In French, when a sentence uses the passé composé (the past tense formed with avoir or être), object pronouns still come before the verb. The verb in the passé composé includes both the auxiliary verb (avoir or être) and the past participle. The object pronoun is placed directly before the auxiliary verb.

This rule applies to both direct and indirect object pronouns.

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1. Affirmative Sentences

Structure:
[Subject] + [object pronoun] + [auxiliary verb] + [past participle]

Examples with avoir:

• Je l’ai vu.
  I saw him / it.
• Il nous a appelés.
  He called us.
• Tu leur as parlé.
  You spoke to them.
• Nous t’avons attendu.
  We waited for you.

Examples with être (used for reflexive verbs and verbs of motion):

• Je me suis levé.
  I got up.
• Elle s’est lavée.
  She washed (herself).
• Nous nous sommes retrouvés.
  We met up.

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2. Intransitive Verbs Conjugated with Être

Some intransitive verbs (mainly verbs of movement or change of state) are conjugated with the auxiliary être in the passé composé. These verbs indicate motion (e.g., coming, going, arriving, leaving) or a change of state (e.g., becoming, entering).

When these verbs are used in the passé composé, object pronouns still follow the same rule: they come before the auxiliary verb.

Common Intransitive Verbs with Être:

• Aller (to go)
• Venir (to come)
• Arriver (to arrive)
• Partir (to leave)
• Entrer (to enter)
• Sortir (to go out)
• Rentrer (to return)
• Monter (to go up)
• Descendre (to go down)
• Naître (to be born)
• Mourir (to die)
• Devenir (to become)

Examples with être:

• Je l’y ai envoyée.
  I sent her there.
• Ils y sont allés.
  They went there.
• Elle m’est venue.
  She came to me.
• Nous l’avons vue avant qu’il soit parti.
  We saw him before he left.

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3. Negative Sentences

In negative statements, the ne… pas structure wraps around the object pronoun and the auxiliary verb. The past participle stays outside the negation.

Structure:
[Subject] + ne + [object pronoun] + [auxiliary] + pas + [past participle]

Examples:

• Je ne l’ai pas vu.
  I didn’t see him / it.
• Il ne nous a pas appelés.
  He didn’t call us.
• Tu ne leur as pas parlé.
  You didn’t speak to them.
• Nous ne t’avons pas attendu.
  We didn’t wait for you.

With reflexive verbs:

• Je ne me suis pas levé.
  I didn’t get up.
• Ils ne se sont pas réveillés.
  They didn’t wake up.
• Elle ne s’est pas coiffée.
  She didn’t do her hair.

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4. Intransitive Verbs with Être in Negative Sentences

When intransitive verbs conjugated with être are used in negative sentences, the object pronoun still comes before the auxiliary verb (être), and the negation surrounds both the pronoun and the auxiliary.

Examples:

• Je ne l’y ai pas envoyée.
  I didn’t send her there.
• Nous ne y sommes pas allés.
  We didn’t go there.
• Il ne m’est pas venu.
  He didn’t come to me.
• Vous ne leur êtes pas venus.
  You didn’t come to them.

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5. Agreement in the Passé Composé with Être

For verbs conjugated with être, the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject of the sentence.

Important: When the verb is followed by a direct object pronoun that is placed before the verb, the past participle must agree with the object if the verb is intransitive and the object is direct.

• Elle est partie.
  She left. (no object, but partie agrees with elle)
• Elle l’a vue.
  She saw her. (agreement in gender)
• Ils sont partis.
  They left. (plural, masculine)
• Ils les ont vus.
  They saw them. (agreement in number)

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Summary of Pronoun Position in the Passé Composé

Type of Pronoun	Affirmative Sentence	Negative Sentence
Direct Object Pronoun (e.g., le, la, les)	Subject + Pronoun + Auxiliary + Past Participle	Subject + ne + Pronoun + Auxiliary + pas + Past Participle
Indirect Object Pronoun (e.g., lui, leur)	Subject + Pronoun + Auxiliary + Past Participle	Subject + ne + Pronoun + Auxiliary + pas + Past Participle
Intransitive Verbs with Être	Subject + Pronoun + Auxiliary (être) + Past Participle	Subject + ne + Pronoun + Auxiliary (être) + pas + Past Participle