Pronouns are words that substitute for nouns.

There are many different kinds of pronouns, but they can be divided into two main categories: personal, which you'll learn about on this page, and impersonal, explained on page 2. This summary will give you an idea of the different kinds of French pronouns; click the links for detailed lessons and examples. What are personal pronouns? Don't take it personally - "personal" simply means that these pronouns change according to the grammatical person that they represent. This table summarizes the five different kinds of French personal pronouns; for more information, click the column headings to go to the relevant lesson: Subject Direct Object Indirect Object Reflexive Stressed je tu il elle on nous vous ils elles me* te* le la nous vous les me* te* lui me* te* se moi toi lui elle soi nous vous eux elles

nous vous leur

nous vous se

What are impersonal pronouns? These aren't as cold as they sound - "impersonal" here simply means that, unlike personal pronouns, these pronouns do not change according to grammatical person. However, some of them change to agree in gender and number with the noun that they replace. For details, click the name to read the lesson on that type of pronoun. Adverbials (y, en) replace + noun or de + noun Demonstratives (celui, celle, ceux, celles) refer to a previously mentioned noun Indefinite Demonstratives (ce, ceci, cela, a) have no specific antecedent Indefinites (autre, certain, plusieurs...) introduce an unspecific quantity or description Interrogatives (qui, que, lequel) ask who, what, orwhich one Negatives (ne __ personne, ne __ rien...) negate the noun that they replace Possessives (mien, tien, sien...) replace possessive adjective + noun Relatives (qui, que, dont...) link clauses Indefinite Relatives (ce qui, ce que, ce dont...) link clauses but are unspecific Subjects (ce, il) introduce impersonal verbs or expressions