By the end of this lesson you'll be able to replace à + a person with a small word in front of the verb, and tell the difference between le and lui.
Verbs with à
Some verbs are followed by à and a person. That person is an indirect object. To replace it, use one of these pronouns.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| lui | lwee | to him, to her |
| leur | luhr | to them |
The other four are the same as the set you've met in the lesson on direct object pronouns: me, te, nous, vous.
- Lui means "to him" or "to her". It doesn't show gender.
- Leur means "to them". It's for men or women, and it never has an -s.
Here are the most common verbs that take à + a person.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| téléphoner à | tay-lay-foh-NAY ah | to phone |
| donner à | doh-NAY ah | to give to |
| demander à | duh-mahn-DAY ah | to ask |
| offrir à | oh-FREER ah | to give (as a present) toJ'offre, tu offres, il offre, nous offrons, vous offrez, ils offrent. |
| montrer à | mohn-TRAY ah | to show |
| un cadeau | uhn kah-DOH | a present |
You also know parler à, écrire à and répondre à.
Je parle à Karim.
I'm speaking to Karim.
Je lui parle.
I'm speaking to him.
Elle leur écrit.
She's writing to them.
Tu nous réponds ?
Are you answering us?
Il me donne un livre.
He's giving me a book.
Je leur offre un cadeau.
I'm giving them a present.
Dire à works this way too, with a simple object: Je lui dis bonjour (I say hello to him).
Where it goes
The rules are exactly the same as for direct object pronouns. The pronoun goes before the conjugated verb, ne wraps around pronoun and verb, and after aller, pouvoir and vouloir, the pronoun goes before the infinitive.
Je ne lui réponds pas.
I'm not answering her.
Je vais lui téléphoner.
I'm going to phone him.
Tu veux leur parler ?
Do you want to speak to them?
Elle peut me montrer le plan.
She can show me the map.
Direct or indirect?
The test is the verb. If it's followed by à + a person, use lui or leur. If there's no à, use le, la, l' or les.
| No à: direct | With à: indirect |
|---|---|
| J'écoute Paul. → *Je **l'*écoute. (I'm listening to him.) | Je parle à Paul. → Je lui parle. (I'm speaking to him.) |
| J'attends Marie. → *Je **l'*attends. (I'm waiting for her.) | Je téléphone à Marie. → Je lui téléphone. (I'm phoning her.) |
| Je regarde les enfants. → Je les regarde. (I'm watching them.) | J'écris aux enfants. → Je leur écris. (I'm writing to them.) |
Notice that me, te, nous and vous are the same in both columns. You only have to choose with the third person.
A thing with à, such as répondre à la lettre, isn't replaced by lui. It takes y, in the next lesson. And a few verbs with à behave differently, which you'll meet later.
En français
- Tu téléphones à ta mère ce soir ? (Are you phoning your mother tonight?)
- Oui, je lui téléphone à huit heures. (Yes, I'm phoning her at eight.)
- Et tes parents ? (And your parents?)
- Je leur écris. (I'm writing to them.)
- Tu peux me donner le stylo ? (Can you give me the pen?)
What's next
Next, the lesson on the pronoun y deals with places and things. You'll put all the pronouns together in the review of this unit.