Log inSign up

Donne-le au chien.

Donne-le au chien.
Give it to the dog.
From Lesson 113:Commands with object pronouns (fais-le)·French

Questions & Answers about Donne-le au chien.

Why is le placed after Donne with a hyphen instead of before the verb?
Usually, object pronouns go before the verb (like tu le donnes). But in affirmative commands—when you are telling someone to do something—the pronoun moves to the end of the verb and is attached with a hyphen.
Wait, isn't the informal 'you' form of this verb spelled with an 's' (tu donnes)? Why is it just Donne here?
Good eye! For regular -er verbs like donner, you must drop the final -s in the tu (informal 'you') command form. So tu donnes (you give) becomes just Donne (Give!).
Does le always mean 'it'?
le is the direct object pronoun replacing any masculine singular noun. Here it translates to 'it' (like a toy or a bone), but it can also mean 'him' if you are referring to a person.
Why does the sentence use au instead of à le for 'to the'?
In French, whenever the preposition à (to) is followed directly by the masculine singular article le (the), they must combine to form the word au. It is grammatically incorrect to leave them separate as à le.

Learn Donne-le au chien and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning French →