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COI : notions avancées
In French, an indirect object is a person found after a preposition (usually à or pour).
Par exemple…
Il donne des fleurs à son amie. | He’s giving his friend flowers. | |
J’achète le jeu pour mes enfants. | I’m buying the game for my children. |
This preposition + indirect object can usually be replaced by an indirect object pronoun:
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He’s giving her flowers. | |
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I’m buying the game for them. |
However, some verbs do not allow indirect object pronouns; instead, the preposition must be maintained after the verb along with the indirect object.
Il pense à son amie. |
He’s thinking about his friend. | |
Je fais référence aux avocats. |
I’m referring to lawyers. | |
On s’habitue au nouveau prof. |
We’re getting used to the new teacher. |
Alternatively, the indirect object can be replaced by a stressed pronoun:
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He’s thinking about her. | |
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I’m referring to them. | |
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We’re getting used to him. |
Less commonly, à + indirect object may be replaced with the adverbial pronoun y:
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He’s thinking about her. | |
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I’m referring to them. | |
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We’re getting used to him. |
"No indirect object pronoun" verbs
These are the French verbs that do not allow their indirect object to be replaced by an indirect object pronoun. Note that all but two are followed by the preposition à:
aller à | to go to | |
en appeler à | to appeal to, address | |
avoir affaire à | to have to deal with | |
avoir confiance en** | to trust, have faith in | |
avoir recours à | to turn to, appeal to | |
croire à | to believe in | |
être à | to belong to | |
faire allusion à | to allude to | |
faire appel à | to appeal to, address | |
faire attention à | to pay attention to | |
faire (qqch) pour | to do (something) for | |
faire référence à | to refer to | |
penser à | to think of, about | |
prendre garde à | to watch out for, take care of | |
prêter attention à | to pay attention to | |
recourir à | to have recourse to | |
en référer à | to refer, submit to | |
réfléchir à | to think about | |
renoncer à | to give up, renounce | |
revenir à | to come back to | |
rêver à | to dream of | |
songer à | to think, dream of | |
tenir à | to be fond of, care about | |
venir à | to come to |
** However, the very similar expression faire confiance à does allow the indirect object pronoun: je fais confiance à Marc je lui fais confiance.
In addition to the above, all pronominal verbs followed by à plus a person disallow the indirect object pronoun, including
s’accoutumer à | to get used to | |
s’accrocher à | to hang on to, cling to | |
s’adresser à | to address, speak to | |
s’attacher à | to attach oneself to | |
se faire à | to get used to | |
se fier à | to trust | |
s’habituer à | to get used to | |
s’intéresser à | to be interested in | |
se joindre à | to join, mingle with | |
se livrer à | to devote oneself to | |
s’opposer à | to be opposed to, rebel against | |
se plaindre à | to complain to | |
se présenter à | to introduce oneself to | |
se référer à | to refer to |
Likewise, pronominal verbs followed by de plus a person cannot take an indirect object pronoun:
s’inquiéter de | to worry about | |
se méfier de | to distrust, be suspicious of | |
se moquer de | to make fun of | |
s’occuper de | to deal with, take care of | |
se souvenir de | to remember |
For these verbs you have two other options: you can either keep de and replace the person with a stressed pronoun or replace both with the adverbial pronoun en.
Par exemple…
Je me méfie de mon voisin.![]() ![]() |
I’m suspicious of my neighbor. I’m suspicious of him. |
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