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In English, we often drop adjectives to avoid repeating them. If someone says "Are you furious?", you might simply reply "I am."

In French, you cannot leave a state-of-being verb like **être** (to be) hanging by itself at the end of a clause. Instead, you must use a pronoun to replace the missing adjective.

To do this, place the neuter object pronoun **le** directly before the verb. It translates roughly to "so" (as in, "I am so"), though we usually just leave it untranslated in English.

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### Elision and Invariability

Like other object pronouns, **le** drops its vowel and becomes **l'** when the following verb begins with a vowel.

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More importantly, when replacing an adjective, this pronoun is completely **invariable**. It is always **le** (or **l'**), no matter the gender or number of the adjective it is replacing. 

Notice in the following examples how it remains unchanged, even when standing in for a plural or feminine adjective:

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### Making it Negative

In negative sentences, the pronoun stays glued to the verb. Place **ne** before the pronoun, and **pas** after the conjugated verb.

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### With Other Verbs

While you will see this structure most commonly with **être**, you can also use **le** to replace adjectives following other state-of-being verbs, such as **devenir** (to become) or **sembler** (to seem).

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The neuter object pronoun (le)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular 'to be' and indefinite articles (je suis un...)

Singular definite articles (le, la, l')

Identifying vs. describing (c'est vs. il est)

Feminine adjective agreement (+e)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (nous sommes, vous êtes)

Formal and informal you (tu vs. vous)

Plural nouns and indefinite articles (des... -s)

Plural definite articles (les)

Plural adjective agreement (+s)

Stressed pronouns (moi, toi, lui)

The verb "to have" singular (j'ai, tu as, il a)

The verb "to have" plural (nous avons, vous avez, ils ont)

There is / there are (il y a)

Basic verbal negation (ne... pas)

Negating "there is" (il n'y a pas de)

Regular -er verbs singular (je parle, tu parles, il parle)

Regular -er verbs plural (nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent)

The verb "to be called" (s'appeler)

Yes/no questions with intonation (Tu parles ?)

Yes/no questions with "Est-ce que" (Est-ce que tu parles ?)

Informal questions (qui, que, quoi)

Standard questions (est-ce que)

Singular possessives (mon, ton, son)

Plural possessives (notre, votre, leur)

Demonstrative adjectives (ce, cet, cette, ces)

Adjective placement

Numbers 1 to 20

Numbers 21 to 100

Age and physical states (avoir)

The verb to go (aller)

The preposition to/at (à, au, aux)

Question word for location (où)

Prepositions for cities and countries (à, en, au, aux)

The verb to come (venir)

The preposition from/of (de, du, des)

Question word for origin (d'où)

The verb to do/make (faire)

Days of the week (lundi, mardi)

Telling time (il est... heure)

Question words for time (quand, à quelle heure)

The verb to take or have (prendre)

The verb to drink (boire)

Partitive articles (du, de la, de l')

Zero quantity (pas de)

Expressions of quantity (un peu de, beaucoup de)

Asking how much or how many (combien, combien de)

Very vs. a lot (très, beaucoup)

The verb to want (vouloir)

Polite requests (je voudrais)

The verb to be able to (pouvoir)

Obligation (devoir)

General obligation (il faut)

Why and because (pourquoi, parce que)

Expressing purpose (pour)

Reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous)

Daily routine verbs (se lever, s'habiller)

Adverbs of frequency (parfois, rarement)

Never (ne... jamais)

Regular -ir verbs (choisir, finir)

Regular -re verbs (attendre, répondre)

Irregular -ir verbs (sortir, partir, dormir)

Informal 'we' (on)

The imperative mood

Direct object pronouns (le, la, les, l')

The near future (aller + infinitive)

The recent past (venir de + infinitive)

The passé composé with avoir

Irregular past participles (eu, été, fait, pris, vu)

The passé composé with être

The negative passé composé (ne ... pas)

Saying goodbye

Please, sorry and thank you

Which / what (quel)

The indefinite adjective (tout, tous)

Irregular feminine adjectives (-euse, -ve)

Double consonant adjectives (-enne, -ette)

Feminine adjective endings (-ère, -trice)

Irregular plurals (-x)

Plurals ending in -al (-aux)

Present tense stem changes (e to è)

Accent stem changes (é to è)

Double consonant verbs (appeler, jeter)

Verbs ending in -yer (payer, envoyer)

Irregular communication verbs (dire, lire)

Irregular action verbs (écrire, mettre)

Question	Answer
furious	furieux
The boss is furious and I am too.	Le chef est furieux et je le suis aussi.
indifferent	indifférent
I doubt that she is indifferent, but he is.	Je doute qu'elle soit indifférente, mais il l'est.
exhausted	épuisé
You are not exhausted yet, but we are.	Vous n'êtes pas encore épuisés, mais nous le sommes.
disappointed	déçu
Are you disappointed? I am not yet.	Es-tu déçu ? Je ne le suis pas encore.
confident	confiant
It is possible that they are confident, but you are not.	Il est possible qu'ils soient confiants, mais tu ne l'es pas.
lenient	indulgent
Are you lenient, sir? Yes, I am.	Êtes-vous indulgent, Monsieur ? Oui, je le suis.
The teacher is lenient, but the client is not.	Le professeur est indulgent, mais le client ne l'est pas.
rational	rationnel
He seems rational to me, but I doubt that he is.	Il me semble rationnel, mais je doute qu'il le soit.
enthusiastic	enthousiaste
Are they enthusiastic? They always are.	Sont-ils enthousiastes ? Ils le sont toujours.
offended	vexé
If the neighbor is offended, I am too.	Si le voisin est vexé, je le suis aussi.
You are furious, but I promise you that I am not.	Tu es furieux, mais je te promets que je ne le suis pas.
She is disappointed, but it is possible that he is not.	Elle est déçue, mais il est possible qu'il ne le soit pas.
grateful	reconnaissant
We are grateful, and I hope that you are too.	Nous sommes reconnaissants, et j'espère que vous l'êtes aussi.
If you feel exhausted, you must tell me why you are.	Si tu te sens épuisé, tu dois me dire pourquoi tu l'es.
He is not indifferent, but it is possible that he becomes so.	Il n'est pas indifférent, mais il est possible qu'il le devienne.
She is rational and you are too.	Elle est rationnelle et tu l'es aussi.
I am not confident yet, but the team is.	Je ne suis pas encore confiant, mais l'équipe l'est.
If you are enthusiastic, we are too.	Si vous êtes enthousiastes, nous le sommes aussi.
Does she seem offended to you? She really is.	Elle te semble vexée ? Elle l'est vraiment.
They are grateful, and we are too.	Ils sont reconnaissants, et nous le sommes aussi.