French Pronouns Made Simple: Your Complete Guide

French pronouns may be small words, but they do a lot of heavy lifting. They replace nouns, prevent repetition, and make sentences flow naturally.

If terms like “y,” “en,” “lui,” “leur,” or “lequel” confuse you, don’t worry—you’re not alone.

As a private French tutor, I often hear the same question:
“How do I know which French pronoun to use, and where should I place it?”

This guide breaks down key French pronouns with clear examples so you can use them confidently in conversation.

Personal pronouns show who performs an action or receives it, including reflexive actions.

Stressed pronouns (also called disjunctive or tonic pronouns) are used after prepositions or for emphasis.

They replaces the noun as the subject (doer) of the sentence:

Tips:

• Subject pronouns trigger verb conjugation. For example, at the present tense we have : je parle, tu parles, il/elle/on parle, nous parlons, vous parlez, ils/elles parlent.

• “Je” becomes j’ before vowels (j’aime).

• “On” is more common in conversation than “nous.”

• Groups default to masculine pronouns if even one member is male.

• The singular forms “il” and “elle” are pronounced identically to “ils” and “elles” (except when the verb begins with a vowel, we do a liaison).

Then, the Direct Object pronouns (COD) replace replace the noun that receives the action directly:

A COD answers the questions: Whom? or What? Let’s see an example :

• Tu manges la pomme. → You eat the apple.

  • Tu la manges. → You eat it.

Now, the positioning of Direct Object pronouns can be challenging since there are four distinct categories.

Used for the person or thing receiving the action indirectly, introduced by the preposition “à”.

Questions it answers: To whom? For whom? For examples,

Please note that the term “lui” is used the same way for both feminine and masculine forms.

Tip: Positioning mirrors direct object pronouns.

Used when the subject acts on itself. You must pair them with reflexive verbs.

Placement follows the same rules as COD and COI pronouns.

Disjunctive pronouns (also called stressed pronouns or tonic pronouns) are a special set of pronouns in French.

Used for emphasis, after prepositions, or in short answers:

Usage:

• After short exclamations or to stress contrast:
  • “Moi, je préfère le café.” – Me, I prefer coffee

• In short answers / isolation :
  • Qui veut du café ? → Moi ! → Who wants coffee? → Me!

These pronouns let you point to people or things, link clauses, show possession, replace prepositional phrases, and add emphasis.

Curious about French pronouns or tricky grammar rules? Practice them in a one-on-one online class! Explore my online French lessons and gain confidence speaking French today.

These pronouns let you point to people or things, link clauses, show possession, replace prepositional phrases, and add emphasis.

The French pronouns “en” and “y” are a bit tricky because they don’t have a direct equivalent in English. However, they’re super useful once you get the hang of them. Let’s break them down carefully.

First, the pronoun “en” replaces quantities or a verb introduced by “de”:

• Quantity:
  • J’ai trois chats. → J’en ai trois
    (I have three cats → I have three of them)

• Verbs with “de”:

  • Je joue du piano. → J’en joue.
    (I play the piano → I play it)

Then, the pronoun “y” replaces a location (not necessarily with à) or a verb introduced by “à”

• Places / locations:
  • J’habite en Provence → J’y habite
    (I live in Provence → I live there.)

• Verbs with “à”:
  • Je m’intéresse au foot. → Je m’y intéresse
    (I’m interested in soccer → I’m interested in it.)

In French, relative pronouns connect two clauses and refer back to a noun.

1. The Simple Relative Pronouns (“qui”, “que”, “où” and “dont”) are the “basic” relative pronouns that connect a main clause to a relative clause. They do not include prepositions within them:

• qui → subject

  • La femme qui parle est allemande : The woman who is speaking is German

• que / qu’ → direct object

• • Le livre que j’ai lu est une biographie : The book I read is a biography

• où → place or time

  • La ville où j’habite est cosmopolite : The city I live in is cosmopolitan

• dont → replaces “de + noun”

  • La personne dont je te parle est ma voisine : The person I’m telling you about is my neighbor.

2. The Compound Relative Pronouns are built from a preposition + a simple pronoun like lequel. We have :

• lequel, laquelle, lesquels, lesquelles → after a preposition (à, sur, avec, pour…)

  • Le fauteuil sur lequel je suis assis est à mon père: The chair I’m sitting on belongs to my father.

• auquel, à laquelle, auxquels, auxquelles → “à + lequel”

  • Le magazine auquel je suis abonné est arrivé : The magazine I subscribe to arrived

• duquel, de laquelle, desquels, desquelles → “de + lequel”
  • La maison près de laquelle nous habitons est en vente : The house near which we live is for sale.

These are pronouns that don’t refer to a specific person or thing, they’re more general or vague, like “someone,” “something,” “anyone,” “none,”. Some French indefinite pronouns are “positive/neutral,” and some are negative :

The demonstrative pronouns point to specific people or things, similar to “this,” “that,” “these,” or “those” in English. Let’s have a look at them :

Then, in French shops or restaurants we can add -ci (here / nearby) or -là (there / far) to be more specific:

For example:

• J’aime cette tarte, mais celle-ci est trop sucrée.
   (I like this tart, but this one is too sweet.)

Finally, we have ce, ceci, cela/ça which are related but each has its own nuance:

Example:

• Cette ville en hiver ! C’est si beau ! (This city in winter! It’s so lovely!)
• Ça m’est égal ! (It doesn’t matter to me)

We use possessive pronouns to replace a noun to show ownership, instead of repeating the noun with a possessive adjective (mon, ton, son).

To conclude, French interrogative pronouns are those pronouns that are utilized to ask questions and substitute for a noun or individual. Let’s review them :

If pronouns feel confusing, you’re not alone and you just need clearer explanations and guided practice. You might find support with the fantastic books from CLE International.

Alternatively, as a private French tutor, I help students:

• understand the logic behind pronouns

• practice step by step

• build confidence speaking

• stop second-guessing every sentence

If you’d like personalized help, I offer friendly one-on-one lessons online. 
Book your French sessions and let’s make French pronouns finally click.