# FR: me, te, lui, etc. / à moi, à toi, à lui, à elle, etc. - pronom indirect / à + pronom disjoint



## miyazaki

Salut!
I really don't understand the difference between ''à eux'' and ''leur''.
I asked my French friend, but she had no idea to explain! 

EX) Je les leur ai envoyées. 
      ---- Pourquoi pas 'Je les ai envoyées à eux'??

EX) J'ai pensé à eux.
      ---- Pourqois pas 'Je leur ai pensé' ??

Merci d'avance!!

*Moderator note*: multiple threads merged to create this one


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## DarkLecter

for the first, the subject is already, so we prefer don't use it, but that can be said

For the second, the verb think "penser" can't be with "leur"

"a eux" is like "about them" and "leur" is like "to them"


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## timpeac

"To them" with a verb is almost always "leur". There are just a few exceptions and "penser à" is one (as are other verbs of thinking such as "songer" etc). One other area is movement "je cours à eux" "I run to them".

Apart from that use "leur" before the verb. "je leur donne la lettre".


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## DarkLecter

Non, we say "je cours vers eux"


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## timpeac

Sorry, my bad - I was trying to think of verbs where "leur" wasn't used before the verb and remember motion was one, but got the prepostion wrong


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## Cath.S.

DarkLecter said:
			
		

> Non, we say "je cours vers eux"


_Je cours à eux_ peut se dire ; je t'accorde que c'est plus rare mais ce n'est pas une faute. L'usage en est peut-être vieilli.
Je viens d'en trouver un exemple dans une pièce de Feydau, _Monsieur chasse._


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## john_riemann_soong

Is "à toi" used to clarify any ambiguity? I'm wondering whether this is just an exception to the "à toi => te" rule; "te", "lui", etc. isn't always used for the indirect object?


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## Ecliptica

In this case, the verb is "Penser à quelqu'un" so "Penser à toi" is good whereas "Je te pense" isn't ^^


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## DearPrudence

Actually I've been curious too.
Also you say
*"penser à quelqu'un" 
je pense à toi/lui/elle/eux  
je te pense 

"tenir à quelqu'un" - je tiens à toi/lui/elle/eux* ( I care for you/him...)
But you can say *"je te tiens"* (if you've caught someone & are holding them)

I don't know if there is an explanation for that


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## jann

Well, couldn't you say _je te pense capable de... = _I think you (are) capable of... / I believe you (to be) capable of... ??

In this case, "te" is not an indirect object... so could you argue that only ever using "à toi" in _penser à toi_ is to avoid such ambiguity??


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## mnewcomb71

The explanation is that Je tiens à toi does not mean the same thing as Je te tiens.

It is not as if Je pense à toi means one thing and Je te pense means another because Je te pense does not mean anything.


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## Outsider

john_riemann_soong said:


> Is "à toi" used to clarify any ambiguity? I'm wondering whether this is just an exception to the "à toi => te" rule; "te", "lui", etc. isn't always used for the indirect object?


Perhaps this is not an indirect object, but rather some other kind of complement. Certainly, it makes no sense to think of _tu_ as the beneficiary or target of my act of thnking.


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## john_riemann_soong

Yes, but what about "demander"? It's counterintuitive for English speakers to "ask to someone". ;-)


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## geostan

There are four verbs at least that have this unusual construction. It probably has to do with its Latin origin, but I haven't access to my reference books right now. The verbs in question are:

penser, songer, tenir and être. In addition, there are phrases like avoir affaire that use a prepositional construction as well.

In a sentence like:

Je te pense/crois capable de..., you are dealing with a shortcut for...
Je pense/crois que tu es capable de......

Cheers!


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## mnewcomb71

Just as it is counterintuitive for a native English speaker to think of "to ask to someone", it is counterintuitive for a native French speaker to think of "to ask someone".

How many of us have heard a native French speaker say "I will ask to him" or something equivalent.  Along the same lines, how many native French speaker have heard us say "Je demande Michel" or something equivalent.


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## Outsider

I think semantics can be a good guide in this case. When you ask, you always ask something to someone. It doesn't make sense to just say "I'm asking". The same is true for the verb "to give" and several others. 

But not for "to think". You think of some idea, and that is all. You don't need someone else to complete the act of thinking. It's not an exchange. So there can be no target -- no indirect object.


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## marget

geostan said:


> The verbs in question are: penser, songer, tenir and être. In addition, there are phrases like avoir affaire that use a prepositional construction as well.


 Does faire attention fall into this category as well ?  I think refelexive verbs that take à also require the preposition plus the disjunctive pronoun as opposed to an indirect object pronoun.


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## geostan

Absolutely, but curiously prêter attention does not.

Il fait attention à moi.
Il me prête attention.

In the case of reflexive verbs requiring à, the reason is different.  Certain pronoun combinations are not possible in French, e.g. "me lui."

In these cases, the indirect object takes the prepositional form.

The easiest way to remember which combinations are possible is this:

Two object pronouns referring to persons must include "le, la or les." Otherwise, the personal indirect object must assume the prepositional form.
Note that this does not include y or en, which may appear in most combinations.

Il s'est joint à nous.
Nous nous intéressons à eux.

Boy! This is dredging up grammatical information I have not thought of in years.

Cheers!


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## patassa

Eureka!!



geostan said:


> Two object pronouns referring to persons must include "le, la or les." Otherwise, the personal indirect object must assume the prepositional form.



Thanks so much for that simplified way of explaining double object pronouns that cannot be used together.  I was looking for something like this for my students.

Along the same lines, the grammar book I'm using lists  "à + nom de personne" as a case where one uses a disjunctive rather than a atonic pronoun.  Obviously, it's an gross overgeneralization.  The book's preceding chapter has just taught the use of COI pronouns with:

_parler à, répondre à, écrire à, obéir à, téléphoner à _and numerous other verbs with which one uses atonic pronouns.

It seems to me to make more sense to list the verbs and verbal locutions that *must *be followed by a prepositional construction when the pronoun refers to person.  The forum so far has mentioned:

_faire attention à _  (*not* _prêter attention à_, as you duly noted)
_penser à
avoir affaire à
_
Given the first rule I cited at the beginning of this post, all pronominal verbs would also fall into this category:
_s'adresser à 
se confier à
s'adresser à 
_
So are there any other non-pronominal verbs that would require use of a prepositional construction?  I'm trying to compose a list for my students and have not been able to find any resources on-line.

Merci d'avance!


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## geostan

There is the rather obvious one: être à (to belong to).

Anything is possible, but I suspect that from a student's perspective, the list is now complete.

Cheers!

EDIT: recourir à


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## jouesgentils12354

I've been studying French for about 2 years now but there as been something that has been bugging me for a while and I just can't understand the difference.

When do you use me, se, nous, and vous.

par exemple

"Tu vas me le donner?"

and when do you use moi, soi, nous, and vous.

par exemple

"Il doit donner tout les cadeux à nous."

I'm not sure if the second example works or not, personally I would say

"Il doit nous donner tout les cadeux."

But I can't think of an example where you would use à nous.

AU SECOURS!

merci


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## jann

_{Me, te, lui, nous, vous,_ and_ leur}_ are indirect object pronouns.
You use them when something is happening "to" someone, i.e., when they receive the action of the verb indirectly.
You mentioned _se_ also... but this is a reflexive pronoun.

_Tu vas me le donner?_ 
_Il doit nous donner tou*s* les cade*a*ux_. 


_{Moi, toi, lui/elle/soi, nous, vous _and_ eux/elles}_ are "stress" or "disjunctive" pronouns. Read about them here or here. 
You use them for emphasis and to express possession, among other things. 
_Moi _and _toi_ also replace the indirect object pronouns _me _and _te _in the imperative.

_Le stylo est à moi._ = The pen belongs to me, the pen is mine.
_Non, il me l'a donné à moi !_ = No, he gave it to *me*!  Repeating the idea of _me_ by adding _à moi_ creates emphasis when speaking.
_Tu dois me le donner. --> Donne-le-moi ! _

You would not say _Il doit donner tous les cadeaux à nous _ any more than you would say in English "I asked to him for a pencil" 

Does that help?


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## Asr

Sure, there are some verbs that just have to be followed by _pronoms toniques._

Like : il pense à moi.

You can't say: il me pense 

There is a list of such verbs; but I do need my grammar book to explain more!


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## Outsider

Stressed pronouns are also used after prepositions:

à moi, pour moi, avec moi, etc.


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## radagasty

Also, if pronouns clash, you may have to postpone one of them, e.g.,

_Je la leur présente._
I introduce her to them.

but

_Je te présente à elle._
I introduce you to her.


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## kangurek07

Hello everyone

  I’m constantly getting confused with the construction of penser + à qqn, i’m not sure how to structure a sentence involving indirect objects. Could somebody please help me with this example?

  Plus ça va, plus ils pensent à leurs parents.

  Which answer would be correct ?
  -Plus ça va, plus ils leur pensent
  -Plus ça va, plus ils pensent à eux

  Merci !


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## SwissPete

-Plus ça va, plus ils leur pensent 
-Plus ça va, plus ils pensent à eux 
or
... plus ils y pensent.


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## juliedusoleil

Bonjour tout le monde,

est-ce que quelqu'un peut m'expliquer si l'on peut dire "Je les leur présente" ou bien il faut l'éviter et dire "Je les présente à eux". Notre prof du français nous a dit que le 1 exemple sonne lourd.

Merci


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## passwords

Il faut dire "je les leur presente " , l'autre proposition n'est pas grammaticalement correcte car " à eux " ne se dit pas ,il doit etre remplacé par "leur".
Bonne chance!


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## geostan

Peut-être que ton prof pensait à une autre construcion. Par exemple, il faut dire: _Il me présente à eux_. On ne peut pas dire _Il me leur..._


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## juliedusoleil

c'est exactement ce que j'ai noté quelques minutes après - "me/te/ns/vs [...]" et puis "à eux", par exemple: _présente-moi à eux_ mais _présente-les-leur_. Donc j'ai aucune idée pourquoi il nous a dit cela: "_Je les leur présente_ - c'est lourd".


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## nastaran86

Hello everyone,

I have a question about "prêter attention à quelqu'un":

In general, for "prêter quelque chose à quelqu'un", we should use "pronoms complément d'objet indirect". For example:
*Peux-tu prêter ta voiture à ton amie?
peux-tu lui prêter ta voiture?*

But for "prêter attention à quelqu'un", should we use "pronoms complément d'objet indirect" or "pronoms toniques"? and why?

And could you please give an example with "prêter attention à quelqu'un"?

Thank you for your help.


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## Cheshire Cat's Smile

The English equivalent to "prêter attention à quelqu'un" is to pay attention to someone. _à + the person_ you'll pay attention to is *Complément d'Objet Indirect.*
Je n'ai pas prêté attention à lui
Je ne lui ai pas prêté attention.

You can also use it with _an object_...:
Je n'ai pas prêté attention au bruit
Je n'y ai pas prêté attention.

HTH


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## Gérard Napalinex

Maybe not using "lui" would help answering the question about "pronom toniques"
_Je ne te prête pas attention.
Je ne prête pas attention à toi._

Almost like when lending the car


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## nastaran86

Bonjour Cheshire Cat's Smile 
 Merci de votre réponse. 

In your first example, _"Je n'ai pas prêté attention à lui"_, *lui *is pronom tonique.*
*But in your second example,_"Je ne lui ai pas prêté attention.__", _*lui* is Complément d'Objet Indirect.

So are both forms correct? Do you use both sentences in French?
My text book says that "prêter attention à quelqu'un" is an exception and it should NOT be used with Complément d'Objet Indirect. So accoring to my book, _"Je n'ai pas prêté attention __à lui"_ is the correct form. But I'm not sure if it's the way a native French would say it... 

Thank you for your help Cheshire Cat's Smile 

Bonjour Gérard 
Merci de votre réponse. 

In my example, I used "lui" for a nom féminin: "ton amie" so it's obvious that "lui" here is NOT pronom tonique. Or am I wrong?

About your examples:
_1) Je ne te prête pas attention.
2) Je ne prête pas attention à toi.

_Which one is the correct form? 
In the first sentence, _"Je ne te prête pas attention._", *te* is pronom complément d'objet indirect.
In the second sentence, "_Je ne prête pas attention à toi._" , *toi* is pronom tonique. 

My text book says that "prêter attention à quelqu'un" is an exception and it should NOT be used with Complément d'Objet Indirect. So accoring to my book, _"__Je ne prête pas attention à toi.__"_ is the correct form. But I'm not sure if it's the way a native French would say it... 
Do you use both forms in French?

Thank you for your help Gérard


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## Gérard Napalinex

Hello Nastaran,

My pov is that _Je ne prête pas attention à toi_ sounds slightly weird, and mainly unusual - but I feel it is correct.
And "je ne te prête pas attention" is just the most common form I know for that phrase ! 

Gotta admit though that, like many, grammar I've stopped learning at the age of 12, so maybe some of the rules I've forgotten - if ever known.

And most probably the author of your book must have felt confident when writing the "rule" - I wish you could ask him to clarify


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## zakare

Hellos!

Could someone kindly sort out the following confusion Im having on French grammar?

Je pense à qqun. -- je pense à lui. 

However,

Je téléphone à qqun -- je lui tele...

Ive never heard je telephone a lui or je lui pense. 

Whats the difference between these two verbs that requires them to be used in this manner? Thanks in advance. 

Byes!


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## marget

Téléphoner takes an indirect object pronoun whereas penser does not. It takes  à + disjunctive pronoun if the object of à is a person.


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## tomber22

Do all verbs followed by à take the indirect object pronoun?

Are there any exceptions?


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## djweaverbeaver

I'm not quite sure what you mean, but I'll attempt an answer.  If the indirect object is an animate being, then yes.  If not, then no.
Animate:
Elle a répondu à sa mère.  Elle lui a répondu.
J'obéis à mes parents.  Je leur obéis.
BUT  Ce garçon pense toujours à sa petite-amie.  Ce garçon lui pense toujours. Ce garcon pense toujours à elle.
Inanimate:
J'ai réussi à mon examen.  Je lui ai réussi. J'y ai réussi.  (Note, most French speakers normally say _J'ai réussi mon examen.  Je l'ai réussi._)
Le sergeant obéit aux ordres.  Le sergeant lui obéit. Le sergeant y obéit.
Cette fille aimer jouer au baseball.  Cette fille aime lui jouer. Cette fille aime y jouer.

I hope this is what you're looking for.  If not, please be more specific.


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## CapnPrep

The following threads may also be of interest:
Je lui parle / Je pense à lui - pronom indirect conjoint / disjoint (FS)


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## EMB11

Salut à tous !

J'essaye de comprendre la différence entre la voix active et la voix passive en français. Alors, j'ai deux phrases:

1. Je lui ai donné le livre.

2. J'ai donné le livre à lui.​
Maintenant, il y a une différence entre les phrases ci-dessus ? Est-ce que la première phrase est un exemple de la voix active et la deuxième un exemple de la voix passive ? Si elles sont les deux un exemple de la voix active ou le voix passive, puis, quelle est la différence ?

Merci beaucoup d'avance.


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## janpol

Aucune n'est passive, la 2è ne se dit pas
v. passive : le livre lui a été donné par moi > personne ne dirait cela spontanément


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## EMB11

Merci janpol.

La deuxième phrase, on ne dirait jamais ça ? C'est vrai ? J'ai pensé qu'on pourrait. Est-ce que tu pourrais expliquer, s'il vous plaît, pourquoi on ne peut pas d'utilise ça ?


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## Oddmania

Hi,

French language is full of indirect pronouns! The indirect pronoun _lui _already stands for _*à *lui/*à *elle._

_Je parle *à Juliette *→ Je *lui *parle._
_J'ai donné le livre *à Nicolas* → Je *lui *ai donné le livre._

However, you could indeed say _à elle (to her)_, or _à lui (to him)_ instead of using the pronoun _lui_ (which stands for _à lui/à elle_) if you want to stress the fact that you're doing something (_talking to, giving something to_) *TO *someone in particular, and to no one else. But in this case, _à lui/à elle/à toi/à... _etc... should be stressed while speaking. 

For instance, if a guy is stepping in while you're talking to a girl, and you want to tell him that it's none of his business, you could say _Je parle *à elle*, pas à toi!_


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## EMB11

Merci Oddmania.

Je pense que je maintenant comprends. Dans la première phrase, j'utilise « lui » comme un pronom objet indirect tandis que dans la deuxième j’utilise « lui » comme un pronom tonique. C'est exacte ?


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## Oddmania

Exactement 

_— Tu t'appelles Florent, c'est ça ?
— Non; *moi*, je m'appelle Florian._ (= maybe someone else's name is Florent, but *as for me*, it's Florian).


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## Amerlose

Dans la première phrase tu utilises "lui" comme un _complément _d'objet indirect qui remplace un nom que tu as dit avant
(Je suis allé voir mon ami
Je _lui _ai donné le livre)

Pour la 2nd phrase tu utilise encore un COI (complément d'objet indirect) mais tu as juste fait une erreur de grammaire, tu as mal placé le "à lui".


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## janpol

_Je parle *à elle*, pas à toi!_ (Oddmania)
Cet exemple permet incontestablement de légitimer l'emploi de cette construction mais la probabilité que, dans cette situation, un locuteur natif emploie le gallicisme "c'est ... que ..." me semble très forte (c'est à elle que je parle, pas à toi !)


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## Deslandes

Then again, French pronouns drive me crazy. Read the following exemple:

_-Tu penses à tes enfants? 
-Oui, je pense à leur._
or
_- Oui, je pense à eux._

May I use both "eux" and "leur"? If not, which one is grammatically correct and why?

Thanks.


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## geostan

Leur may not be used to complete a preposition. Here only à eux is correct. In most cases, leur is used, but as an indirect object pronoun preceding the verb, except in the imperative affirmative.
Thus: Je leur parle, Parle-leur.


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## Maître Capello

Contrary to most verbs taking the preposition _à_, _penser_, like fifty or so other verbs (e.g., _faire attention à, être à, avoir affaire à_), must take a disjunctive pronoun. See also FR: leur / à eux.

_parler à qqn → Je *leur* parle_.
_donner qqch à qqn → Je le *leur* donne_.
…

But:

_penser à qqn → Je pense *à eux*._
_faire attention à qqn → Je fais attention *à eux*._
…


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## binhle410

Well do you know where I can go to get a complete list of Verbs that do not allow preceding COI ?


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## jann

Complete?  Good luck.  I seem to recall (?) that Le Bon Usage mentioned -- without actually listing them -- that there are some forty or fifty such verbs and verbal expressions.  But a good number of these are not verbs you will often need.

There a list of common ones that you should know here.

[…]


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## binhle410

as far as I know, some verbs/structures do not allow COI precede it.

So, in case of faire confiance à qqu

do we use COI
je te fais confiance

or do we use Pronom tonique
je fais confiance à toi ?

Thanks very much


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## newg

_Je te fais confiance_


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## binhle410

Thanks very much,

so, it is not like je pense à toi / lui ?
if the is third person, is it both ok to say

je le fais confiance ?
and
Je fais confiance à lui. ?


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## Omelette

Je lui fais confiance.


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## Marie3933

binhle410 said:


> so, it is not like je pense à toi / lui ?
> if the is third person, is it both ok to say...


The rule is the same for all the persons ! _Tu me fais confiance, je te fais confiance, je lui fais confiance, ils nous font confiance..._

No, it's not like _penser à quelqu'un_, it's "normal", like _téléphoner à qqn_. Maybe you're mistaking _faire confiance à qqn_ for _se fier à qqn_ (like _penser à qqn_ : _Je me fie entièrement à lui_).


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## Marsha Figg

Hi,
This is a sentence our teacher wrote on the board in class: "Marthe me recommande à lui". 
From what I've learned before, if it's COI using *à*which is *human*, you should put the tonique pronom BEFORE the verb, so that this sentence should be "Marthe me lui recommande". I know a few verbs are exceptions, like "penser", but from what I see "recommander" isn't one of them, and the teacher did write somewhere else "Marthe le lui recommande". 
So, what's the explanation for this first sentence?

Thanks!


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## KennyHun

There is a rule that states that the pronouns me, te, se, nous, vous and the pronoun lui cannot _coexist_, which means that when you have any of the ones from the first bunch you'll have to use a disjunctive form of _lui_, ie. à lui moved to the end. There is your explanation. 

(Hence: 
Je me/te/nous recommande à lui. but Je le lui recommande. - since _l__e_ isn't one of the pronouns that are incompatible with _lui_​.)

But let's just wait for a native to confirm.


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## GuillaumeD'Arçoit

Hello! I know that in French it is considered an error if you say or write "Je donne à lui ma plume" instead of "Je lui donne ma plume". My question is - to what extent is it wrong to say or write like that? For instance my teachers tell me that this is completely wrong and it reveals your filthy unnative speaker's nature instantly. Also I think you can save yourself by adding "même" (Je donne ma plume à lui-même), but it emphasyses the frase. Thanks in advance


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## olivier68

"Je donne à lui ma plume"... is incorrect in French.

Just because it is strongly "redundant". to give something to someone : donner quelque chose à quelqu'un. "lui" est le pronom indirect qui traduit "à quelqu'un".
Exemples:
- Je lui donne ma plume
- Je lui parle
- Je lui/le pardonne

If you add "même"... cela se complique ;-) It does not emphasise the all sentence, but only the pronoun to which you attach this "même" :

- "je donne ma plume à lui-même" : on ne dira pas cela en français,  même si l'idée est ici bien rendue. On reformulera et on dira plutôt quelque chose du genre : "C'est à lui que je donne ma plume".
-  idem : "C'est à lui que je parle"
- "C'est(à)  lui que je pardonne"

Dans ces 3 cas... il vaut mieux reformuler afin de valoriser le pronom. Le 3ème exemple est plus subtil car deux constructions (directe ou indirecte) sont possibles.


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## Maître Capello

Your teacher is right. It is indeed totally wrong in French to use _à lui_ with _donner_ – except after the redundant phrase _c'est à lui que_ as suggested by Olivier above:

_Je donne à lui ma plume_.  / _Je *lui* donne ma plume_. 

Note however that some verbs (e.g., _penser à, se confier à_…) require the explicit preposition with the disjunctive pronoun, while the contracted indirect personal pronoun (i.e., _lui_ alone) would be incorrect:

_Je pense *à lui*_.  / _Je lui pense_. 
_Je me confie *à lui*_.  / _Je me lui confie_.


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## sklwuk

Would you say:

Ma fille me ressemble OR ma fille ressemble à moi?

Merci


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## SwissPete

Ma fille me ressemble  OR ma fille ressemble à moi.


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## sklwuk

So why is it 'ma fille pense à toi' then?


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## OLN

And why is it  _Ma fille te parle _/_ vous répond _ ? 

Je lui parle / Je pense à lui - pronom indirect conjoint / disjoint
[…]
Pronom conjoint (lui) ou pronom disjoint (à lui) ? Cours de français - Grammaire française

Merci d'avoir fusionné les fils.


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## dcx97

Hello,

I just came across the following:

_J'ai pensé à vous._

Shouldn't it have been "je vous ai pensé"?

Thanks!


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## tartopom

Ah, non, dcx, ça ne marche pas "je vous ai pensé.".


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## dcx97

Really? But don't you say "Je vous ai donné le livre." instead of "J'ai donné le livre à vous." (or perhaps "J'ai donné à vous le livre.", I'm not sure if both are equally correct).


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## Hildy1

In "je vous ai donné le livre" (I gave you the book / I gave the book to you), "vous" is an indirect object.

In "j'ai pensé à vous" (I thought about you), "vous" is not an indirect object; it is the object of the preposition "à".


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## tartopom

dc,  " J'ai donné à vous le livre" doesn't sound French.  You should say - as Hildy said - " Je vous ai donné le livre."


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## Jim in Phila

_Penser _is a verb that requires a disjunctive pronoun when thinking about a _person_.  In this case, it's as if the person is throwing his thoughts in your direction, at you.  If _penser_ is about a _thing_, the pronoun follows the general rule:  _J'y pense_, I'm thinking about _it_.


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## dcx97

Thanks.

P.S. A friend of mine just told me that although "J'ai donné le livre à vous." is not incorrect, "Je vous ai donné le livre." is the normal way of saying it. He added that "J'ai donné à vous le livre" sounds completely wrong.


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## tartopom

I don't agree with your friend. To me, "J'ai donné le livre à vous." isn't correct.


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## 2PieRad

Simple question, I think, but I'm doubting myself...

What about _dire _in its various forms, specifically in a conditional question? Usually, the COI goes before _dire_, and not after as a disjunctive _à COI_, right?

*Phrases A*
Je te dis...
Elle lui a dit...
Dis-lui...
On vous dira...
On va vous dire...

And not:
*Phrases B*
Je dis à toi...
Elle a dit à lui...
Dis à lui...
On dira à vous...
On va dire à vous...
---
1a) Qu'est-ce que vous lui diriez (dans cette situation...blah blah blah)?
2a) Qu'est-ce que vous diriez à lui...?

1b) Que lui diriez-vous...?
2b) Que diriez-vous à lui...? 

I guess 1a would still be the ideal choice, right? Though for some reason, 2a doesn't sound quite that bad to me. 🤷‍♂️ Certainly not as bad as _Phrases B. _Is 2a possible?

I feel that both 1b and 2b are unlikely to be heard in real life, but would 1b still be preferred over 2b? 

Thanks


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## OLN

"1b) Que lui diriez-vous ?" is the only correct form and (obviously! ) used in "real life".
"1a) Qu'est-ce que vous lui diriez ?" is just its longer version. Some people find it easier to avoid the subject–verb inversion.


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## 2PieRad

Thanks for confirming. ^


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