French · Chapter 6 · Lesson 12 · Grammar primer
Direct and indirect object pronouns
me, te, le, la, lui, nous, vous, leur - the words that replace 'him', 'her', 'it' and 'to him/her'. Preverbal position, the m'/t'/l' elision, and the order when two pronouns stack.
The short version
The verb decides between le and lui
Direct or indirect is not about meaning, it is about what the verb takes. Voir, aimer and attendre take a direct object, so je le vois. Parler, donner, dire and téléphoner take à, so je lui parle. Je lui vois is the error, and the cure is learning each verb with its preposition attached.
Je lui donne le livre.
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