Breakdown of Il leur a dit un mensonge parce qu'il a peur.
un
a / an (masculine)
il
he
avoir
to have
parce que
because
avoir peur
to be afraid
dire
to say, to tell
leur
to them (indirect object)
le mensonge
the lie
Questions & Answers about Il leur a dit un mensonge parce qu'il a peur.
Why is the word leur used here instead of les?
leur is an indirect object pronoun meaning "to them." We use it here because the verb dire (to say or to tell) takes an indirect object for the person you are speaking to (you say something TO someone). If you used the direct object les, it would mean you are literally speaking the people themselves as the words.
Where exactly does leur go in a past tense sentence like this?
Object pronouns like leur always go right in front of the conjugated verb. Because this sentence is in the passé composé (a past tense), the conjugated verb is the helper verb a (from avoir). So, leur must go immediately before a, not before the past participle dit.
Why does the French sentence say a peur instead of using the verb "to be"?
Why is the first half of the sentence in the past tense (a dit) and the second half in the present tense (a peur)?
This mix of tenses shows exactly when things are happening. The action of telling the lie happened and finished in the past (il a dit), but his feeling of fear is still happening right now in the present (il a peur). If his fear was also only in the past, it would use a past tense like the imperfect: parce qu'il avait peur.
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