Learn French: Est-ce que tu lui mens souvent ?

Est-ce que tu lui mens souvent ?

Do you often lie to him?

Breakdown of Est-ce que tu lui mens souvent ?

you (informal singular)

souvent

often

lui

him / to him / to her (indirect object)

est-ce que

is it that / do / does (question marker)

Questions & Answers about Est-ce que tu lui mens souvent ?

Why do we use lui here instead of a direct object pronoun like le?

In French, the verb is mentir à (to lie to someone). Because of that à, the person receiving the action is an indirect object. We use lui to replace à plus a single person.

Does lui mean "to him" or "to her" in this sentence?

It can mean either one! As an indirect object pronoun, lui is used for both masculine and feminine people. Depending on the conversation's context, this sentence could just as easily mean "Do you often lie to her?".

Why is lui placed before the verb mens?

In French, object pronouns almost always go directly before the verb they belong to. Instead of putting the pronoun at the end like in English, the French structure is essentially "you to-him lie" (tu lui mens).

What verb is mens from, and is it a regular -ir verb?

It comes from mentir (to lie). It is an irregular -ir verb. Similar to dormir (to sleep) or partir (to leave), it drops the "t" in its singular present tense forms: je mens, tu mens, il ment.