Isn't "Je te passe Paul" ambiguous? How do you know which is the direct and indirect pronoun ?

DavidC1Kwiziq community member

Isn't "Je te passe Paul" ambiguous? How do you know which is the direct and indirect pronoun ?

Asked 7 years ago
AurélieKwiziq team memberCorrect answer
Bonjour David !

Here, it would be literally "I pass Paul to you" or in incorrect French "Je passe Paul à toi".
Therefore, "Paul" is the direct object here (not introduced by a preposition) when "te" is the indirect object pronoun.

I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
HarrisC1Kwiziq community member
How would I say: "I'm passing you to her"? Would it be: "Je lui passe toi"?
HarrisC1Kwiziq community member
Or maybe it is: "Je lui te passe".
AurélieKwiziq team member

Bonjour Harris !

Your question is actually more complex than it looked :)

I spent a few minutes turning it over in my (native) head, and the conclusion is in French you can't say "I'm passing you to her."!

Instead we'd shift the point of view and would say "I'm passing her to you.":

Je vous la passe. / Je te la passe.

 

I hope that's helpful!

David asked:View original

Isn't "Je te passe Paul" ambiguous? How do you know which is the direct and indirect pronoun ?

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