This French A2 lesson explains le la les pronouns in French step by step, with examples in French and English. Then practise with the worksheet on le la les pronouns in French and check yourself with the quiz.
Quick answer: In French, the pronouns le, la and les replace a direct object and stand before the verb: Je télécharge l’appli becomes Je la télécharge. They let you talk about phones, apps and passwords without repeating the noun, together with repair phrases like ça ne marche pas and il est en panne.
Level: French A2 (CEFR elementary) · Standards: CEFR A2, Spoken interaction
Le la les pronouns in French: the lesson
What words do you need for phones, apps and passwords?
Most of this vocabulary looks like English, but the gender is not obvious. Learn each noun with its article.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| un smartphone, un portable | smartphone, cell phone |
| une appli (from application) | app |
| un mot de passe | password |
| la batterie, le chargeur | battery, charger |
| ma batterie est à plat | my battery is dead |
| l’écran (m.), le wifi | screen, wifi |
| une mise à jour | update |
| ça ne marche pas, il est en panne | it doesn’t work, it has broken down |
| télécharger, installer, redémarrer | to download, install, restart |
How do you replace a noun with le, la or les?
Rule: direct object pronouns
A direct object answers what? or whom? right after the verb, with no little word like à or de in between. Replace it with le (masculine), la (feminine) or les (plural). The pronoun goes before the verb. Le and la become l’ before a vowel or a mute h.
| Noun | Pronoun | Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| le chargeur | le | Je le cherche. |
| la batterie | la | Je la recharge. |
| l’appli (f.) | l’ | Je l’ouvre. |
| les photos | les | Je les envoie. |
Examples
- Mon écran est cassé. Je le répare demain. — My screen is cracked. I’m fixing it tomorrow.
- Awa cherche son mot de passe, mais elle ne le trouve pas. — Awa is looking for her password, but she can’t find it.
- Cette appli est gratuite ? Je la télécharge tout de suite. — Is this app free? I’ll download it right now.
Where does the pronoun go in other sentences?
- Negative: ne + pronoun + verb + pas — Je ne la trouve pas.
- Verb + infinitive: the pronoun stands before the infinitive — Je vais le changer.
- Passé composé: before the auxiliary — Je l’ai perdu. The participle agrees with the pronoun: J’ai perdu ma carte SIM. Je l’ai perdue.
- Command: after the verb with a hyphen — Installe-la ! But in a negative command, before it — Ne la perds pas !
Watch out
English puts the pronoun last: I download it. French never does: Je télécharge la is wrong, Je la télécharge is right. Also, la in Je la ferme is a pronoun, not the article in Je ferme la porte.
Zoé’s tip
Ask quoi ? or qui ? after the verb. If the answer follows the verb directly, you can replace it. Then check the article of the noun: un gives le, une gives la, des gives les.
Culture note
In everyday French, a text message is un SMS or un texto, an email is often un mail, and a cell phone is simply un portable.
Key points to remember
- Le replaces a masculine noun, la a feminine noun, les any plural noun; le and la become l’ before a vowel.
- The pronoun comes before the conjugated verb, unlike English: Je la change means I change it.
- In a negative sentence, ne and pas wrap around pronoun and verb: Je ne le trouve pas.
- With a verb and an infinitive, the pronoun goes before the infinitive: Je veux la réinitialiser.
- Un mot de passe and un écran are masculine; une appli and une batterie are feminine.
Fixing Phone Problems and Forgotten Passwords: frequently asked questions
What do le, la and les mean when they are not articles?
They are direct object pronouns meaning it or them. They replace a noun already mentioned and sit right before the verb: Tu aimes cette appli ? Je la télécharge.
Where does the pronoun go in a negative sentence?
Between ne and the verb, with pas after the verb: Je ne le trouve pas. With an infinitive, ne and pas stay around the first verb: Je ne veux pas le changer.
How do you say that a phone or an app does not work?
Say Ça ne marche pas or Mon téléphone ne marche plus. For a machine that has completely broken down, say Il est en panne.
Why does the past participle sometimes get an extra e?
With avoir, the participle agrees with a direct object pronoun placed before it. Feminine adds -e, plural adds -s: Je l’ai installée, Je les ai installés.
How do you say that you forgot your password?
Say J’ai oublié mon mot de passe. On a website, look for the link Mot de passe oublié ? to create a new one.