Indirect object pronouns (lui, leur)
An indirect object pronoun replaces à + a person. The test is whether the verb needs à before the person.
- Je téléphone à Marie → Je lui téléphone.
- J'écris à mes parents → Je leur écris.
| me / te | to me / to you | Il me répond. |
|---|---|---|
| lui | to him or to her | Je lui parle. |
| nous / vous | to us / to you | Elle nous explique. |
| leur | to them | Je leur donne la clé. |
Only two forms are new: lui and leur. The rest are the same words as the direct object pronouns, which is why the two sets are usually confused.
lui is not marked for gender. Je lui parle is "I speak to him" and "I speak to her"; only context decides. And leur here has no s — it is a pronoun, not the possessive leurs.
Verbs that take à and therefore use these: parler, téléphoner, écrire, répondre, donner, demander, expliquer, montrer, offrir.
The verbs that trip people up are the ones where French and English disagree:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| téléphoner à quelqu'un | to phone someone (no "to") |
| répondre à quelqu'un | to answer someone |
| attendre quelqu'un | to wait for someone (no à — direct) |
| regarder quelqu'un | to look at someone (no à — direct) |
No agreement with an indirect object: Je lui ai parlé — never parlée. That is the practical difference from the direct pronouns of week 13.
What this unlocks
Knowing the rule is not the same as producing it.
This page explains the pattern. The track drills it: the point arrives inside a mini-dialogue, then production marked against a CEFR descriptor, then a module test that returns you to your two weakest sessions if you miss it.