Breakdown of Il lui a emprunté un livre.
un
a / an (masculine)
il
he
le livre
the book
lui
him / to him / to her (indirect object)
Questions & Answers about Il lui a emprunté un livre.
Why is lui translated as 'from her' instead of 'to her'?
In English, you borrow a book 'from' someone. But in French, the verb is emprunter à (literally, to borrow 'to' someone). Because the person is connected to the verb by the preposition à, French uses the indirect object pronoun lui.
Could this sentence also mean 'He borrowed a book from him'?
Yes! The indirect object pronoun lui is used for both masculine and feminine singular nouns (to/from him, and to/from her). You would just rely on the context of the conversation to know who he borrowed the book from.
Why is lui placed before a instead of before emprunté?
In the passé composé (the past tense used here), object pronouns must go immediately before the conjugated helping verb. Since a (from avoir) is the conjugated part, lui goes right before it, not before the past participle emprunté.
How would this sentence change if he borrowed the book from 'them'?
You would use the plural indirect object pronoun leur (to/from them). The sentence would become: Il leur a emprunté un livre.