LearnModule 6 · Lesson 22 of 30Independent User · CEFR B1, first halfUnit 5 · The pronoun machine

lui and leur — to him, to her, to them

Module 6 of the free French course (CEFR B1, first half), lesson 22 of 30: When the verb speaks TO someone. On this page: 7 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's lesson 22.

The words

French	English	Say it
je lui parle	I speak to him or her	zhuh lwee PAHRL
je leur téléphone	I phone them	zhuh luhr tay-lay-FUN
téléphoner	to phone	tay-lay-foh-NAY
donner	to give	doh-NAY
je lui donne un cadeau	I give him or her a gift	zhuh lwee dun uh(n) kah-DOH
répondre	to answer	ray-POH(n)DR
poser une question	to ask a question	poh-zay ewn kess-TYOH(n)

Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.

Hear the words

Each word is read twice — say it back in the gap. Computer-generated voice; credits on the course page.

La règle · The rule

When the verb speaks TO someone, French switches pronouns: je lui parle (I talk to him or to her), je leur téléphone (I phone them). One word for both genders.

Et aussi · And also

The classic pairs: donner à, parler à, répondre à, téléphoner à. Je lui donne un cadeau. Je leur réponds ce soir.

Attention · Watch out

lui is to him OR to her — one word for both. leur is to them and takes no -s: je leur téléphone. Only the possessive leurs takes an s.

Do it now — on paper

Say all 7 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with je lui parle.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write two sentences of your own that get the watch-out line right, then the two practice pages of workbook lesson 22 in Module 6 are the written half of this page.

This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The French Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.

Keep these words

Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.

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