Learn French: Tu peux les coller sur la table. - You can glue them on the table.

Tu peux les coller sur la table.

You can glue them on the table.

Breakdown of Tu peux les coller sur la table.

you (informal singular)

Questions & Answers about Tu peux les coller sur la table.

Why is les placed between peux and coller?

In French, when you have a conjugated verb (like peux) followed by an infinitive (like coller), the object pronoun usually goes immediately before the infinitive it belongs to. Since you are gluing them, les goes right before coller.

How can I tell if les means "the" or "them" in this sentence?

You can tell by looking at the word that comes right after it. Here, les is followed by a verb (coller), which tells you it is an object pronoun meaning "them". If it were followed by a noun, it would be the plural article meaning "the".

Can coller be used for "copy and paste" on a computer?

Yes! In everyday physical use, coller means "to glue" or "to stick". In the digital world, "copy and paste" is translated directly as copier-coller.

What if I wanted to say "You can glue IT on the table"?

You would replace les with le (if the object you are gluing is masculine) or la (if it is feminine). For example, Tu peux le coller sur la table.