French 1 Quiz: Placing Object Pronouns
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Placing Object PronounsQuestion 1 of 10

Un ami vous demande : « Est-ce que tu penses souvent à tes vacances en France ? » Vous répondez affirmativement en remplaçant 'à tes vacances en France' par le pronom correct. Quelle réponse est juste ?

Oui, je lui pense souvent.
Oui, j'y pense souvent.
Oui, je les pense souvent.
Oui, j'en pense souvent.
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French 1 Quiz

French 1 Quiz: Placing Object Pronouns

Practice Placing Object Pronouns in French 1 with focused quiz questions that help you check what you know, review explanations, and build confidence with test-style prompts.

What this quiz covers

This quiz focuses on Placing Object Pronouns, giving you a quick way to practice the rules, question types, and explanations that matter most for French 1.

How to use this quiz

Try each quiz question before looking at the correct answer. Use the explanations to review missed ideas, then come back to similar questions until the pattern feels familiar.

All questions

Question 1

Un ami vous demande : « Est-ce que tu penses souvent à tes vacances en France ? » Vous répondez affirmativement en remplaçant 'à tes vacances en France' par le pronom correct. Quelle réponse est juste ?

  1. Oui, je lui pense souvent.
  2. Oui, j'y pense souvent. (correct answer)
  3. Oui, je les pense souvent.
  4. Oui, j'en pense souvent.
Explanation: When a verb is followed by the preposition à and refers to a thing or place (not a person), French replaces that entire phrase with the pronoun y. This question tests exactly that rule: "penser à quelque chose." The verb penser à means "to think about." Here, "tes vacances en France" is a thing (a concept/event), not a person. So you replace à tes vacances en France with y, giving you Oui, j'y pense souvent. — making B the correct answer. The pronoun y slots in directly before the conjugated verb, just like other object pronouns. Here's why the other choices fail: A uses lui, which replaces à + a person (e.g., je pense à mon ami → je lui pense). Vacations are not a person, so lui is the wrong category entirely. C uses les, a direct object pronoun that replaces nouns introduced by le/la/les — but penser à is an indirect construction requiring à, not a direct object, so les simply doesn't apply here. D uses en, which replaces de + noun or quantities. Since penser à uses à (not de), en is the wrong preposition match. A useful memory trick: think of y = "à + thing/place" and lui/leur = "à + person." Whenever you see penser à, croire à, s'intéresser à, ask yourself — is what follows a person or a thing? That single question will almost always point you to the right pronoun.

Question 2

Marie veut offrir des fleurs à sa mère. Elle décide de lui en acheter. Quelle phrase place correctement les pronoms objets ?

  1. Elle lui en achète. (correct answer)
  2. Elle en lui achète.
  3. Elle y lui achète.
  4. Elle lui y achète.
Explanation: When French sentences use two object pronouns together, their order is fixed by rule, not by feel. The standard order for combining indirect object pronouns (lui, leur) with the pronoun en is: indirect object pronoun → en. So the structure is always: subject + [lui/leur] + [en] + verb. In this sentence, Marie buys flowers (en replaces des fleurs) for her mother (lui replaces à sa mère). Applying the rule, lui comes before en, giving you: Elle lui en achète — choice A. This is the correct answer. Choice B, Elle en lui achète, reverses the order, placing en before lui. This violates the fixed pronoun order rule and is grammatically incorrect in French — you cannot place en before an indirect object pronoun like lui. Choice C, Elle y lui achète, swaps en for y, which is the wrong pronoun entirely. The pronoun y typically replaces a location or a phrase introduced by à referring to a place or thing, not des fleurs (a quantity/partitive object), which always requires en. Choice D, Elle lui y achète, uses y again incorrectly for the same reason as C, and even if y were appropriate, it would need to follow lui — but the core problem remains the wrong pronoun choice. A handy tip: memorize the French double-pronoun order chart. For lui/leur + en, think of the phrase "lui en" as a fixed pair — it never flips. Flashcard it as a chunk rather than a rule to recall under pressure.

Question 3

Votre ami vous demande : « Tu vas parler à tes parents de tes problèmes ? » Vous répondez négativement, en remplaçant 'à tes parents' et 'de tes problèmes' par des pronoms. Quelle réponse est correcte ?

  1. Non, je ne leur en parle pas. (correct answer)
  2. Non, je n'en leur parle pas.
  3. Non, je ne les en parle pas.
  4. Non, je ne leur y parle pas.
Explanation: When French sentences use multiple object pronouns together, their order follows a strict rule: indirect object pronouns (lui/leur) come before the pronoun en. This question tests whether you know that order and which pronouns to use. Here, "à tes parents" becomes leur (indirect object, plural) and "de tes problèmes" becomes en (replacing a noun introduced by de). The correct negative sentence places them as: ne + leur + en + parle + pas, giving you A: "Non, je ne leur en parle pas." This follows the fixed pronoun order and uses the right pronouns for each function. Choice B — "je n'en leur parle pas" — reverses the order, placing en before leur. French pronoun order is not flexible; en always follows indirect object pronouns, never precedes them. Choice C — "je ne les en parle pas" — uses les instead of leur. This is a classic trap: "les" is a direct object pronoun, but "parler à" takes an indirect object. Since parents are the recipients of the action parler à, you must use the indirect pronoun leur, not the direct les. Choice D — "je ne leur y parle pas" — uses y instead of en. The pronoun y replaces locations or phrases with à + thing, while en replaces phrases with de + noun. Since "de tes problèmes" uses de, en is required. Study tip: Memorize the pronoun order as a fixed sequence: me/te/se/nous/vous → le/la/les → lui/leur → y → en. When you see parler de, think en; when you see parler à (a person), think lui/leur.

Question 4

Considérez la phrase : « Tu m'envoies le rapport demain. » Votre collègue répond en remplaçant 'le rapport' par un pronom. Quelle réponse est correcte ?

  1. Oui, je te l'envoie demain. (correct answer)
  2. Oui, je l'envoie te demain.
  3. Oui, je te lui envoie demain.
  4. Oui, je me l'envoie demain.
Explanation: When a sentence involves two object pronouns in French, word order is everything. The key question to ask yourself is: which pronouns are being used, and in what order do they appear before the verb? In the original sentence, "Tu m'envoies le rapport demain," two things are being replaced: me (the indirect object — the person receiving the report) and le rapport (the direct object — the thing being sent). When both a first/second-person indirect object pronoun (me, te, nous, vous) and a direct object pronoun (le, la, les) appear together, French places the indirect object pronoun before the direct object pronoun: me/te/nous/vous → le/la/les → verb. This gives you "je **te l'**envoie demain," making A the correct answer. Option B, "je l'envoie te demain," reverses the pronouns and places te after the verb — both errors. Pronouns must come directly before the conjugated verb, not after. Option C, "je te lui envoie demain," uses lui as the indirect object pronoun. Lui is used for third-person indirect objects (him/her), not for me or you — and the order rule for lui is actually reversed (le/la → lui), making this doubly wrong in context. Option D, "je me l'envoie demain," uses me instead of te, which would mean you're sending the report to yourself — a meaning entirely different from the original. A handy tip: memorize the French double pronoun order as me/te/nous/vous → le/la/les → lui/leur, and always check both which pronoun is needed and where it belongs.

Question 5

Un professeur dit à ses étudiants : « Lisez les chapitres ! » (affirmative imperative). Un étudiant veut reformuler cette phrase en remplaçant 'les chapitres' par un pronom. Quelle option est correcte ?

  1. Lisez-les ! (correct answer)
  2. Les lisez !
  3. Vous les lisez !
  4. Lisez-leur !
Explanation: When you see a question about replacing a direct object with a pronoun in an affirmative imperative sentence, the key rule to remember is: in affirmative commands, object pronouns come after the verb and are attached with a hyphen. In the original sentence "Lisez les chapitres !", the noun phrase les chapitres is the direct object. To replace it with a pronoun, you use les (the third-person plural direct object pronoun). In an affirmative imperative, this pronoun must follow the verb: Lisez-les ! — making option A the correct answer. The hyphen is mandatory in written French, linking the verb to the pronoun that follows it. Option B (Les lisez !) places the pronoun before the verb, which is the rule for negative imperatives (e.g., Ne les lisez pas !) — not affirmative ones. This is the most common trap students fall into. Option C (Vous les lisez !) is simply a regular present-tense statement, not an imperative at all — it means "You read them," losing the command entirely. Option D (Lisez-leur !) uses leur, the indirect object pronoun (meaning "to them"), which would only be correct if the verb took an indirect object. Lire takes a direct object (lire quelque chose), so leur is grammatically wrong here. A helpful memory trick: affirmative imperative = verb first, pronoun after (with a hyphen); negative imperative = pronoun before the verb. Keeping these two patterns distinct will help you avoid the most common pronoun-placement errors on this exam.

Question 6

La phrase originale est : « Ne montre pas tes photos à tes cousins ! » (negative imperative). En remplaçant 'tes photos' par un pronom, quelle version est correcte ?

  1. Ne montre pas les à tes cousins !
  2. Ne montre-les pas à tes cousins !
  3. Ne les montre pas à tes cousins ! (correct answer)
  4. Montre-les pas à tes cousins !
Explanation: When replacing a direct object noun with a pronoun in French, the placement of that pronoun changes dramatically depending on whether the sentence is affirmative or negative — and this question tests exactly that distinction. In a negative imperative, French places direct object pronouns before the verb, sandwiched between "ne" and the verb itself. The structure is: ne + pronoun + verb + pas. Here, "tes photos" becomes "les" (a direct object pronoun replacing a plural noun). Applying the rule gives you: Ne les montre pas à tes cousins ! — which is exactly option C, the correct answer. Now let's look at why the others fail. Option A ("Ne montre pas les à tes cousins !") places the pronoun after "pas," which is never correct in French regardless of mood or tense. Option B ("Ne montre-les pas à tes cousins !") uses a hyphen and places the pronoun after the verb — this is actually the structure for an affirmative imperative (e.g., Montre-les !), not a negative one. Mixing negative markers with affirmative pronoun placement is a classic trap. Option D ("Montre-les pas à tes cousins !") drops "ne" entirely, which is informal spoken French but grammatically incorrect in writing, and it's still using the affirmative pronoun placement. A handy rule to memorize: negative imperative = pronoun goes BEFORE the verb (like in regular statements), while affirmative imperative = pronoun goes AFTER the verb with a hyphen. If you see "ne...pas," treat pronoun placement like a normal sentence.

Question 7

Voici une phrase avec un verbe à l'infinitif : « Nous espérons voir nos amis à Paris. » En remplaçant 'nos amis' par un pronom, quelle phrase est correcte ?

  1. Nous espérons leur voir à Paris.
  2. Nous les espérons voir à Paris.
  3. Nous espérons voir les à Paris.
  4. Nous espérons les voir à Paris. (correct answer)
Explanation: When a French verb is followed by an infinitive, object pronouns attach directly to the infinitive they logically belong to — not to the conjugated verb. This is the core rule being tested here. In the sentence "Nous espérons voir nos amis à Paris," the verb espérer is conjugated, but voir is the infinitive that actually takes "nos amis" as its direct object. Since nos amis is a plural direct object, it becomes les. That pronoun slots in immediately before the infinitive voir, giving you "Nous espérons les voir à Paris" — answer D. The structure is: conjugated verb + pronoun + infinitive. Here's why the other options fail. A uses leur, which is an indirect object pronoun (used with verbs like parler à or donner à). Since voir takes a direct object — you "see someone," not "see to someone" — leur is grammatically wrong here. B places les before espérons, the conjugated verb, instead of before voir. The pronoun must precede the verb it belongs to, and "nos amis" is the object of voir, not espérer. C puts the pronoun les after voir, which violates French word order entirely — object pronouns always precede the verb, never follow it. A handy tip: whenever you see a conjugated verb + infinitive combination in French, ask yourself which verb the object belongs to, then place the pronoun directly in front of that verb. Most placement errors on this topic come from mistakenly attaching the pronoun to the wrong verb.

Question 8

Laquelle des phrases suivantes est correctement construite avec un pronom objet indirect à la place de 'à Sophie' ?

  1. Pierre se téléphone tous les soirs.
  2. Pierre la téléphone tous les soirs.
  3. Pierre téléphone lui tous les soirs.
  4. Pierre lui téléphone tous les soirs. (correct answer)
Explanation: When replacing an indirect object like à Sophie with a pronoun in French, you need to think carefully about two things: which pronoun to use, and where to place it in the sentence. For indirect objects referring to people (introduced by à), French uses the indirect object pronouns lui (him/her) and leur (them). These pronouns are placed directly before the conjugated verb — this is the key rule. So Pierre téléphone à Sophie tous les soirs becomes Pierre lui téléphone tous les soirs, making D the correct answer. Here's why the other options fail. Choice A uses se, a reflexive pronoun, which would mean Pierre is calling himself — a completely different grammatical construction with a different meaning. Choice B uses la, which is a direct object pronoun (replacing a noun without a preposition, like la pomme). Since téléphoner takes an indirect object (téléphoner à quelqu'un), using la is the wrong pronoun type entirely — it's a classic trap because English says "he calls her" with a direct object, but French grammar works differently here. Choice C places lui after the verb, which is only correct in imperative (command) sentences like Téléphone-lui ! — in regular declarative sentences, the pronoun must come before the verb. A useful tip: verbs like téléphoner, parler, répondre, and ressembler all take à + person in French, meaning they always use lui/leur, never le/la/les. Memorizing this short list will help you avoid the direct/indirect pronoun mix-up on future questions.

Question 9

Observez la phrase : « Ils ont envoyé des invitations à leurs amis. » En remplaçant SEULEMENT 'à leurs amis' par le pronom approprié, quelle phrase est correcte ?

  1. Ils ont leur envoyé des invitations.
  2. Ils les ont envoyé des invitations.
  3. Ils leur ont envoyé des invitations. (correct answer)
  4. Ils y ont envoyé des invitations.
Explanation: When a verb is followed by à + person (like à leurs amis), French replaces that indirect object with the pronoun leur (meaning "to them"). This is different from direct object pronouns, so recognizing whether the original phrase answers "to whom?" is the key skill being tested here. In the original sentence, à leurs amis tells you to whom the invitations were sent — making it an indirect object. The correct indirect object pronoun for a plural group is leur. It must be placed directly before the conjugated verb (here, ont), giving you: Ils leur ont envoyé des invitations. That's why C is correct. Looking at the wrong answers: A (Ils ont leur envoyé) places leur after ont instead of before the conjugated verb — French object pronouns must come before the verb, not inside the auxiliary-participle structure like that. B (Ils les ont envoyé) uses les, which is a direct object pronoun (replacing something like les invitations), not an indirect object pronoun — it answers "what?" not "to whom?" D (Ils y ont envoyé) uses y, which typically replaces à + a place or thing (e.g., au bureau), not à + a person. A helpful rule to memorize: if the original phrase is à + person, use lui (singular) or leur (plural). If it's à + place or thing, use y. Always place these pronouns before the conjugated verb, even in compound tenses like passé composé.

Question 10

Regardez cette phrase à l'impératif affirmatif avec deux objets : « Donne le livre à Marc ! » En remplaçant les deux éléments — 'le livre' et 'à Marc' — par des pronoms, quelle phrase est correcte ?

  1. Donne-lui-le !
  2. Donne-le-lui ! (correct answer)
  3. Lui-le donne !
  4. Le-lui donne !
Explanation: When French imperatives take two object pronouns, word order is everything — and it follows a strict rule that differs from statement sentences. In affirmative imperative constructions, direct object pronouns come before indirect object pronouns, and both are attached to the verb with hyphens. So the formula is: verb + direct object + indirect object. In "Donne le livre à Marc," le livre becomes the direct object pronoun le, and à Marc becomes the indirect object pronoun lui. Applying the rule gives you Donne-le-lui ! — which is exactly answer B. Choice A, Donne-lui-le !, reverses the order by placing the indirect object lui before the direct object le. This is the most tempting trap because in normal declarative sentences with third-person pronouns, indirect objects sometimes precede direct objects (e.g., Je lui donne le livre). Students often carry that habit into imperatives — don't. Choice C, Lui-le donne !, places both pronouns before the verb, which is the pattern used in negative imperatives (Ne le lui donne pas !) or in regular statements — never in affirmative imperatives, where pronouns must follow the verb. Choice D, Le-lui donne !, also incorrectly places the pronouns before the verb, sharing the same structural error as C, though it at least gets the internal order right. Your memory aid: in affirmative imperatives, think "verb, then direct, then indirect" — the verb leads, and the direct object always hugs it first.