The following is a non-exhaustive list of verbes ditransitifs, which are verbs that take both un complément d’objet direct (COD) and complément d’objet indirect (COI).
When there are 2 objects in a clause, the COI is sometimes known as a COS: un complément d’objet second.
Sometimes the verb must contain both COD and COI/COS to make a correct, comprehensible statement, and sometimes it can take just the COD. Much of the time you can use the same logic in English for French.
Clicking the links takes you to the WordReference page for the verb so you can see all the possible forms.
Verbes non-pronominaux
- Demander quelque chose à quelqu’un: to ask someone for something.
- Dévoiler quelque chose à quelqu’un: to unveil something to someone.
- Dire quelque chose à quelqu’un: to say something to someone/to tell someone something.
- Donner quelque chose à quelqu’un: to give something to someone/to give someone something.
- Envoyer quelque chose à quelqu’un: to send something to someone/to send someone something.
- Faire de quelque chose/quelqu’un quelque chose: to make something of something/someone.
- Montrer quelque chose à quelqu’un: to show something to someone.
- Offrir quelque chose à quelqu’un: to give/gift something to someone.
- Passer quelque chose à quelqu’un: to pass something to someone.
- Prendre quelque chose à quelqu’un: to take something from someone.
- Also the most common verb in bars/restaurants for ordering something.
- Priver quelqu’un de quelque chose: to deprive someone of something.
- Promettre quelque chose à quelqu’un: to promise something to someone/to promise someone something.
- Proposer quelque chose à quelqu’un: to suggest something to someone.
- Rappeler quelque chose à quelqu’un: to remind someone of something.
- Remercier quelqu’un de quelque chose: to thank someone for something.
- Remettre quelque chose à quelqu’un: to give something back to someone.
- Révéler quelque chose à quelqu’un: to reveal something to someone.
Verbes pronominaux
Where there is à quelqu’un in the above verbs’ structure, that can be oneself and therefore the reflexive form of the verb.
- Se dire quelque chose: to say something to oneself.
- Se demander quelque chose: to ask oneself something/to wonder something.
- S’offrir quelque chose: to buy oneself something/to treat oneself to something.
- Se poser une question: to ask oneself a question.
- Se priver de quelque chose: to deprive oneself of something.
Also, if multiple people are involved, and they reciprocate an action, we use the reciprocal form of the verb, which looks identical:
- S’offrir quelque chose: to buy each other something/to treat each other.
- Se dire quelque chose: to say something to each other.