This exam tips covers Exam Tips & Common Errors within Object pronouns, y and en for GCSE French. Revise Object pronouns, y and en in Core Grammar Toolkit for GCSE French with 15 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic appears regularly enough that it should still be part of a steady revision cycle. It is section 8 of 8 in this topic. Treat this as a marking guide for what examiners are looking for, not just a fact list.
💡 Exam Tips & Common Errors
- Object pronouns are a key differentiator on AQA Higher writing — using them correctly (and not just once) earns marks for grammatical range (AO3).
- The most productive single pronoun for AQA writing tasks is les — students can easily substitute for any plural noun they've just used.
- In the perfect tense, remember that en and direct object pronouns trigger past participle agreement with avoir — this is tested in translation tasks at Higher.
- y and en appear frequently in AQA reading and listening questions — not recognising them leads to misunderstanding answers about quantity or location.
- Avoid the trap of putting the pronoun AFTER the conjugated verb — this is the most common error and directly contradicts the basic rule.
❌ Common error: Je vois lui. / Je parle les. / Je veux le faire les voir.
✓ Correct: Je le vois. / Je leur parle. / Je veux les voir.
Why it costs marks: Placing the pronoun after the verb (treating it like English word order) is a fundamental AO3 error. French object pronouns always precede the verb they relate to. Additionally, using a DOP (le/la/les) instead of an IOP (lui/leur) with verbs that take à (parler, téléphoner, écrire, répondre) is a very common mistake — these verbs need lui or leur, not le/la/les.
Practice questions for Object pronouns, y and en
Which sentence correctly replaces the underlined phrase? Tu vas **au marché** ce matin?
Tu veux **des fraises**? Oui, j'___ veux beaucoup.