I'm sure you've seen the word indirect in French grammar a few times.

Sometimes you can see indirect tied to the word speech (as in discours indirect = indirect speech) but more often, though, you, the word indirect is attached to the word object as in indirect object = complément d'objet indirect.

When it comes to the latter point, in grammar something is said to be indirect when it is acting as the receiver/beneficiary of the action of the verb. For example, in "Je pense à Madeleine tout le temps",  the noun "Madeleine" is the indirect object of my thinking (pense) and is introduced by à.

The prepositions à and de introduce indirect nouns/objects.

Indirect pronouns have their own form. For example lui, leur.

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Let's have a few examples with an indirect object or indirect pronoun.

Elle lui a offert une chemise. / She offered him a shirt. 

Je parle à Mathilde au téléphone. / I'm talking to Mathilde on the phone.

Nous leur donnerons un coup de fil. / We will give them a phone call.

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