Using "plaire" to express liking something / someone

meant to say "plaire" not "plaire à"!

Hi Marnie,

This is a good point... 

Because 'aimer' signifies to 'love' someone, the French will often steer clear of it or add 'bien' to indicate just a liking for a person .

The verb 'plaire' is widely used in French to indicate a liking for a  thing or a person and some students avoid it as it is a difficult passive construction but that's probably the one you will hear most often.

Here are a few examples to indicate the differences -

Ce cinéma me plaît = I like this cinema ( in other words, you like going there)

as opposed to,

'J'aime le cinéma' which means, you like/love films

The following sentences highlight the differences between the two verbs used to convey very different meanings -

J'aime Michel = I love Michel

J'aime bien Michel = I like Michel 

Michel me plaît = I really like/ fancy Michel

which could be awkward !

Hope this helps!

Hi Mary,

In 'Je lui plais', for 'She likes me' , lui could replace both a man or a woman. You would know which from the context.

It is an indirect object pronoun which has to be used because the verb is 'plaire à '.

Have a look at the following lesson for more details-

https://kwiziq.learnfrenchwithalexa.com/my-languages/french/view/710

Hope this helps !

 

 

I meant to add ‘Why is there not ‘à’ or an example of why the answer is correct in the lesson?’ Has something gone over my head?

Take, for example, the sentence "Je parle à Marie." -- I talk to Marie. And now take a look at "Je lui parle." -- I talk to her. You'll notice that the "à" has vanished. It's been absorbed into the pronoun "lui" which replaces an indirect object in a sentence.

"Les peintures plaisent à Pierre." -- Pierre likes the paintings.
"Les peintures lui plaisent." -- He likes the paintings (no "à" in this case).

I hope that helps, -- Chris (not a native speaker)

Les très bons exemples.
Merci !

Perhaps it would help to put Claus’ examples in the lesson. I’m sure I’m not the only one who found this confusing.

Thank you very much Claus. It’s not entirely clear to me yet. However with your explanation I can work on where I am lacking background knowledge such as indirect objects:)

Bonjour Sandra,
The other verb that uses the subject indirect object reversal is «manquer à». You might possibly find some clarity by taking a look at that verb. Sentence syntax is the same as for «plaire», i.e. the subject is the thing that pleases or is missed by the person represented by the indirect object.

To check if it is a direct or indirect object substitute a name for it (e.g., Marie, and don't worry if the sentence doesn't make much sense anymore). And if there is a preposition in front of the name, it is an indirect object. Otherwise it is a direct object.

To wit, first in English: Lucy eats an apple. First, substitute Marie for the part in question: Lucy eats Marie. No preposition in front of Marie, hence a direct object.

Lucy talks to me. Substitute Marie: Lucy talks to Marie. There is a preposition in front of Marie, hence an jndirect object.

In French: Lucie parle à Marie -- indirect object. Lucie mange des pommes : Lucie mange Marie : direct object.

-- Chris.

Thank you Ron. Manquer à has always confused me to with regard to who is missing whom. So I’ll tackle both together until I wrangle the sense out of them!

Thank you for the extra information Chris. I appreciate you taking the time.

Bonjour James,
Let me see if I can help answer this one for you or at least provide some insight.
In the phrase «je plais à Luc» --> I am pleasing to Luc or I please to Luc (awkward phrase).
Here is the lesson explanation in part:
In French, you actually say plaire à [quelqu'un] (lit. to be pleasing 'to' [someone])
Le chocolat plaît à Martha.
Note that the verb agrees with the object - the person or thing being liked, not the person who likes.
One quick story here: When I traveled to Rouen, I had a guide whom I like a lot and she gave us very useful historical information. So at the end of the day trip as I was handing her the tip I told her: Votre présentation me plaît beaucoup, c'était très intéressante et instructive. (actually, I should have stated «m'a plu beaucoup»). The take-away is this, I was telling her that her presentation was pleasing to me a lot. But in French the correct syntax is:
Votre présentation me plaît beaucoup --> Your presentation is pleasing to me.
This is another example of a verb where the syntax changes like the verb «manquer à» but that is another lesson.
J'espère que ma réponse vous aidera bien.

"Je plais à Luc" is literally translated as "I please Luc".
Je = subject
plais = verb (first person singular of plaire)
à Luc = indirect object.

The problem arises when you translate this sentence into proper English. You would say "Luc likes me" and here the roles of subject and indirect object are reversed. But this is due to the verb "like" which takes these things in opposite order and NOT due to the French being in passive voice.

-- Chris (not a native speaker).

Sorry I pressed the wrong buttons. I don't understand why one of these statements is incorrect. Can you help please?

I'm sorry, the message sender is playing tricks on me, so I'm sending my question as a Reply...
Is it completely incorrect to say for example 'Je plais á mon copain' in the sense that 'My boyfriend likes me'?
Merci, bonne journée

Bonjour Dipika !

Oui, this sentence is perfectly correct: Bravo !