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Pronouns

Introduction to pronouns

A pronoun is a word used to replace a noun. It is commonly used to avoid repeating a previously mentioned noun known as the antecedent. In the following example, pronouns in bold face are used to replace the underlined antecedents.

Tex a écrit un poème érotique, et puis il l‘a envoyé à TammyElle a été choquée quand elle l‘a lu. Tex wrote an erotic poem and then he sent it to TammyShe was shocked when she read it.


The different kinds of pronouns are named according to their grammatical function.

subject pronouns

je, tu, il, elle, on,
nous, vous, ils, elles
I, you, he, she, one,
we, you, they (m), they (f)

direct object pronouns

me, te, le, la
nous, vous, les
me, you, him / it, her / it
us, you, them (m) / (f)

indirect object pronouns

me, te, lui
nous, vous, leur
to me, to you, to him / her
to us, to you, to them (m) / (f)

the pronouns y and en

y
en
there (replaces preposition + location)
some, any, not any (replaces ‘de’ + noun)

disjunctive pronouns

moi, toi, lui, elle, soi
nous, vous, eux, elles
me, you, he, she, one
we, you, them (m), them (f)

reflexive pronouns

me, te, se
nous, vous, se
myself, yourself, himself, herself
ourselves, yourselves, themselves

interrogative pronouns

qui
que
who
what

demonstrative pronouns

celui, celle
ceux
this one / that one (m,f)
these, those

relative pronouns

qui, que
lequel, laquelle
who, whom, which
which

indefinite pronouns

quelqu’un
quelque chose
someone
something

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Tex’s French Grammar Copyright © by Carl Blyth; Karen Kelton; Lindsy Myers; Catherine Delyfer; Yvonne Munn; and Jane Lippmann is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.