L’Ordre des Doubles Pronoms — me le, le lui, y en | French Grammar
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Two pronouns in one sentence — who goes first?. This guide explains L’Ordre des Doubles Pronoms in French with clear rules and real examples for every CEFR level. For example: Il donne le livre à Marie → Il le lui donne.
L’Ordre des Doubles Pronoms
Two pronouns in one sentence — who goes first?
1. L’ordre normal (before the verb)
me / te / nous / vous → le / la / les → lui / leur → y → en
| Phrase complète | Avec pronoms |
|---|---|
| Il donne le livre à Marie. | Il le lui donne. |
| Tu montres les photos à moi. | Tu me les montres. |
| Il y a des pommes là. | Il y en a. |
2. À l’impératif affirmatif (order flips + hyphens · me→moi, te→toi)
| Négatif / normal | Impératif affirmatif |
|---|---|
| Tu me le donnes | Donne-le–moi ! (verb–le–moi) |
| Tu lui en parles | Parle-lui–en ! |
| Ne me le dis pas | Dis-le–moi ! |
3. Aux temps composés (pronouns go before the auxiliary)
| Exemple | |
|---|---|
| passé composé | Il le lui a donné. |
| négation | Il ne le lui a pas donné. |
| futur proche | Il va le lui donner. |
💡 Comment ne plus se tromper
Rule of thumb: person (me/te) comes first, UNLESS it’s lui/leur, which comes AFTER le/la/les.
y and en are always LAST, and « y en » → « il y en a » is worth memorising as a block.
In the affirmative imperative everything moves AFTER the verb, joined by hyphens, and me→moi, te→toi.
📚 Free French lessons at learnfrench.co
🔊 Example sentences
✍️ Practice
Il donne le cadeau à Paul → Il ___ donne. (le/la/les + lui/leur)
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le lui
Donne le sel à moi (imperative) = Donne-___-___ ! (flip + moi)
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le-moi
There are some = Il y ___ a (y + en block)
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en
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🎯 More practice — translation — put it into French
Translate into French: « Will you lend it to me? — Yes, I’ll lend it to you. » (translation)
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Tu me le prêtes ? — Oui, je te le prête.
Translate into French: « I already told him/her that. » (translation)
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Je le lui ai déjà dit.
Translate into French: « Croissants? There are still some. » (translation)
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Des croissants ? Il y en a encore.
Go further: 7 common French mistakes English speakers make.
L’Ordre des Doubles Pronoms in French — FAQ
How does L’Ordre des Doubles Pronoms work in French?
Two pronouns in one sentence — who goes first?. The key patterns are: Il donne le livre à Marie → Il le lui donne; Tu montres les photos à moi → Tu me les montres; Il y a des pommes là → Il y en a. Follow the full set of rules in the lesson above.
What are the main rules for L’Ordre des Doubles Pronoms?
For example: Il donne le livre à Marie gives Il le lui donne, and Tu montres les photos à moi gives Tu me les montres. The lesson above covers every case with more examples.
What CEFR level is L’Ordre des Doubles Pronoms?
This topic is introduced around B1 and refined at higher levels — pick your level from the links at the top of the page. You can also drill it with the interactive exercises and games below.
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🎬 The 20-second version
5 quick questions on « L’Ordre des Doubles Pronoms » — guess before the reveal. Practise with the free games → Open this short as a page — transcript included →