The indirect object (COI) in French
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The indirect object complement (French: le complément d'objet indirect) is an element of the verbal group, introduced by a preposition, which makes it possible to specify the object of an action performed. The COI thus makes it possible to complete a verb preceded by a preposition.
It is a complement of verb. It represents the being or the thing that indirectly receives the action that the subject does.
Examples:
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You have to find out the subject and the verb before the COI. The indirect object complement answers the following questions:
In these three examples, you will analyse the sentence to find out the COI.
Selena téléphone à son amie. (Selena is calling her friend)
Mes parents se sont souvenus de nos bêtises. (Our parents remembered our foolishness)
Note that other questions are possible depending on the preposition used but the main used are "de" and "à".
Like the COD, the COI usually follows the verb except if it's a pronoun. In this case, the indirect object can be replaced with pronouns like:
If it is a person you can use the reflexive pronouns.
COI | Pronoun | Translation |
---|---|---|
Léo parle de politique | Il en parle | (Leo talks about policy) |
Le professeur enseigne aux élèves | Le professeur leur enseigne | (The teacher is teaching them) |
The grammatical nature (French: la nature grammaticale) of an indirect object can be:
Nature | Example | Translation |
---|---|---|
Noun or nominal group | Le guide parle aux touristes | (The tour guide is talking to the tourist) |
Pronoun | Le guide leur parle | (The tour guide is talking to them) |
Infinitive verb | Cette chose m'a permis de comprendre la vérité | (This thing allowed me to understand the truth) |
Subordinate clause | Nous obeissons à ce que vous nous dites. | (We do what you say) |
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Hi and welcome !
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