Double Pronoun Order

In French, sentences sometimes require two object pronouns before the verb. When this happens, they must appear in a specific order. This lesson teaches you the rules for combining pronouns.

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The Double Pronoun Order Rule

When two pronouns appear together, they follow this fixed order:

1	2	3	4	5
me (m')	le (l')	lui	y	en
te (t')	la (l')	leur
se (s')	les
nous
vous

In a more visual format:

Position 1	Position 2	Position 3	Position 4	Position 5
me, te, se, nous, vous	le, la, les	lui, leur	y	en

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Common Combinations

me/te/nous/vous + le/la/les

When the first pronoun is me, te, nous, or vous, and the second is le, la, or les:

• Il me le donne. — He gives it to me.
• Elle te la montre. — She shows it to you.
• Ils nous les envoient. — They send them to us.
• Je vous le promets. — I promise it to you.

le/la/les + lui/leur

When combining a direct object (le, la, les) with an indirect object (lui, leur):

• Je le lui donne. — I give it to him/her.
• Elle la leur explique. — She explains it to them.
• Nous les leur montrons. — We show them (DO) to them (IO).
• Tu le lui as dit ? — Did you tell it to him/her?

Combinations with Y and En

• Il m'y emmène. — He takes me there.
• Je l'y ai vu. — I saw him/her there.
• Il m'en parle. — He talks to me about it.
• Elle lui en donne. — She gives him/her some.
• Je vous en donne trois. — I give you three (of them).

Important: The combination y + en together is extremely rare in modern French and is generally avoided. The main exception is the expression il y en a (there is/are some).

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Examples in Different Tenses

Present Tense

• Je te le dis. — I'm telling it to you.
• Elle le lui prête. — She lends it to him/her.

Passé Composé

• Je te l'ai dit. — I told it to you.
• Elle le lui a prêté. — She lent it to him/her.
• Nous les leur avons envoyés. — We sent them to them.

Futur Proche

• Je vais te le dire. — I'm going to tell it to you.
• Elle va le lui prêter. — She's going to lend it to him/her.

Futur Simple

• Je te le dirai. — I will tell it to you.
• Elle le lui prêtera. — She will lend it to him/her.

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Negation with Double Pronouns

Both pronouns stay together before the verb, inside the negation: