What is the order of object pronouns in French?

Me, te, se, nous, vous first; then le, la, les; then lui, leur; then y; then en. So je te le donne, je le lui donne, il y en a. The sequence is fixed and does not depend on which pronoun is the direct object.

Why is it je te le donne but je le lui donne?

Because the underlying rule puts first and second person before third person. Te outranks le, so it comes first; but lui is third person like le, and in that pair the direct object wins.

How does the order change in the imperative?

In a positive command the pronouns follow the verb with hyphens and the direct object comes first: donne-le-moi, explique-le-lui. Me and te become moi and toi. In a negative command everything reverts: ne me le donne pas.

Can I use me and lui together?

No. Two pronouns from the same group cannot combine, so instead of me lui French says il m'a présenté à lui. The same applies to te leur and nous lui.

Where do the pronouns go when there are two verbs?

In front of the verb they belong to, which is usually the infinitive: je vais te le dire, tu peux les lui rendre. With faire, laisser and verbs of perception they move forward instead: je le lui ai fait lire.

French grammar · Advanced

French Double Pronoun Order: Me Le, Le Lui, Y En

Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

When two object pronouns share a verb, French fixes their order for you: me, te, se, nous, vous come first, then le, la, les, then lui, leur, then y, then en. The affirmative imperative is the one construction that reshuffles the sequence, and it is the only exception you have to learn separately.

Il me l'a dit hier, et je te le répète maintenant.

He told me yesterday, and I'm repeating it to you now.

What it is

English keeps its pronouns in the order the sentence needs: give it to me, give me it. French does not negotiate. There is a single fixed sequence, and every pronoun that appears in a sentence takes its place in it regardless of which is the direct object and which is the indirect one.

Je te le donne. Je le lui donne. Il y en a. — I'm giving it to you. I'm giving it to him. There's some.

How to spot it

Work out which pronouns you need, then drop them into the chain in order. The only decision left is whether the sentence is an affirmative command, which uses a different sequence.

Elle me les a prêtés. — She lent them to me. (me before les)
Je le leur ai expliqué. — I explained it to them. (le before leur)
Il nous en a parlé. — He talked to us about it. (en last)
Donne-le-moi. — Give it to me. (imperative order)

Two pronouns from the same column cannot appear together. Me lui and te leur do not exist, and French rephrases instead.

Double Pronoun Order Quick Reference

The fixed order before the verb

Position	Pronouns	Example
1	me, te, se, nous, vous	Il me le donne.
2	le, la, les	Je la lui rends.
3	lui, leur	Nous le leur avons dit.
4	y	Elle m'y a emmené.
5	en	Il nous en reste deux.
y + en together	y before en	Il y en a encore.

Common Double Pronoun Order Examples in French

The chain in the four combinations that actually occur:

Me, Te, Nous, Vous + Le, La, Les

Je te le prête volontiers.: I'll happily lend it to you.
Elle me l'a offert pour mon anniversaire.: She gave it to me for my birthday.
On vous les enverra par la poste.: We'll send them to you by post.
Il ne nous l'a jamais expliqué.: He never explained it to us.

When the indirect object is first or second person, it comes before the direct object. This is the reverse of the English order in give it to me.

Le, La, Les + Lui, Leur

Je le lui ai dit ce matin.: I told him this morning.
Ces documents, nous les leur avons remis.: Those documents, we handed them over to them.
Sa lettre ? Elle la lui a rendue.: His letter? She gave it back to him.
Ne le leur répète pas.: Don't repeat it to them.

With two third-person pronouns the direct object comes first. This is the pair learners most often reverse.

With Y and En

Il m'en a donné trois.: He gave me three of them.
Je lui en ai déjà parlé.: I've already spoken to him about it.
Elle nous y a conduits en voiture.: She drove us there.
Des places ? Il y en a encore.: Seats? There are still some.

Y and en close the chain, always in that order, and en is the last word before the verb.

In Compound Tenses and With Infinitives

Tu me l'avais promis.: You'd promised me.
Je vais te les montrer.: I'll show them to you.
Il faut le lui dire.: Somebody has to tell him.
Elle n'a pas voulu nous en parler.: She didn't want to talk to us about it.

The whole cluster stays together and attaches to the verb it belongs to: in front of the auxiliary in a compound tense, in front of the infinitive when there is one.

How the Order Is Decided

One chain, one exception, and two combinations that French simply refuses to build.

Person Before Thing, Except Between Two Third Persons

The underlying logic is that first and second person pronouns come before third person ones. Me le and te la follow that; le lui and les leur are the residue, where the direct object outranks the indirect one because both are third person.

Il me le donne, puis il le lui donne.

He gives it to me, then he gives it to him.

me le, te la — but le lui, les leur.

The Cluster Cannot Be Split

Negation, adverbs and auxiliaries all go around the group, never inside it. Je ne te le dirai pas keeps te le together, and je ne l'ai pas vu keeps the pronoun in front of the auxiliary.

Je ne vous en ai pas encore parlé.

I haven't talked to you about it yet.

ne + cluster + verb + pas.

The Affirmative Imperative Reverses the First Two

In a positive command the pronouns follow the verb, joined by hyphens, and the direct object comes first: donne-le-moi. Me and te also become the stressed forms moi and toi.

Rends-les-lui tout de suite.

Give them back to him right now.

Verb, then le, la, les, then moi, toi, lui, nous, vous, leur.

A Negative Command Returns to Normal Order

As soon as ne … pas appears, the pronouns go back in front of the verb in the ordinary sequence. Ne me le donne pas is built exactly like je ne me le donne pas.

Ne me le dis pas maintenant.

Don't tell me now.

Negative imperative = standard order.

Some Pairs Are Impossible

Two pronouns from the same position cannot co-occur, so me lui, te leur and nous lui do not exist. French keeps the direct object as a pronoun and expresses the person with à plus a stressed pronoun.

Il m'a présenté à eux.

He introduced me to them.

Blocked pair → à moi, à lui, à eux.

Common Mistakes with Double Pronoun Order

Incorrect: Je lui le donne. — I'm giving it to him.

Correct: Je le lui donne. — I'm giving it to him.

Between two third-person pronouns the direct object comes first. Le lui and les leur are fixed, and the reverse order does not exist.

Incorrect: Je le te dis. — I'm telling you.

Correct: Je te le dis. — I'm telling you.

A first or second person pronoun always precedes le, la and les. The order only flips when both pronouns are third person.

Incorrect: Donne-moi-le. — Give it to me.

Correct: Donne-le-moi. — Give it to me.

In an affirmative command the direct object comes first and me becomes the stressed moi. The order matches the English give it to me rather than the ordinary French sequence.

Incorrect: Ne donne-le-moi pas. — Don't give it to me.

Correct: Ne me le donne pas. — Don't give it to me.

The imperative order only applies to positive commands. Once the sentence is negative, the pronouns go back in front of the verb in the standard sequence.

The Imperative and the Awkward Cases

Where the sequence changes shape, and how French gets around the combinations it cannot say.

The affirmative imperative

The verb comes first, then the pronouns in the order le, la, les, then moi, toi, lui, nous, vous, leur, then y, then en, all linked by hyphens.

Donne-le-moi, s'il te plaît.: Give it to me, please.
Explique-le-lui calmement.: Explain it to him calmly.
Prêtez-les-nous jusqu'à demain.: Lend them to us until tomorrow.
Parle-lui-en ce soir.: Talk to him about it tonight.

Before en, moi and toi shrink back to m' and t': donne-m'en un peu, va-t'en.

Combinations French avoids

When both pronouns would come from the first group, or when the meaning would be ambiguous, French keeps one of them as a full prepositional phrase.

Présente-moi à tes parents.: Introduce me to your parents.
Elle s'est adressée à moi directement.: She addressed me directly.
Ils nous ont recommandés à leur patron.: They recommended us to their boss.

Verbs of introducing and recommending are the ones where this comes up most, because they naturally need two people.

Two verbs, two possible hosts

With a modal or semi-auxiliary plus an infinitive, the pronouns attach to the verb they are the object of, which is normally the infinitive.

Je peux te le prêter demain.: I can lend it to you tomorrow.
Tu devrais le lui rendre.: You should give it back to him.
Il a essayé de nous en convaincre.: He tried to convince us of it.

With faire, laisser and the verbs of perception the pronouns move to the front instead: je le lui ai fait lire.

Double Pronoun Order FAQs

What is the order of object pronouns in French?: Me, te, se, nous, vous first; then le, la, les; then lui, leur; then y; then en. So je te le donne, je le lui donne, il y en a. The sequence is fixed and does not depend on which pronoun is the direct object.
Why is it je te le donne but je le lui donne?: Because the underlying rule puts first and second person before third person. Te outranks le, so it comes first; but lui is third person like le, and in that pair the direct object wins.
How does the order change in the imperative?: In a positive command the pronouns follow the verb with hyphens and the direct object comes first: donne-le-moi, explique-le-lui. Me and te become moi and toi. In a negative command everything reverts: ne me le donne pas.
Can I use me and lui together?: No. Two pronouns from the same group cannot combine, so instead of me lui French says il m'a présenté à lui. The same applies to te leur and nous lui.
Where do the pronouns go when there are two verbs?: In front of the verb they belong to, which is usually the infinitive: je vais te le dire, tu peux les lui rendre. With faire, laisser and verbs of perception they move forward instead: je le lui ai fait lire.