Lui, leur OR le, la, les in French? Pick correctly EVERY TIME with this trick - French pronouns

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Lui and leur take the same position in French sentences as le, la, les, right? Yes and no. Here's how to remember whether to choose lui, leur or le, la, les and where to put them!
Ah, I'm so excited to produce this video on how to choose between the French pronouns lui, leur, and le, la, les in French. This is a big one. It's not at all obvious how to know when the use which kind of pronoun. But then one day I discovered something that makes the choice easy!
Note: we're NOT talking about stress pronouns (les pronoms toniques) - (e.g. je parle de lui) - in this video.
Watch the video to learn how to decide which French pronouns to use and when.
Entire playlist on lui and leur in French: • LUI and LEUR
Video on the Reverso Context tool for more reliable translations: • Get Better Translation...
Reverso context translator tool: context.reverso.net
FREE guide to speaking French with confidence: frenchinplainsight.com/speaki...
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WordReference: wordreference.com
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**Ressources d'apprentissage des langues payantes recommandées / Paid language learning resources I recommend**:
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#LuiLeur #LeLaLes #FrenchGrammar

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

You can now become a channel member and get my videos early, monthly livestreams, and mentions in my videos. Check it out here bit.ly/3iWf1Qj

[@gurleenjohal7268]

he taught me more in 8 minutes than my french teacher in 2 weeks

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

😂

[@cherry6054]

Same here! 🙋 Merci beaucoup!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

@@cherry6054 De rien !

[@Ch9-7708]

I literally said the same thing to my vice principal but they are just like, “education doesn’t have to be fun” and I just gave up trying to talk to them. Thanks for the video!

[@intosomethingsometimes2193]

Omg literally exactly 2 weeks!

[@EasyFinnish]

Actually David Crystal talks about it that native speakers are not the best teachers at all. Normally those who have learnt the language as a second language know the most for hard work. This video was very helpful.

[@lauralaura6330]

You just teached me more in 8 minutes, than my teacher in more than 180 minutes

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Merry Christmas :)

[@bobelle1274]

Great explanation. Even though I’m learning from a native French speaker, it takes a British person to explain it in a way a British person can understand perfectly. You’ve done that for me in 8 minutes.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

The overriding message from the language learning companies and industry is "learn from a native. it's the best way to go!". But learning a language involves overcoming many different challenges. Some of which a native is perfectly suited for, and some of which, someone who speaks your native language (I assume yours is English?) is better placed due their experience. Happy to have helped :)

[@kateseal2752]

@@FrenchinPlainSight That's so true! I am a native russian speaker and I have no idea how to teach russian to foreigners (but I teach english, as a matter of fact)

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

@@kateseal2752 you go with your gut to start with, and then adapt based on how well it goes :)

[@GorgieClarissa]

to be fair, I teach English as a second language, but I have also STUDIED how to teach English as a second language. I think being able to speak a language and being able to teach a language are two different things. That's why it's always good to work on conversation with natives, but don't expect every native to be able to explain the grammar concept. In fact, I primarily teach elementary/beginner English. Not c1.c2 because there are concepts I don't actually KNOW how to teach. But I still get lesson requests... asking me for advanced english and I have to explain I can't, or other things like tofel, toeic, ielts... I JUST DONT KNOW!

[@LisaSoulLevelHealing]

American as well 😉 we make the same mistakes

[@davidk7931]

Je préfère vos leçons Parcé que vous n'êtes pas français nativement alors vous comprendrez bien nos "journey " apprendre le français. Merci, merci beaucoup

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Yes! On poursuit tous ensemble ce parcours (journey/path dans ce contexte). Merci de regarder Danga !

[@Neyobe]

:D

[@luizachebli2484]

hi I’m Brazilian and I’m learning English and French. your video was very helpful for me and it explains a difficult part of the language but by a easy way. when I saw your video, I got afraid of not to be able to understand because it’s in English but I could do it. so, thanks one more time and congrats!

[@gabriellapugliese8058]

I've been trying to understand this concept for the last two years and in a few minutes you made it so clear, thank you!

[@Hewhogreetswithfjre]

“French is a marathon not a sprint " indeed it is. Merci beaucoup !

[@windswept8123]

Salut, Alex. This was such a helpful video ! I think it makes a difference, learning French from an English speaker, as I am, because you can explain points of grammar that a native wouldn't necessarily consider. You clarified this particular issue so simply. Merci beaucoup !

[@joesoap2014]

I'm sooo glad I'm not the only one who's having tons of trouble getting my head round this! I thought it was just me being thick! Thanks very much for the lesson!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Never think you're thick, just assume that it hasn't been taught in the right way or you haven't found the one resource that can unlock something for you.

[@alisonmcnabney-stevens5600]

Hi Alex thanks for your videos... I love them. I’m British and live in melbourne. After years of speaking school French I decided now is the time to nail this thing. Im loving the learning... thanks for your help

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Tu t'es donnée un coup de pied? Nice one Alison. Not waiting til setting "resolutions" to get into gear and chase your dreams :). Happy to have you here.

[@abumaria4490]

Your lessons are really really helpful , I am eternally grateful my friend 😍

[@losingmychic]

Thank you again Alex, have rewatched this several times now to glue it into my head!!

[@nitramsamuel2988]

Yes thank you, good one. Now I have reach the "a-ha" moment!

[@ElpresadorsBrother]

You explained this so well man. Unbelievable. Thanks a lot. Learning from people who had to figure this stuff out the hard way and aren't just native speakers is the way to go.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Love this !

[@ansonel-ayari5905]

I literally learnt more in this video than I have with my teacher in the last month. Thx man!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

You're welcome :)

[@whodis8272]

i really like how i can understand his English

[@filipecarvalho3105]

Amazing explanation! Funny that, in my case, I always translated the sentence back to my language (Portuguese), and if the pronoun before the object was "lhe/lhes", I'd use "lui/leur", but if the pronoun was "lo/la/los/las", I'd use "le/la/les". So in a way I was doing what you explained but by going back to my own language instead of observing the actual french pronoun. Thank you!

[@pinguin722]

tysm! ive been struggling with this for months and somehow u explained it in 8 minutes!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

You're welcome :)

[@davidk7931]

Nous avons appris ça à l'école la semaine dernière. Je vais partager avec mes collègues.... merci beaucoup

[@anitawaters8039]

Quelle bonne explication Alex, merci !!!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Tellement content qu'elle t'ait plue, Anita !

[@andayaman4097]

London accent with the best french class. I love it man. Well- done.

[@katherinetherese2736]

Thank you, Alex! Your articulations and pronunciation is exquisite! So, glad I found:)!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Aw that's so nice, Katherine. Merci :)

[@ivettedelrio8053]

C'est incroyable ta façon d'expliquer le COI et le COI, tout simple. Merci beaucoup. Ivette

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Avec plaisir :)

[@goomba008]

Hi. As a native French speaker, I think you pretty much nailed it. The way we are taught grammar in school is IMO a lot more convoluted than how French grammar is structured for English/other speakers ^_^ e.g. We say "complément d'objet direct/indirect" instead of just "direct/indirect object", also our verb tenses have strange names even though they may correspond one-to-one to a tense in other European languages that have a different name). That's just two examples of needless complications, and this is one of the reasons why we have trouble explaining it to learners. However now that I delved into Spanish and German, it's much easier to pinpoint the right words to use, and the right way to explain things to be more in line with common elements of other European languages. I wish their was a standards body in Europe to define a common method and vocabulary for teaching grammar in all European languages. This way it would be very simple to draw parallels and find the equivalent concepts/words to use when learning another language.

[@EricaNernie]

So appreciate your English-speaker take on this. Really helps. Merci.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

My pleasure! It was great when it clicked for me too!

[@jcteo1]

Wow! This video is so so good! Clear and concise explanation. Merci beaucoup!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

You're very welcome!

[@dianel8722]

Vous m'aidez beaucoup dans cette vidéo, je l'adore tellement!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Ça me fait tellement de plaisir de l'apprendre Diane !

[@Paul-bs1sc]

Thanks for this. I found you yesterday. It's really good to have things explained from someone who's taught them self too. I hope you can keep making videos. I've been teaching myself for just 5 months, but every day, and using different material. I thought I was doing alright but then I had my first italki conversation and couldn't think at all ha! I'll be going through all your videos. Cheers - keep it up

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

"It's really good to have things explained from someone who's taught them self too" - That's exactly my hope Paul. So glad you find it useful! 5 months is not very long at all. And what you experienced is completely normal. It was your first piece of evidence that learning more doesn't mean you'll be a good speaker. We can be C1 in knowledge but A1 in speaking. Don't shy away from italki now, go for it full throttle. Get through the discomfort and you'll be a great language learner!

[@whealsonli8253]

Impressive! Good job man, merci beaucoup!

[@viniciusiutubiu]

Damnn.. you have better explanaition than most of native french speakers Ive been watching on YT!! Tkss mon amie

[@lynndavis9350]

I have just found your channel and I love the way that you explain things so clearly. Excuse me while I go and watch your previous videos and any new ones of course ❤ 🇬🇧

[@indranighose2025]

Very nicely explained. Merci beaucoup

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

De rien

[@fabricehaubois2442]

Very helpful, from a native trying to help a non native !!!

[@walterhemp71]

Thanks for the hint about reverso

[@suhanichawla806]

You're the best teacher ❤️this video was very helpful for me thankyou

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

You're very welcome!

[@CarmzT]

A propos de vos videos, j'ai les regardé et elles sont surtout très utile! Bravo, Alex!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Merci beaucoup Carmz T. !

[@endo9913]

Great thanks! You really made it clear.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Happy to hear it

[@shreyamishra5658]

Amazing teaching!!!

[@stephend7404]

Because of you, it finally sticks!! THANK YOU!

[@kdowning73]

Woooow! Just discovered your videos today. The way you laid this out makes SO much sense! Mind blown! Merci de partager ce "secret" avec nous! Vous avez une nouvelle abonnée! :)

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Yessss, awesome. That's why I make these videos. C'est super de te compter parmi nous.

[@victoriagore4598]

Great video! So clear.

[@kevinreid2720]

This helped so much - thank you!!!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

You're welcome Kevin ☺️

[@nkechiogbuka726]

merci, il faut ecrire sur le tableau pour bien expliquer les exemples.

[@Viie-]

Merci beaucoup! Very clear explainations

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

De rien !

[@sophiebeeart874]

GAME CHANGER! Thanks so much, so glad I stumbled upon your channel.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

You're welcome Sophie. Happy to have you :)

[@xouxoful]

« Je le lui donne » n’est pas beaucoup utilisé à l’oral, parce qu’il est difficilement discernable de « je lui donne ». Donc le plus souvent c’est : « je lui donne qqch » ou « je le/la/les donne à qqun »

[@saidfarid6382]

Hello professor Thank you so much for your priceless advice and interesting guidance. I really appreciate your job. I wish you peace and happiness under the sky of prosperity. Your Student from Algeria.

[@christineyee2117]

Très bien expliqué, comme toujours!. Ca fait un an et demi que je regarde des vidéos en français. I notice that in every day spoken French, it isn't very common to use multiple direct/indirect objects in a single sentence. Example: Je donne la pomme à Pierre. Instead of "je la lui donne.", I often hear "Je la donne à Pierre". What do you think?

[@Ballykeith]

Oui! Xavier Debidour à écrit ici: < Je le lui donne » n'est pas beaucoup utilisé à l'oral, parce qu'il est difficilement discernable de

[@-pierogi-9070]

Super helpful. I couldnt figure this out!!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Glad it helped!

[@helenelizabethjohnson4372]

Thanks Alex for making it so simple, very helpful video

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

You're so welcome Helen. How long have you been learning French? :)

[@marsattaqueladelinquancest9727]

I help him : je l'aide I give him it : je le lui donne It's not so obvious especially when we want to explain in English. This lesson is very hard , true. Best advice : to observe a lot how ppl express themselves

[@messrsandersonco5985]

Nowhere in English can you say, "I give him it"! In English, we would say, "I give IT TO HIM". Thus, the preposition exists in both English AND French!

[@edwinasimons3758]

Wow, this is so clear 🌞🌞

[@p.m.4417]

Thank you, that was really helpful

[@1beebeered]

Thank you so much! Helped a lot I have a quiz next week 😅

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Dis-moi comment ça se passe !

[@thaynara32601]

Omg, thank you sooo much, you just save my life, I could cry right now

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

You're so welcome! Did something just "click"? Keep the keyboard dry from any tears!

[@senapus1241]

Merci! Thank you. I've learned French years ago in school but never practise it as I did with english. Now with the help of duolingo (yes you also made a video about using Duolingo) I try to refresh my knowlege of French. Since yesterday I got the topic of pronouns and I'm really happy to be able to watch youtube and people like you how explain this topic really understandable.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

You're welcome. De rien ! From next week I'm doing a little series, a deep dive into lui and leur so you might want to come back for that and refresh your memory :)

[@senapus1241]

@@FrenchinPlainSight I absoluty will. I also taking notes about "y" and "en". I am optimistic that I will learn all of this. Thank you.

[@boify3849]

Thank you so much dude , I was struggling here

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

🤙 you're welcome

[@nickynixon1806]

Very helpful and much appreciated.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

You're welcome Nicky

[@margaretbarnett7843]

thanks for explaining the direct and indirect object!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

You're very welcome!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

We go more into it during my grammar workshops learn.frenchinplainsight.com/courses/parlons-grammaire

[@magicalawnmower4764]

i missed this lesson in french class today + yesterday because I had the stomach flu and we have a tiny quiz on it tomorrow. merci bcp!!!!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Get well soon

[@p4rtyshr1mpz]

you’re better at explaining things than my french teacher tbh, but to be fair he speaks only french in a class of students who each only get every other word since he hasn’t taught us half of them. mdr merci beaucoup

[@sibivelan527]

thx alex ur vids helps me in my exams

[@bethlehemalem9828]

You got a new subscriber. This was very well explained thank you so much. Je le apprècie beaucoup.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

You're welcome!

[@lelo3376]

THANK YOU SO MUCH YOU EXPLAINED IT SO WELL

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

YOU'RE WELCOME!

Merci beaucoup! Vous êtes le meilleur!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

:)

[@ameralomari5922]

Hi Thanks for the vidéo I learned this rule few days ago after a long time of trying to know which one to use. I wish I have seen your vidéo earlier. So far this rule is going my way with no exceptions.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Happy to help Amer. there are exceptions but don't be disappointed. Expect exceptions always ;)

[@ameralomari5922]

@@FrenchinPlainSight yup Thanks for the heads up. Wish you all the best bro. 👍 Your channel is amazing.

[@albertloredo3367]

Thank you!!

[@minhzikm1]

Salut ! remerci pour cette vidéo informative. Pouvez-vous faire une vidéo sur la prononciation de "PLUS". Quand prononcer avec "S" et sans "S". Merci

[@taelongray3381]

Very helpful! Merci!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

De rien. I'm so glad it was useful!

[@marsattaqueladelinquancest9727]

It's JE LE LUI Donne ( only when you have : '' it '' in the sentence) Often, when we speak fast indeed we say : je lui donne ça or je lui donne < all simply. Je lui donne l'heure < the correct way

[@alannohlgren]

Jeez, I've been here for 20 years & never could get a straight answer from a French person. I knew by example that lui went with donner, & I pretty much inserted le, la & les in the others. So it's a question of whether or not a preposition exists with a verb. Interesting. I'm gonna start trying it out systematically. Thanks, Alex

[@MrRunningGag]

Really helpful, thanks!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

You're welcome !

[@discoloop]

The penny drops! Excellent video, thank you. Feel free to make one about when to use “ce” instead of “he/she” and “Il/elle” where in English we would use “it”. That’s the other one that I struggle to wrap my head around!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

I've got one on that somewhere :)

[@colintprof1]

Thanks for the video. The real secret if there is one to choosing the right pronoun is in having a list of verbs that go with a. Even the better grammar books don't bother to give lists of more than a dozen or so of the most commonly used verbs like donner. I've tried to compile a list of verbs that use lui/leur and they number well over 50+ and I'm only a learner. Maybe one day some French grammarians or teachers will produce a list of the (perhaps) one hundred verbs that go with a.

[@bobelle1274]

Yes , please list below ?

[@1973jdmc]

You are the BEST- Thank you so very much

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

You're welcome!

[@mariaisabelaguirreacajabon8963]

Merci ! It helped a lot.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Avec plaisir

[@tammyt.b.1078]

THANK YOU!!!

[@apollosiris5733]

Exactly what I was looking for

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Glad I could help, Kyle

[@renanrosa5527]

Your didactic is really fantastic. You've got a new subscriber. Merci beaucoup pour des conseils.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

De rien. Je suis content que tu en aies appris quelque chose !

[@alexgamboa6076]

Wow. That just helped so muchhhh. Thank yOUUUUUU

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

You're welcome:)

[@artvandelay1555]

Yes, FR is a marathon, and you know you have quasi arrived when they don't start speaking English after hearing your French. Listening comprehension is one of the big keys of course. It never ends, but is a labor of love, in the literal sense sometimes.

[@BhushanKumar-ms6rt]

thanks ... understood after many other videos ... merci..

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Great. I'm happy it's clearer for you!

[@jasenkadva]

"French is a marathon, not a sprint". Thank you 😇🤩

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

De rien!

[@franszcaogrenin8239]

very helpful. merci!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

You're welcome! Next week I'm starting a series on LUI and LEUR. So you might enjoy that too!

[@visit_kenya]

Merci beaucoup monsieur

[@chekang3697]

Thank you for these great vids!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Je t'en prie !

[@premiumturkish]

Seems like a great video as usual! I'm excited to watch! I'll comment after watching, too because it is important to get views and comments at the very beginning. :))

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Thanks for your support. Looking forward to your post-watch comment :D.

[@Verussian]

Thank you!

[@amazingworldofshilasaha]

Merci beaucoup Monsieur. C'était très utile. J'apprécie ce beaucoup. L'amour de l'inde 🙌❤️😊

[@RED_09_EDITS]

Thank you this helped a lot I have my exam tomorrow...

[@julielonneux327]

Hey, what song did you use in ur intro? just wondering because I've been looking for a particular type of music but can't seem to find it... the tune in ur video sounds nice tho, it would be really helpful if you could tell me what it's called. Thanks.

[@phoenixwilliams1581]

Thanks a lot, big help

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

You're welcome!

[@kurgoor4436]

I have been asking my teacher for over 3 weeks and she just tells me to "remember which verb goes with what" 😕GOSH thank u man! U saved my neck more than she would ever😍

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Well your teacher is half right! But it left you with the same doubts as I had. Glad to fill in the gaps.

[@luluirizar6291]

Thank for this lesson

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

You're welcome!

[@jamieburke2549]

Magic! I’ve liked and subscribed

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Merci ! Hope you like what you find here Jamie!

[@Abdul-ty4un]

Really helpful. Thank you sir

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

You're welcome sir

[@Abdul-ty4un]

@@FrenchinPlainSight I'm not a sir but thank you😁

[@rowarriortube]

Gracias!!!

[@SP-gc1pr]

boss, thank you. i clicked on this video because i was like 'oh shit is that johnny sins?' while learning these bloody pronouns for my french exam. so glad i clicked on the video. i’ve subbed and liked man. thanks. i got a french exam and my brain was just tangling itself.