Où va le pronom ? Une seule règle, cinq cadres

Unité GR-54 · campagne 6 · je t'en ai donné, je peux t'en donner, donne-m'en.

Once the pronoun is chosen (Quel pronom ?, P49.pronoun-systems.09) and, if there are two, put in order (P49.pronoun-systems.04 and .05), one question is left: where does the chain go? French answers with a single rule — the pronouns go in front of the verb they complete — and the work is finding that verb. The tense and the structure of the sentence decide which verb it is.

One sentence through every frame

The same message — giving you a notebook — in each frame, affirmative and negative:

The chain t'en never splits and never changes order. Only its position moves — and it moves for a reason in each frame.

Why the passé composé and the modal are different

Passé composé: one verb in two words. J'ai donné is a single verb, donner, split into an auxiliary that carries person and tense (ai) and a participle that carries the meaning (donné). The chain attaches to the conjugated part — the auxiliary: je t'en ai donné. It never slips between the auxiliary and the participle (je t'ai en donné).

Modal or semi-auxiliary + infinitive: two verbs. In je peux donner, pouvoir and donner are two verbs. The notebook is given, not "can-ed", so the pronouns complete donner and sit in front of the infinitive: je peux t'en donner. The same holds for aller, venir de, devoir, vouloir, savoir, être en train de, être sur le point de.

The two frames can combine: j'ai voulu t'en donner un — voulu is the participle of the modal, and the pronouns still complete donner.

Where ne … pas goes

Ne goes before the whole chain; pas goes right after the conjugated verb — the auxiliary in the passé composé, the modal in a two-verb frame:

With an infinitive on its own, both words of the negation come first: Il m'a demandé de ne pas t'en donner.

The imperative: the one frame where the chain moves behind the verb

In the affirmative imperative the pronouns go after the verb, joined by hyphens, and two changes happen:

• me and te become moi and toi at the end: Lève-toi !, Donne-le-moi ! — but m' and t' before en or y: Donne-m'en !, Va-t'en !
• the direct object comes first: le/la/les before moi/lui/nous/leur, and en last: Donne-le-moi, Envoie-les-leur, Donne-m'en.

In the negative imperative everything returns to normal order in front of the verb: Ne me le donne pas. Ne t'en va pas.

Faire, laisser and the verbs of perception

With faire + infinitive, the two verbs act as one unit, and the pronoun goes before faire: Je le fais réparer. Je les ai fait venir. The same goes for laisser and the perception verbs when the pronoun is the one doing the action: J'entends les enfants chanter → Je les entends chanter.

Agreement in the passé composé

A direct pronoun le, la, les placed before avoir makes the participle agree: Ces photos ? Je les ai prises. En never does: Des photos ? J'en ai pris. See GR-14 for the full participle rules.

The errors this page is for

If your first language is Russian

Russian places its pronouns almost anywhere — я тебе дам, дам тебе, тебе я дам. French clitic pronouns have exactly one place, fixed by the verb they complete. Build the sentence from the verb outwards: find the verb the pronouns belong to, put the chain directly in front of it, then wrap the negation around the conjugated verb.

The items below give a question and ask which answer puts the chain in the right place.

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Oui / non drill

A question, then two answers to write: the oui answer and the non answer, each with the complement replaced by its pronoun. Every answer is graded, and a wrong one names the rule it breaks.

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