Breakdown of Le suspect est coupable, mais il le nie.
être
to be
il
he
mais
but
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
le suspect
the suspect
coupable
guilty
nier
to deny
Questions & Answers about Le suspect est coupable, mais il le nie.
What does le refer to in this sentence?
If the suspect were a woman, would we say elle la nie?
Can I drop the le and just say mais il nie, like we often drop "it" in English?
Is the word coupable related to the English word "culpable"?
Yes! They share the same Latin root. While "culpable" is a somewhat formal or legal word in English, coupable is the standard, everyday French word for "guilty."
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