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Indirect object pronouns in FrenchOn the previous pages, we looked at how to say him, her, it and them in French. We used what are sometimes called direct object pronouns: le, la and les. The pronouns le, la and les represent the object of the verb: in very simple terms, that means the "thing/person that has something done to them" (i.e. the thing or person that "undergoes the action represted by the verb"). For example, in I see him, the word him represents the person who is seen; in they know her, the word her represents the person is known, etc. (That's not a perfect definition of direct object, but it'll do us for now.) On the other hand, consider sentences such as the following: In this case, the actual object being given is the book; him represents what is often called an indirect object: an additional recipient or participant in the action. We could also re-phrase the sentence (although with a slightly different emphasis) as follows: In cases such as this:
French uses:
For example:
Je lui ai donné un livre
I gave him/her a book. Il leur a payé un café He bought them a coffee  Suggest a change / proposez une modificationNotice how in this case, the choice depends solely on singular vs plural; the choice does not depend on either gender (masculine or feminine) or animacy (i.e. whether the indirect object is a human or not). Saying me and youOn the next page, we look at what is actually a simpler case: saying me and you in French using the pronouns me and te.
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