How in the world is this translated "She needs a car" when "Il lui faut" is "HE needs"?!
Il lui faut une voiture
- « Back to Q&A Forum
- « Previous questionNext question »
Kwiziq community member
Il lui faut une voiture
This question relates to:French lesson "Expressing necessity and obligation in French with "il faut""
Asked 1 month ago
DH,
" Il faut " is an impersonal verbal expression using the impersonal pronoun ' il ', which has no role in determining the gender of ' lui '. The use of indirect object pronouns to 'personalise' the impersonal expression is covered in the lesson you linked.
"Lui" as an indirect object pronoun translates as ' him ' or ' her ' in English. The translation is correct - as the ' writer ' knows they were referring to a female needing a car.
https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/impersonal-verbs/
https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/my-languages/french/glossary/3
https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/my-languages/french/view/710
Don't have an account yet? Join today
Ask a question
Find your French level for FREE
Test your French to the CEFR standard
Find your French level