Look at these sentences in L'Impératif:
Note that in L'Impératif, the direct object pronouns le, la, l', les and the indirect object pronouns lui, leur are placed after the verb with an hyphen in between.
ATTENTION:
It's often very confusing for students to know which pronoun to use in affirmative commands.
Look at these two examples:
Nous écrivons à notre tante -> Nous lui écrivons -> Écrivons-lui !
We're writing to our aunt -> We write to her -> Let's write to her!
BUT
Tu arrêtes Paul -> Tu l'arrêtes -> Arrête-le !
You're stopping Paul -> You're stopping him -> Stop him!
Here is the rule:
- If the verb is normally followed by à + person in French (i.e. followed by an indirect object pronoun), such as in écrire à [quelqu'un] (to write to [someone]) or montrer à [quelqu'un] (to show [someone]), then you use lui or leur.
- If the verb isn't followed by any preposition (i.e. followed by a direct object pronoun), such as arrêter [X] [quelqu'un] (to stop [someone]), you use le/la or les.
See also Replacing nouns with le, la, l', les = it, him, her, them (direct object pronouns) and Replacing people with lui, leur = him, her, them (indirect object pronouns)
Special cases
Look at these examples:
Note that quite a few verbs, such as regarder and attendre, are used without prepositions in French, i.e. regarder [x] [quelqu'un]; attendre [x] [quelqu'un], whereas they have one in English (i.e to look at [someone], to wait for [someone]).
On the other hand, some English verbs without prepositions will be followed by à in French, i.e. to phone [someone] = téléphoner à [quelqu'un].
When in doubt, check with a dictionary.
See also Conjugate regular verbs in L'Impératif (imperative) and Conjugate être, avoir, savoir in L'Impératif (imperative)
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Q&A
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
25/06/18
Bonjour Fiona !
In "Regarde-la", la is a direct object pronoun -> regarder [quelqu'un]
However, lui is an indirect object pronoun, so cannot be used here.
If you wanted to use the masculine direct object pronoun, it would be "Regarde-le" :)
Here are links to the relevant lessons:
I hope that's helpful!
Bonne journée !
Cécile
Kwiziq language super star
26/06/18
fiona
Kwiziq community member
26/06/18
Bonjour Cecile (my accents are not working anymore on my key board I do not know why).
Oui, mais Aurelie me aide
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
15/06/18
Bonjour Oleg !
Unfortunately, I don't know what question or example you're referring to.
If it's a specific question, please use the "Report it" button next to it in your Correction Dashboard :)
Bonne journée !
Cécile
Kwiziq language super star
18/06/18
Ron
Kwiziq community member
11/10/17
I am unsure exactly what type of benefit you are looking for from the reward.
The various awards are given based on achievements such as 5 quizzes a day, first quiz, multiples of 50 or 100 quizzes taken, etc. These are milestones that indicate a users level of participation in taking quizzes.
There are also FOUNDATION AWARDS, Level foundation trophies earned for mastering foundations.
All of this is explained on your dashboard under «achievements».
To me, it is a very nice way to keep track of accomplishments on Kwiziq and Progress with Lawless French.
J'espère que ma réponse vous aiderait.
Bonne chance et bonne continuation dans vos études en français, la langue de Molière et qui a été utilisé par le monde français depuis l’époque d’Hugues Capet
Ron
Kwiziq community member
19/08/17
Let's take a look at the rule mentioned above in this lesson:
Here is the rule:
- If the verb is normally followed by à + person in French (i.e. followed by an indirect object pronoun), such as in écrire à [quelqu'un] (to write to [someone]) or montrer à [quelqu'un] (to show [someone]), then you use lui or leur.
- If the verb isn't followed by any preposition (i.e. followed by a direct object pronoun), such as arrêter [X] [quelqu'un] (to stop [someone]), you use le/la or les.
It seems that it would be the same.
Bonne chance
Farid
Kwiziq community member
27 October 2016
1 reply
Pronunciation examples
In "Écris-leur" and "Parlez-leur", I believe the "s" and the "z" (preceding leur) should be silent, right? The audio version doesn't reflect this. Similarly, I believe "Appelle-les" and "Regarde-les" sound incorrect. Merci pour verification!
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
2/11/16
Ces exemples ont été corrigés :)
À bientôt !
Laura
Kwiziq language super star
18/01/16
Great question. The other common ones are écouter and chercher.
Jane
Kwiziq community member
18/01/16
Is there a way I can take the final placement test before I decide if I want to join. I didn't realize I could only take 10. My mistake, but I continued to correct my few errors without realizing the number was reaching ten.
BTW, I love your website and don't know what I would do without it. You offer so many ways to learn grammar plus interesting topics. Don't ever stop!!
Laura
Kwiziq language super star
18/01/16
Stuart
Kwiziq community member
24/01/16
Michael
Kwiziq community member
20/05/17
David
Kwiziq community member
21/08/17
fiona
Kwiziq community member
25 June 2018
2 replies
If I can say 'telephone-lui, why can I not say "regarde-lui? I cannot see the difference.
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
25 June 2018
25/06/18
That's because the verb "téléphoner" in French requires an indirect object
-> téléphoner à [quelqu'un] - to phone [someone]
fiona
Kwiziq community member
26 June 2018
26/06/18