33 Comments
but when u move your cursor over lui it also says lui can be her..so can u give me examples when lui is used in case of her
Yes, it is true, when the feminine pronoun is an indirect object, it becomes "lui". By indirect object, I mean when the verb is constructed with preposition "à". For example: "Voici Marie, je vais lui parler" = "Here is Marie, I am going to talk to her".
In this particular example, is the verb parler the direct object? My thinking is that it answers the question: Going to what? Going to speak, that is. It's not anwering the question: to whom am I speaking, which would be lui, or her.
There is no direct object in these sentences.
"am going to talk" and "vais parler" are verbal phrases, where "to be going to" and "aller" are semi-auxiliaries that lose their prime meaning (to move from one place to the other) to help construct a near future.
Your answer is in your question: verbs are never objects; nouns are. If you want to use a verb as a noun, you must make it a gerund; in English, gerunds are usually conjugated the same as present particles i.e. run= running, I run. Running is fun.
Why wouldn't believe in him be "je crois en il"? I thought il/elle were parallel words. (just asking, no particular French knowledge beyond this site).
Literally, that's 'I believe in he.' Il/elle are subjects; lui/elle are objects. The counterpart pronoun depends on the context - sor of like how you can pair 'her' with 'him' OR 'his' in English. Unless there's a 'to,' in which case lui means 'to him/her,' regardless of gender - see Sitesurf's explanation on that one.
I just don't get it. In a previous example, "Elle l'aime" was said to be ok for "She loves him", "She loves her", and "She loves it" as well, because "lui" does not express gender. Now "her" is not accepted for "lui". Why is that?
I agree, it is a tough one!
Pronoun "lui" is not always masculine. It is the feminine form as well, when the verb is constructed with preposition "à".
- je donne un stylo à Marie -> je lui donne un stylo (I give her a pen)
- je donne un stylo à Pierre -> je lui donne un stylo (I give him a pen)
now, back to verb "croire", which has 2 constructions:
- je crois Marie -> je la crois (I believe her = I believe what she says)
- je crois en Marie -> je crois en elle (I believe in her = I trust her)
- je crois en Pierre -> je crois en lui (I believe in him = I trust him).
So in this context, la/le refers to the person's gender whom I believe?
Also, is it not ok to say "Je lui crois"?
Thanks for the help!
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And 'croire à' is only used for cases like 'croire à l'astrologie' to believe in (the general purpose of) astrologie. (Or croire à astrologues)
For a good reason: "I trust him" is the translation for "J'ai confiance en lui".
"Je crois en lui" means that I believe in his potential/future = I believe in him.
Yes they do because it means something else.
I believe him = je le crois = I believe what he says
I believe in him = je crois en lui = I trust him, I believe in his potential, his talent...
In spoken French is there a liason between crois and en, so that it's pronounced "Je crois 'sen' lui"? Or is this an exception?
It is an optional liaison, but with verbs made of only one syllable, I believe it is preferable (more elegant, anyway). So, you have my blessing to use a Z liaison between "crois" and "en".
You are an angel... :-) Thank you for the kind clarification... J'aime la langue française.
Tu es une femme qui je crois en elle... <= correct? (I mean it, just not sure the grammar is correct :P )
Merci beaucoup... This is why I say that! I can always count on your help1
yes but only with prepositions "à" and "de".
not with others: par, pour, sans, en, envers,...
Can someone explain why 'I believe it of him' couldn't be correct here? I thought maybe the 'en' was the pronoun usage..
It is a stressed or disjunctive pronoun, it can be an indirect pronoun depending on the verb's construction, and you have to use these pronouns after any preposition except "à":
- cette lettre est pour moi
- je parle de toi
- je viens avec lui
- je pars sans elle
- il est intéressé par nous
- je doute de vous
- nous sommes devant eux
- elles regardent derrière elles
