Position of French (in)direct object pronouns

Question

This is really confusing: If someone says, "I bought a shirt for him" or "I bought a shirt from him." Do both of these get translated to:Je lui ai achete une chemisePlease enlighten me. Thank you!

Cécile Janty-Davies · Accepted Answer

This is an interesting question, Blaise. In fact, when you use the preposition à in -
acheter quelque chose à quelqu'un 
it can mean both to gift something to someone OR to buy something from someone!
So if you want to be really clear, you have to change the preposition.
As Jim says, you can use 'pour' for a gift and 'chez' for a sale.

J'ai acheté une chemise pour Jacques = I bought a shirt for Jacques
J'ai acheté une chemise chez vous = I purchased a shirt from you ( your shop)

Hope this helps!

Jim Jones · Answer

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