Two object pronouns

Two object pronouns keep a fixed order: me, te, nous, vous, then le, la, les, then lui, leur, then y, then en. In a positive command the verb comes first, then le, la, les, then moi, toi, lui, nous, vous, leur, then y, then en.

Examples

Je le lui donne.I give it to him.
Donne-le-moi.Give it to me.

How it works

When a verb has two object pronouns, the order is not the English order.

The order

1. me / te / nous / vous

2. le / la / les

3. lui / leur

4. y

5. en

Je le lui donne. I give it to him. Not Je lui le donne.

Il me le donne. He gives it to me.

Je lui en parle. I talk to him about it.

Il y en a. There are some (of them there).

A positive command

the order flips

The command form (the imperative) puts the verb first, then the pronouns with hyphens, in this order:

1. le / la / les

2. moi / toi / lui / nous / vous / leur

3. y

4. en

Donne-le-moi. Give it to me. Not Donne-moi-le.

Donne-la-leur. Give it to them.

me and te become moi and toi. Before en or y, moi and toi become m' and t': Donne-m'en. Va-t'en.

A negative command

the ordinary order comes back

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

The pronouns return to the front, and moi becomes me again.

Common mistakes

Je lui le donneJe le lui donne

Donne-moi-leDonne-le-moi

Ne le me donne pasNe me le donne pas

What you'll practise

1. The order
me/te/nous/vous, then le/la/les, then lui/leur. Je le lui donne, not Je lui le donne.
- Il me le donne.He gives it to me.
2. y and en after another pronoun
en is last. y comes just before en. Je lui en parle. Il y en a.
- Je lui en parle.I talk to him about it.
3. Commands
A positive command (the imperative) puts the verb first, then le/la/les, then moi/toi/lui/nous/vous/leur, then y, then en: Donne-le-moi. A negative one keeps the ordinary order: Ne me le donne pas.
- Ne me le donne pas.Don't give it to me.

Practise it until it sticks

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