lui v le/la

Question

hi

i'm getting confused when to use le/la and lui as a direct pronoun. I understand that le /la is he /she and lui to him or to her but is there a list of verbs which take lui as a direct translation from English is not always obvious

Accepted Answer

Hi Helen,
If you take the verb, to ring someone, in French you can use either appeler quelqu'un or téléphoner à quelqu'un.
Appeler takes a direct object as in English :
J'appelle ma mère tous les soirs ------> Je l'appelle vers 21 h
Téléphoner à quelqu'un takes an indirect object because of the 'à' -
Je téléphone à ma mère tous les soirs ----> Je lui téléphone vers 21 h
Same sentence using different verbs with different object pronouns, not easy for learners...

Answer

le/la can be direct object pronouns, whereas lui is an indirect pronoun. When to use one or the other depends on the verb. And some verbs just don't parallel the English usage of pronouns. Just two examples, where in English you have a direct object but in French the verb asks for the indirect object:
I phone him. -- Je l' appelle.I ask him. -- Je lui demande.
You just need to learn that with each French verb.