes.
- I will then have the students practice with a self-correcting activity online so they can get more practice.
This portion of the activity is intended to be completed after initially introducing object pronouns in English.
- You will be assigned to a group, and each group will be assigned to a set of sentences somewhere around the room.
- As a class, we will define the following terms:
> le sujet
> le verbe
> l'objet - Now, in your group, you will use the yellow sticky note to identify le sujet of your sentence; we will go over the answers as a class, and you will rotate to the set of sentences to your right.
- Now, at your new location, use the blue sticky note to identify le verbe of your sentence; we will review, then rotate.
- Finally, you will use the pink sticky note to identify l'objet of your sentence; we will review, then move on to round 2.
- Now, using the pink object pronouns in the baggy next to your station, replace the object of each of your phrases with the appropriate object pronoun. Think about how you would say this in English.
This portion of the activity is intended to be completed after teaching ONLY direct object pronouns in French. This can be repeated for indirect object pronouns.
- You will be split into new groups in locations around the room. As a group, you will use the black words in the baggy hanging next to one of your sentences in English to re-create the sentence in French.
- You will, once again, identify le sujet, le verbe, et l'objet de votre phrase; we will review this as a class.
le sujet > yellow sticky note
le verbe > blue sticky note
l'objet > pink sticky note - Finally, you will come up to the front board and choose the correct pronom objet to replace the objet in your group's sentence; we will review and then return to our seats.
>> Make sure that you put your object pronoun in the correct location in relationship to the verb.
Materials:
Premier Rond:
- As many different sentences in English as you would need groups of students. I limit my groups to about three students per group.
Ex: 8 sentences
Johnny and Joe eat sandwiches every day. - Enough yellow, blue, and pink (or three other colors) sticky notes to identify the subject, verb, and object of each sentence. Place one of each of these sticky notes at each sentence.
Ex: for 8 sentences, you will need 8 of each color. - A bag of the English object pronouns that would be used to replace the object of each sentence.
Ex: him, her, it, them, me, you, etc.
- Using the English sentences from le Premier Rond, write as many copies of these sentences in French as there are groups, so each group should have one of each sentence.
- Enough yellow, blue, and pink (or three other colors) sticky notes to identify the subject, verb and object of each sentence. Place enough of these at each station that students can identify the subject, verb, and object of each sentence.
Ex: for 8 sentences and 8 groups, you will need 24 sticky notes per group, 192 total = 64 yellow, 64 blue, 64 pink, placed at each of the stations. - A bag of the French object pronouns that would be used to replace the object of each sentence.
French.About: Self-correcting practice quiz
Directions:
- Choose a quiz which has 5, 10, or 20 questions.
- One question at at time, answer each by choosing the correct option to replace the direct object.
- After answering all of the questions, you will receive your feedback and have access to the lesson to explain any incorrect answers.
- Activity (located at link above)
- Internet access
Conjuguemos Self-correcting Practice Activities
Activity 1 (present-tense)
Activity 2 (passé composé)
Directions:
- Answer all of the questions, then click "Check."
- The incorrect answers will be highlighted in red.
- Students can take a screenshot of the activity and send it to their teacher in order to be graded.
- Activity (located at links above)
- Internet access
Le Chemin: Kyo
Use the song Tu le sais by Vianney to help students to see direct object pronouns in action.
- Give the students the song lyrics in French.
- Have the students listen to the song one time without doing anything.
- Have students go through and highlight any known vocabulary or cognates. Share and ask for predictions about the song's meaning.
- Then, have students define unknown vocabulary by using context clues and a dictionary.
- Next, draw the students' attention to the object pronouns, which are bolded and underlined. Have the students identify the subject and verb that are relating to the bolded object pronoun, seeking to understand what the phrase is saying. Ex: qui te gène | subject: qui (le détail), verb: gène (annoys), object pronoun: te (you)
- Finally, watch the video one last time and have the students write a summary of what they think the song is about now.
- If your students are curious, give them the opportunity to look at the lyrics in English and watch the video one last time.
Additional Sites
Language Guide
A guide to all object pronouns in French, including direct, indirect, y, and en.
French.About
An explanation of direct objects followed by an explanation of direct object pronouns.
For Dummies
An explanation of direct object pronouns with a variety of examples in French and English.
A guide to all object pronouns in French, including direct, indirect, y, and en.
French.About
An explanation of direct objects followed by an explanation of direct object pronouns.
For Dummies
An explanation of direct object pronouns with a variety of examples in French and English.