He's giving it to us.

ToddB1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

He's giving it to us.

Translate "He's giving it to us"

I thought the answer would be: Il le nous donne. But LawlessFrench said the answer was: Il nous le donne. 

Isn't the direct object "it" or "le" and isn't the indirect object "us" or "nous"? Doesn't the direct object come before the indirect object?

Asked 3 years ago
MaartenC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

French word order follows different rules. Object pronouns have a specific order when double object pronouns are used.  It does not depend specifically on which is direct or indirect, rather the object pronouns themselves have predetermined positions in double object pronoun “groups”.  Context can be important for meaning. 

https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/double-pronoun-order/

Position of Double Pronouns in French - Direct Object Pronoun + Indirect Object Pronoun

ToddB1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Thank you. I didn’t read the lesson close enough. Me/te/vous/nous is a different word order than le/la/les.

He's giving it to us.

Translate "He's giving it to us"

I thought the answer would be: Il le nous donne. But LawlessFrench said the answer was: Il nous le donne. 

Isn't the direct object "it" or "le" and isn't the indirect object "us" or "nous"? Doesn't the direct object come before the indirect object?

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