Breakdown of Si tu as besoin de ce manuel, je te le prête.
je
I
tu
you (informal singular)
ce
this (before a noun)
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
avoir besoin de
to need
si
if
te
you, yourself (object pronoun)
prêter
to lend
le manuel
the textbook / the manual
Questions & Answers about Si tu as besoin de ce manuel, je te le prête.
Why are the pronouns in the order te le instead of le te?
How do we know to use le instead of la for "it"?
Why is there a de before ce manuel?
The English translation says "I lend it to you," but wouldn't "I will lend it to you" make more sense?
It would in English! But in French, it's very common to use the present tense for the result of a si (if) clause when the action is immediate, offered, or certain. You could use the future tense here (je te le prêterai), but the present tense (je te le prête) sounds perfectly natural and conversational.
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