CEFR A2
What you will learn
- Distinguish a direct object from a person object introduced by “à” with the core verbs in the lesson.
- Place le, la, les, lui or leur before the verb that governs the object, including with an infinitive or the passé composé.
Before you start
- Recognise the vocabulary and forms shown in this lesson’s key idea and paradigm.
The idea
With the core verbs in this lesson, le/la/les replace a direct object and lui/leur replace a person object with à; all go before the verb that governs them.
First, the question that decides everything: does the verb take “à” in front of that complement? If it does not, the complement is direct and the pronoun is “le”, “la” or “les”. If it does, the complement is indirect and the pronoun is “lui” in the singular and “leur” in the plural.
“Voir quelqu'un” has no “à”, so “je le vois”. “Parler à quelqu'un” has one, so “je lui parle”. You do not ask the question in English: you ask it of the French verb, because the two languages do not always agree about which verbs take a preposition.
The position is not negotiable, and this is where English will fight you: the pronoun goes in front of the conjugated verb. “Je le vois”, never “je vois le”. In the passé composé it goes in front of the auxiliary — “je l'ai vu” — and with an infinitive it goes in front of the infinitive: “je vais l'appeler”.
One short note about spelling: “le” and “la” elide before a vowel — “je l'écoute” — and at that point they stop telling you the gender, exactly as the article did. “Lui” and “leur” never elide.
Object pronouns
| fonction | singulier | pluriel | position |
|---|---|---|---|
| COD masculin | le | les | avant le verbe |
| COD féminin | la | les | avant le verbe |
| COI personne avec à | lui | leur | avant le verbe |
| impératif affirmatif | -le / -la / -lui | -les / -leur | après le verbe |
How it sounds
- Je le vois tous les jours.“Voir” takes no preposition, so the pronoun is direct.
- Je lui parle tous les jours.“Parler à” has “à”, so the pronoun is indirect and does not tell you the gender.
- Je vais l'appeler ce soir.With an infinitive the pronoun sits in front of the infinitive, not the conjugated verb.
- Nous leur écrivons chaque semaine.“Écrire à” calls for the indirect one, and the plural is “leur”, with no “-s”.
Check objective 1Another case
A proposed answer is “les” for this case: “J'écris à mes parents : je les écris chaque semaine.”. Choose the only valid form.
A proposed answer is “lui” for this case: “J'écris à mes parents : je lui écris chaque semaine.”. Choose the only valid form.
Answer available without interaction
Answer: leur — Écrire à + plural: “leur”. It never takes an “-s”.
“Écrire à” + plural: “leur”. It never takes an “-s”.
Answer: leur — Écrire à + plural: “leur”. It never takes an “-s”.
“Écrire à” + plural: “leur”. It never takes an “-s”.
Check objective 2Another case
A proposed answer is “lui” for this case: “Ce livre, je vais lui lire ce week-end.”. Choose the only valid form.
A proposed answer is “leur” for this case: “Ce livre, je vais leur lire ce week-end.”. Choose the only valid form.
Answer available without interaction
Answer: le — Lire is direct, and with an infinitive the pronoun goes before the infinitive.
“Lire” is direct, and with an infinitive the pronoun goes before the infinitive.
Answer: le — Lire is direct, and with an infinitive the pronoun goes before the infinitive.
“Lire” is direct, and with an infinitive the pronoun goes before the infinitive.
When it doesn't hold
What breaks the rule, said out loud. Hiding it is what makes you feel cheated in the exam.
- A handful of verbs with “à” — “penser à”, “tenir à”, “faire attention à” — do not take “lui” when a person is involved: they need the stressed pronoun behind.Je pense à elle.
- In the affirmative imperative the pronoun jumps behind and joins with a hyphen. In the negative it goes back to its place: “Ne le regarde pas”.Regarde-le !
What your own language pushes you to say
Wrong Je vois le tous les jours.
Right Je le vois tous les jours.
English puts the object after the verb and never moves it, so “je vois le” feels like the natural order and is simply not French. Word order is the whole difficulty here — the choice between “le” and “lui” is comparatively easy, because you can test it by asking whether the French verb needs “à”.
Challenge: apply both rules
Solve both cases and justify each choice: 1) Una propuesta responde «les» a este caso: «J'écris à mes parents : je les écris chaque semaine.». Elige la única forma válida. 2) Una propuesta responde «lui» a este caso: «Ce livre, je vais lui lire ce week-end.». Elige la única forma válida.
Answer available without interaction
- Distinguish a direct object from a person object introduced by “à” with the core verbs in the lesson.
- Place le, la, les, lui or leur before the verb that governs the object, including with an infinitive or the passé composé.
Answer: leur · le
“Écrire à” + plural: “leur”. It never takes an “-s”. “Lire” is direct, and with an infinitive the pronoun goes before the infinitive.
Curriculum alignment and sources
- CEFR A2 · routine tasks and simple exchanges of direct information. · Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Companion Volume
- French-specific reference descriptions used to cross-check A2 forms; they are not a universal school curriculum. · Reference Level Descriptions · French
- MCER como referencia; sin asignación estatal A2.1/A2.2 por curso. La máscara 3.º/4.º ESO del catálogo es editorial. · Real Decreto 217/2022, currículo básico de ESO
- El dossier validado acredita itinerarios distintos. Este paquete no publica una equivalencia universal A2→ano. · Organização curricular · Francês · iniciação e continuação
- La fuente reutilizada fija A1 al final de la secundaria de primer grado para esta materia. No se atribuye A2 a un curso italiano. · Decreto 9 dicembre 2025, n. 221 · nuove Indicazioni nazionali
Continue along this corridor
Practise this: le, la, les or lui, leurEn and y: replacing quantities, de, à and placesImparfait or passé composé: setting, habit and eventFuture and conditional: stems, endings and usesQui, que, où or dont: find the gapThe verb and its preposition: à, de or none