In this video, I will tell you when and how to use French direct and indirect pronouns a.k.a COD and COI. You will see, it is not that hard!
The difference between COD and COI pronouns
The COD is what the action of the verb is about. When I say, "j'envoie une carte postale", the action of sending relates directly to the postcard. in the case of a COI, the verb and the COI have no relation. Moreover, the COI is introduced by a preposition. In the example, "j'envoie une carte postale à mon frère", the action of sending is performed directly on the postcard and not on my brother. The word brother is indeed introduced by a preposition, the preposition "à". It is therefore a COI!
All COD pronouns and some examples
Cod pronouns are used to avoid repetition or to modify a sentence grammatically. There are COD pronouns for every person : "je -> me, tu -> te, il/elle -> le/la/l', nous -> nous, vous -> vous, ils/elles -> les". The hardest thing is not to remember them but to not mix them with the COI pronouns
All COI pronouns and some examples
The same pronouns are used as for the COD pronouns, with two exceptions: instead of "le/la/l'", we have a single pronoun "lui". We no longer have to worry about gender. The same goes for "les" which becomes "leur" without s. The most difficult thing may not be the pronouns, but knowing whether the verb is followed by a COD or a COI. Unfortunately, there is no rule, practice will help you. So be patient, it will come, I promise!
Final test
I strongly recommend that you take the quiz at the end of the video to find out your score and whether you need to review this grammatical concept. Good luck!
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