FlexiLingoIn one line
A subject pronoun comes before the verb and does the action. An object pronoun also comes before the verb — but the action is done to it.
The table
| English | Subject — sujet | Direct object — COD |
|---|---|---|
| I | je /ʒə/ j' /ʒ/ | me /mə/ m' /m/ |
| you (singular) | tu /ty/ | te /tə/ t' /t/ |
| he · it | il /il/ | le /lə/ l' /l/ |
| she · it | elle /ɛl/ | la /la/ l' /l/ |
| one · we (spoken) | on /ɔ̃/ | — |
| we | nous /nu/ | nous /nu/ |
| you (plural / formal) | vous /vu/ | vous /vu/ |
| they (masculine) | ils /il/ | les /le/ |
| they (feminine) | elles /ɛl/ | les /le/ |
And the object pronoun goes before the verb
This is the single most disruptive difference on the page, because English does the opposite:
| Order | |
|---|---|
| English | I see him — object after the verb |
| French | Je le vois. — object before the verb |
English gives you nothing to lean on here. Modern English has one rule — subject, verb, object — and it applies to nouns and pronouns alike. French keeps nouns after the verb (
Je vois Marie) and moves only the pronouns forward. So the two languages agree until you replace the noun, and then they split.A practical fix: stop translating word by word and learn
je le voisas a single block — it is even pronounced as one, /ʒəl.vwa/.
In a negative sentence the pronoun stays inside ne … pas
Je ne le vois pas.— notJe ne vois pas le
Exceptions
| Exception | What happens |
|---|---|
on /ɔ̃/ has no object form | it is a subject only |
on /ɔ̃/ takes a singular verb | on va /ɔ̃ va/ not on vont /ɔ̃ vɔ̃/ |
le /lə/ · la /la/ · me /mə/ · te /tə/ before a vowel | they elide: je l'aime /ʒə lɛm/ il m'aide /il mɛd/ |
nous /nu/ and vous /vu/ are identical in both columns | you tell them apart by position |
| With two verbs the pronoun goes before the infinitive | Je veux le voir. /ʒə vø lə vwaʁ/ not Je le veux voir /ʒə lə vø vwaʁ/ |
les /le/ has no gender | the same for masculine and feminine |
Examples
| English | French | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| I see him | Je le vois. | /ʒə lə vwa/ |
| He sees me | Il me voit. | /il mə vwa/ |
| I love her | Je l'aime. | /ʒə lɛm/ |
| I don't see him | Je ne le vois pas. | /ʒə nə lə vwa pa/ |
| I want to see him | Je veux le voir. | /ʒə vø lə vwaʁ/ |
| We know them | Nous les connaissons. | /nu le kɔ.nɛ.sɔ̃/ |
| They speak French here | On parle français ici. | /ɔ̃ paʁl fʁɑ̃.sɛ i.si/ |
Common mistakes
| ❌ | ✅ | Why |
|---|---|---|
Je vois le. | Je le vois. | The object pronoun comes before the verb |
Je ne vois pas le. | Je ne le vois pas. | It stays inside ne … pas |
On vont au parc. | On va au parc. | on always takes a singular verb |
Je le aime. | Je l'aime. | It elides before a vowel |
Je le veux voir. | Je veux le voir. | With two verbs it goes before the infinitive |
on — three meanings in one word
and why it always takes a singular verb
| Meaning | Example | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| "one" / people in general | On parle français au Canada. — French is spoken in Canada | /ɔ̃ paʁl fʁɑ̃.sɛ o ka.na.da/ |
| "we" in speech | On va au cinéma. — we're going to the cinema | /ɔ̃ va o si.ne.ma/ |
| an impersonal passive | On m'a dit… — I was told… | /ɔ̃ ma di/ |
In all three the verb is singular — grammatically on is third person singular, even when it means something plural.
English splits this job across three constructions and French does it with one word. "One does not do that" (formal), "they say it's closing" (vague), "you can't park here" (generic) — plus the passive, "I was told". All four are
on. If an English sentence has a subject that is not really anybody in particular,onis almost always the French.
Write nous, say on. In everyday speech the French almost never use nous as a subject.
And the indirect object pronouns
there is a third column — `COI`
When the verb takes à, the pronoun changes:
| English | Direct COD | Indirect COI |
|---|---|---|
| me | me /mə/ | me /mə/ |
| you | te /tə/ | te /tə/ |
| him · her | le /lə/ la /la/ | lui /lɥi/ |
| us | nous /nu/ | nous /nu/ |
| you (plural) | vous /vu/ | vous /vu/ |
| them | les /le/ | leur /lœʁ/ |
Only the third person differs.
Je le vois. /ʒə lə vwa/ | I see him — voir /vwaʁ/ is direct |
Je lui parle. /ʒə lɥi paʁl/ | I speak to him — parler à /paʁ.le a/ is indirect |
Which one you need comes from the verb: if the verb wants à, the pronoun is lui/leur.