In the following sentence why is him the word lui and not le? I thought lui was usually used only with verbs that could be associated with à. The example: “ “It’s necessary that I find him an original gift.”
according to another app I’m using the correct answer is: “ il faut que je lui trouve un cadeau original” and not “il faut que je le trouve un cadeau original” I’m confused with this.
Lui is the indirect object pronoun. It replaces the indirect object of a sentence regardless of what makes it the indirect object. The preposition à is one hint that what follows is an indirect object but it is by no means the only one.
Il faut que je lui trouve un cadeau. -- I must find him a present.
Je is the subject, un cadeau is the direct object and lui is the indirect object.
To help you tell direct and indirect objects apart, you can ask for each one in turn. You'll use "what" to ask for your direct object and "for whom", "with whom", etc. for the indirect one. In the example, this turns out to be:
What do I need to find? --> a present.
For whom do I need to find a present? --> for him.
(And before someone complains that "whom" isn't English anymore: lack of knowledge of the finer points of English grammar doesn't mean they don't exist.)
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