Object Pronouns me, te, nous, vous
The object pronouns me, te, nous, vous are direct and indirect object pronouns. They are used a lot in conversation and writing. They are truly necessary for communication. They do not follow the same rules as English.
Look at the following conversations. -Tu me parles? -Oui, je te parle. -Tu m’invites? -Oui, je t’invite. -Vous nous écoutez? -Oui, nous vous écoutons. Est-ce que Paul te téléphone? Oui, il me téléphone. You’re talking to me? Yes, I am talking to you. You’re inviting me? Yes, I am inviting you. Are you listening to us. Yes, we are listening to you. Is Paul calling you? Yes, he is calling me.
Meanings me te nous vous me/to me you/to you us/to us you (all)/to you (all)
Using them In French object pronouns come immediately before the verb they are linked to. Il t’invite. Je vous écoute. Il ne t’invite pas. Je ne vous écoute pas.
Using them When the verb is in the infinitive form in a sentence, the object pronouns come immediately before the verb in the infinitive. Tu veux nous parler. Je vais te téléphoner. Tu ne veux pas nous parler. Je ne vais pas te téléphoner.
Let’s practice. Translate the following sentences to French. He is talking to us. We are listening to you. You are not listening to us. They are going to invite me. I do not want to talk to you.
Answer the following questions. Anna te téléphone? Elle te parle longtemps? Elle t’invite au cinéma? Le prof vous parle en classe? Est-ce qu’il vous donne des devoirs? Est-ce qu’il vous parle toujours en français?