Learn French: Je lui ai parlé de ce malentendu. - I spoke to him about this misunderstanding.

Je lui ai parlé de ce malentendu.

I spoke to him about this misunderstanding.

Breakdown of Je lui ai parlé de ce malentendu.

lui

him / to him / to her (indirect object)

avoir

to have

this (before a noun)

Questions & Answers about Je lui ai parlé de ce malentendu.

Why is lui placed before ai instead of before parlé?

In the passé composé, indirect object pronouns like lui must go right before the helping verb (avoir or être). They are not placed before the past participle (parlé). So it is always Je lui ai parlé.

Could lui also mean 'to her' in this sentence?

Yes! As an indirect object pronoun, lui means both 'to him' and 'to her'. You can only tell which one it is from the wider context of the conversation.

If lui refers to a woman, do I add an 'e' to parlé?

No. In the passé composé, you never add agreement letters (like 'e' or 's') for indirect objects like lui or leur. The spelling of parlé stays exactly the same.

Why use de for 'about' instead of another word like sur?

In French, the verb parler pairs directly with the preposition de to mean 'to talk about' or 'to speak of'. It is a fixed combination you just have to memorize.

Why do we use ce for 'this' instead of cet or cette?