Language/French/Grammar/Order-of-multiple-pronouns-with-imperatives

Order of multiple pronouns with imperatives

When two pronouns follow the verb in affirmative imperatives the ordering of pronouns is slightly different in that pronouns from the first column (me, te, se, nous, vous) follow pronouns from the second column (le, la, les).

The other orders remain the same. Pronouns after imperatives are linked to the verb that governs them by hyphens:

• Donne-le-moi (NOT *Donne-moi-le)

Give it to me

• Passez-les-nous (NOT *Passez-nous-les)

Pass them over to us

• Nettoyez-la-moi (NOT *Nettoyez-moi-la)

Clean it for me

NB: Donne-moi-le, Passez-nous-les, etc., are often heard in informal spoken French. The foreign learner should avoid them, however.

BUT:

• Donne-le-lui

Give it to him

• Passez-les-leur

Pass them over to them

• Parlez-lui-en

Talk to him about it

The pronouns me, te become moi, toi in affirmative imperatives when they are the last pronoun in the sequence, but become m , t' before y or en:

• Donne-le-moi

Give it to me

• Donne-m'en

Give me some

In these cases in informal spoken French it is not unusual to hear moi, toi I retained with a linking -z-, but the learner should avoid this usage:

• Parlez-moi-z-en

Talk to me about it

• Accroche-toi-z-y

Hang on to it

In negative imperatives pronouns precede the verb, and the order of multiple pronouns is as indicated in the table:

• Ne me le donne pas

Don't give it to me

• Ne me les nettoyez jamais!

Don't you ever clean them for me! (i.e. I forbid you to ...)

Once you've mastered this lesson, take a look at these related pages: Possessive determiners, Omission of the article, Intransitive verbs and auxiliary « avoir » & How to tell the time.

Other Lessons

• Adjectives used as nouns
• Abstract versus concrete nouns
• Adjective—adjective compounds
• Quantifiers and personal pronouns
• How to tell the time
• on as an equivalent for nous
• Adverbs ending in —ment derived from the masculine form of an adjective
• L’on VS on
• Adverbs ending in —ment derived from the feminine form of an adjective
• Nouns with irregular plurals
• Mass nouns used countably
• Adjectives which normally follow the noun but can also precede, without significant changes in meaning
• Double object constructions with no preposition
• Use of l'on
• Pronominal verbs used reflexively