Question 1

Why is the order le-lui instead of lui-le?

Accepted Answer

In affirmative commands (when you tell someone to do something), direct object pronouns like le, la, or les always come before indirect object pronouns like lui or leur. Since le replaces le micro (the direct object) and lui replaces the assistant (the indirect object), it has to be Branche-le-lui.

Question 2

The translation says "Plug it in for him". Doesn't lui usually mean "to him"?

Accepted Answer

Often, yes! But in French, indirect object pronouns like lui (to him/her) or leur (to them) are also used to show who benefits from an action. So, doing a favor like plugging in the microphone for the assistant is expressed using the indirect object lui.

Question 3

Wait, isn't the tu form of the verb branches? Why is it missing the "s" here?

Accepted Answer

You are right that the normal present tense is tu branches. However, for regular -er verbs like brancher (to plug in), you must drop the final "s" when giving an affirmative command (l'impératif) to a single person. So, it becomes just Branche !

Question 4

Do I always need to use two hyphens when there are double pronouns in a command?

Accepted Answer

Yes! In affirmative commands, you must attach the pronouns to the end of the verb using hyphens. Because you have two pronouns here attached to the verb (le and lui), you need two hyphens to link them all together in a chain: Branche-le-lui.

L'assistant va utiliser le micro. Branche-le-lui !

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