question about pronoun 'lui' in this sentence

CraigC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

question about pronoun 'lui' in this sentence

In the phrase, "où ils lui ont confisqué son portable",  Why is "lui" there?  If it's a pronoun for "him" why does it need to be there?  (The subject is "they", the verb is "confiscated" and the object is "his mobile phone".)  What grammer rule requires "him" to be part of this sentence?  Is there a lesson that explains the answer (I feel like I've missed something).

Asked 11 months ago
MaartenC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

Craig, the French expression chosen by the speaker is ‘confisquer qqc à qqn’. Hence, ‘lui’ is required as indirect object pronoun.  It specifies further that she is referring to the taking of the phone from her boyfriend. 

Given the increasingly melodramatic description for his non-contact, no surprise the speaker here uses 'confisquer' rather than prendre, and wants to emphasise that 'he' clearly has been prevented from contacting her by 'them' doing this ! 

A point of grammar here is that to say confiscate 'from someone' in French it is 'confisquer à qqn'. The exercise is 'teaching' that by exposure to the expression. 

 

https://www.wordreference.com/fren/confisquer 

https://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/confisquer/18115

 https://dictionnaire.lerobert.com/definition/confisquer

 

question about pronoun 'lui' in this sentence

In the phrase, "où ils lui ont confisqué son portable",  Why is "lui" there?  If it's a pronoun for "him" why does it need to be there?  (The subject is "they", the verb is "confiscated" and the object is "his mobile phone".)  What grammer rule requires "him" to be part of this sentence?  Is there a lesson that explains the answer (I feel like I've missed something).

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