Learn French: Le médecin vous prescrit ces pilules. - The doctor is prescribing you these pills.

Le médecin vous prescrit ces pilules.

The doctor is prescribing you these pills.

Breakdown of Le médecin vous prescrit ces pilules.

Questions & Answers about Le médecin vous prescrit ces pilules.

Why does vous come before the verb instead of after it?

In French, object pronouns like vous (which can mean 'you' or 'to you') are placed right before the verb they belong to. Unlike in English where we say 'prescribes you', the French sentence literally translates to 'The doctor to you prescribes' (vous prescrit).

Is vous a direct or an indirect object in this sentence?

It is an indirect object (COI). You can tell because the verb is prescrire à (to prescribe to someone). Even though the English translation says 'prescribing you', the French structure is 'prescribing to you'. Since vous acts as the indirect object, it replaces à vous.

What is the infinitive of the verb prescrit?

The infinitive is prescrire. It is an irregular verb that ends in -ire, similar to écrire (to write) or lire (to read). Because le médecin acts as 'il' (he), the present tense ending is a -t.

Can I use ces for both masculine and feminine words?

Yes! ces is the plural demonstrative adjective, meaning 'these' or 'those'. It is used for all plural nouns, whether they are masculine or, like pilules, feminine. You only have to worry about gender when using the singular forms (ce, cet, and cette).