Wednesday, 7 August 2013

FRENCH GRAMMAR: Indirect Object Pronouns

Indirect Object pronouns are often difficult to explain/understand as an English speaker.

In the image below featuring an androgynous "moi" I hope, if not to explain, then to illustrate the relationship between the indirect object pronoun "me" and "verb+à" constructions.


Sometimes in French a subject (elle) may wish to give/say something to (à) an object (moi)

The structure for saying and giving is:

Dire quelquechose à quelqu'un (to say something to someone)
Donner quelquechose à quelqu'un (to give something to someone)

...where quelquechose (something) is a direct object and quelqu'un (someone) is an indirect object

The à is a clue that the object that follows is indirect, as it forms a barrier between the verb and the object - allowing no direct relationship between the two to form.

...and the indirect object pronoun to represent "me" is ... "me"

...a lot of complicated grammar to explain a word that is the same in French as it is in English.

2 comments:

  1. Speaking as someone who just spent 45 minutes looking through various sites and videos on just this exact subject, I love it.

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    1. Thank you. I'm glad you found this useful! :)

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