A pronoun is simply a word that substitutes for a noun or another pronoun. To better understand French direct object pronouns, you should be familiar with the concept of the direct object.

Direct objects

The term direct object refers to a noun or another pronoun which the subject is acting upon and answers the questions "whom" or "what?" The direct object can refer to a person, place, thing or idea. Take a look at this sentence:

A brother sees the sister.

In this sentence, the word "brother" is the subject of the sentence while the word "sister" is the direct object. According to the definition above, the subject (brother) is acting upon (sees) the direct object (the sister).

Replacing objects with object pronouns

You might have already guessed that French direct object pronouns are used in place of the direct object. This is done to avoid repetition of the same words over and over again. For example,

Instead of the clumsy sentence:

--> I have a sister. I like my sister.

you could simply say:

--> I have a sister. I like her.

As you see, a series of sentences where objects are replaced with object pronouns sounds more elegant. Next time you speak French, you can prevent unnecessary repetition by using French object pronouns that are listed below.

Direct object pronouns

This table shows the French direct object pronouns (Pronoms objets directs).