Grammar / B1 : Intermediate / Double pronouns

B1Intermediate

Double pronouns

Je le lui donne: order and combinations of pronouns.

1. The Challenge: Two Pronouns at Once

In French, you already know how to replace a noun with a single pronoun. But what happens when a verb has both a direct object and an indirect object? You can replace both simultaneously, placing them in a strict order before the verb.

Compare these two steps:

Step 1: Replace the direct object (COD):
Je donne le livre à Marie. (I give the book to Marie.)
Je le donne à Marie. (I give it to Marie.)

Step 2: Also replace the indirect object (COI):
Je le lui donne. (I give it to her.)

The result uses two pronouns side by side, following a fixed order that never changes.

2. The Order of Double Pronouns

French has a strict sequence for combining pronouns before the verb. You cannot change this order.

me / te / se / nous / vous

le / la / les

lui / leur

VERB

Read the chain from left to right: if you need two pronouns, you pick one from each relevant slot and they appear in that sequence.

Practical reading of the chain:

Slot 1 (me, te, se, nous, vous) always comes before slot 2 (le, la, les).
Slot 2 (le, la, les) always comes before slot 3 (lui, leur).
y and en always come last, with y before en.

3. The Two Main Combinations

In practice, two groups of combinations cover most situations.

Group A: me/te/nous/vous + le/la/les

Use this when the indirect object is a person (1st or 2nd person) and the direct object is a thing.

Full sentence	Double pronoun	Translation
Il me montre le document.	Il me le* montre.*	He shows it to me.
Elle te prête sa voiture.	Elle te la* prête.*	She lends it to you.
Ils nous envoient les photos.	Ils nous les* envoient.*	They send them to us.
Je vous explique les règles.	Je vous les* explique.*	I explain them to you.

Group B: le/la/les + lui/leur

Use this when the indirect object is a 3rd-person noun (a specific person or thing) and the direct object is also a noun.

Full sentence	Double pronoun	Translation
Elle donne le rapport au directeur.	Elle le lui* donne.*	She gives it to him.
J'envoie la lettre à mes parents.	Je la leur* envoie.*	I send it to them.
Tu montres les résultats à l'équipe.	Tu les leur* montres.*	You show them to them.
Il lit l'histoire aux enfants.	Il la leur* lit.*	He reads it to them.

Critical rule: me/te/nous/vous NEVER combine with lui/leur.
You cannot say *je te lui donne or *il nous leur explique. These combinations are impossible in standard French. If you need to express this idea, you must keep one element as a noun or use a stressed pronoun with a:
Je te donne ce livre. NOT *Je te le lui donne.
Il l'explique a vous et a eux. (with stressed pronouns, formal/written style)

4. With y and en

The pronouns y and en can also appear in double constructions. They always occupy the final positions.

m'y, t'y, s'y, nous y, vous y, l'y, les y

Full sentence	Double pronoun	Translation
Il m'invite a la reunion.	Il m'y* invite.*	He invites me there / to it.
Elle accompagne son fils a l'ecole.	Elle l'y* accompagne.*	She takes him there.
Nous emmenons les enfants au parc.	Nous les y* emmenons.*	We take them there.

m'en, t'en, nous en, vous en, l'en, les en

Full sentence	Double pronoun	Translation
Il me parle de ses projets.	Il m'en* parle.*	He talks to me about them.
Elle lui donne du temps.	Elle lui en* donne.*	She gives him some.
Tu leur offres des cadeaux.	Tu leur en* offres.*	You give them some.

Tip: lui en and leur en are very common in spoken French and are not as intimidating as they look. The key is that lui/leur always precede en.

5. In Negative Sentences

The double pronouns stay together as a block between ne and the verb. The negation wraps around the entire pronoun-verb group.

Je le lui donne. (I give it to him.)
Je ne le lui donne pas. (I don't give it to him.)

Elle nous les explique. (She explains them to us.)
Elle ne nous les explique pas. (She doesn't explain them to us.)

Structure: ne + [pronoun 1] + [pronoun 2] + verb + pas

6. In the Passe Compose

With compound tenses, the double pronouns still come before the auxiliary verb (avoir or etre), not before the past participle.

Elle a donne le rapport au directeur.
Elle le lui a donne. (She gave it to him.)

Je t'ai envoye les fichiers.
Je te les ai envoyes. (I sent them to you.)

Past participle agreement: When the COD pronoun precedes avoir, the past participle agrees with it.
Je les lui ai envoyes. (the files = masculine plural, so -s)
Je la lui ai donnee. (the letter = feminine, so -ee)

7. In the Imperative

The imperative follows different rules. The pronouns move after the verb and are joined by hyphens. The order also changes.

Affirmative imperative

In positive commands, the pronoun order reverses for the person pronouns: the direct object comes first.

Affirmative imperative	With double pronouns	Translation
Donne le livre a Marie.	Donne-le-lui.	Give it to her.
Montre les photos a tes parents.	Montre-les-leur.	Show them to them.
Dis la verite a Paul.	Dis-la-lui.	Tell it to him.

Also with y and en:

Affirmative imperative	With double pronouns	Translation
Envoie-le au bureau.	Envoie-l'y.	Send it there.
Donne-lui du temps.	Donne-lui-en.	Give him some.
Offre-leur des fleurs.	Offre-leur-en.	Give them some.

Negative imperative

In negative commands, the pronouns return to their usual pre-verb position (same as in regular sentences).

Ne le lui donne pas. (Don't give it to her.)
Ne les leur montre pas. (Don't show them to them.)
Ne lui en parle pas. (Don't talk to him about it.)

Summary: Pronoun position in the imperative

Type	Position	Order
Affirmative	After verb, with hyphens	COD before COI (reversed)
Negative	Before verb, no hyphens	Standard order (COI before COD for 3rd person)

8. Register: Spoken vs. Written

Double pronouns are grammatically standard in both registers, but their frequency and some details differ.

Situation	Spoken / informal	Written / formal
Replacing COD + COI	Je te le dis.	Je vous le communique.
With en	Il m'en a parle.	Il m'en a informe.
Agreement in passe compose	Often skipped in speech	Mandatory in writing
Imperative + double pronoun	Common in direct speech	Appears in formal instructions, notices

DELF production tip: In writing tasks (Productions Ecrites), always apply past participle agreement when a COD pronoun precedes avoir. This is a mark of B1 accuracy that examiners notice.

Lesson Summary

French verbs can take two pronouns simultaneously: one replaces the COD (direct object) and one replaces the COI (indirect object).
Standard order before the verb: me/te/se/nous/vous > le/la/les > lui/leur > y > en.
Key combinations: me le / te la / nous les / vous les (slot 1 + slot 2) and le lui / la leur / les leur (slot 2 + slot 3).
me/te/nous/vous never combine with lui/leur.
In negative sentences, ne and pas wrap around the whole pronoun + verb block.
In compound tenses, both pronouns precede the auxiliary verb; the past participle agrees with the COD when it comes first.
Affirmative imperative: pronouns follow the verb with hyphens, in reversed order (COD before COI).
Negative imperative: pronouns return to their pre-verb standard position.

Practice