What are the 7 main types of French pronoun?

A pronoun is a word which replaces a noun, or noun phrase, in a sentence. This is quite a broad definition, however, and there are many different types of pronoun.

In French, there are seven main types of pronouns. It's helpful to learn what they are and when we use them.

Personal pronouns replace the name of a person, animal, object, or group. There are a few subcategories of personal pronouns:

Subject pronouns

We use a subject pronoun when a pronoun is the subject of a clause.

Examples:

Je travaille. - I work.

Elle aime le café. - She likes coffee.

Nous avons préparé le dîner ensemble. - We cooked dinner together.

The French subject pronouns are as follows:

Direct object pronouns

We use a direct object pronoun when a pronoun replaces the person or thing directly affected by the verb, without a preposition such as à or pour.

Examples:

Je le vois. - I see him/it.

Elle m'aime. - She loves me.

Nous les invitons. - We invite them.

The French direct object pronouns are as follows:

Indirect object pronouns

We use an indirect object pronoun when a pronoun replaces the person who receives or is affected by the action, usually introduced by the preposition à.

Examples:

Je lui parle. - I speak to him/her.

Elle me téléphone. - She calls me.

Nous leur écrivons. - We write to them.

The French indirect object pronouns are as follows:

Learn more about direct and indirect pronouns, as well as their placement in sentences, in Lesson 26 of The Complete French Course.

For more on personal pronouns in general, check out our blog.

We use a possessive pronoun to show who something belongs to.

In French, possessive pronouns must agree with the thing which is being possessed, rather than with the person who possesses it.

Examples:

Mes clés sont sur la table, les tiennes sont sur le bureau. - My keys are on the table, yours are on the desk.

J'ai oublié mon stylo, tu peux me prêter le tien ? - I forgot my pen, can you lend me yours?

French possessive pronouns:

We use a demonstrative pronoun when a pronoun points to or identifies a particular person or thing, normally something nearby or that has already been referenced.

Examples:

Je préfère celui-ci. - I prefer this one.

Elle prend celle-là. - She takes that one.

Ceux-ci sont moins chers. - These ones are cheaper.

The French demonstrative pronouns are as follows:

For more on demonstrative pronouns, including when to use the suffixes ci and la, check out our video 'How to say THIS, THAT, THESE & THOSE in French'.

We use a relative pronoun to introduce a relative clause and connect it to a noun or pronoun that has already been mentioned in the sentence or conversation.

Examples:

C'est le livre que j'ai acheté. - It's the book that I bought.

Voici la maison où je suis né. - Here is the house where I was born.

Le livre dont tu parles est très intéressant. - The book that you are talking about is very interesting.

Common French relative pronouns include:

Learn more about relative pronouns on our blog.

We use an interrogative pronoun to ask a question about a person or thing.

Examples:

Qui vient ? - Who is coming?

Qu'est-ce que tu veux ? - What do you want?

Regarde ces robes. Laquelle tu préfères ? - Look at these dresses. Which one do you prefer?

Common French interrogative pronouns include:

We use an indefinite pronoun when we refer to a person or thing without identifying exactly who or what it is.

Examples:

Quelqu'un a appelé. - Someone called.

Je ne connais personne. - I don't know anyone.

Certains sont d'accord. - Some (people) agree.

Common French indefinite pronouns include:

We use an adverbial pronoun to replace a noun in a way that functions as an adverb, typically referring to a quantity, direction, place or relationship.

The two main French adverbial pronouns are y and en.

Y

The word y generally replaces à + a thing/place, but not a person or living thing. It usually translates as 'there' or 'to it'.

Examples:

Marseille ? Je n'y suis jamais allé. - Marseille? I've never been there.

Tu penses à ton avenir ? Oui, j'y pense. - Are you thinking about your future? Yes, I'm thinking about it

J'adore Paris. J'y habite depuis longtemps. - I love Paris. I've lived there for a long time.

En

En generally stands in for a quantity or for the expression de + a thing. It means 'some' or 'of it/of them'.

Examples:

J'en parle. (Je parle de ce problème.) - I'm talking about it

Il en revient. (Il revient de Paris.) - He's returning from there

Combien en voulez-vous ? - How many (of them) do you want?

For further details on the difference between en and y, check out our blog.