Learn French: L'assistant a fait ces copies. Rends-les-lui tout de suite ! - The assistant made these copies. Return them to him immediately!

L'assistant a fait ces copies. Rends-les-lui tout de suite !

The assistant made these copies. Return them to him immediately!

Breakdown of L'assistant a fait ces copies. Rends-les-lui tout de suite !

lui

him / to him / to her (indirect object)

them (direct object pronoun)

Questions & Answers about L'assistant a fait ces copies. Rends-les-lui tout de suite !

Why are there two hyphens in Rends-les-lui?

In French affirmative commands (when you tell someone to do something), the object pronouns are attached to the end of the verb using hyphens. Here, the verb Rends is followed by its two pronouns, les (them) and lui (to him).

What is the rule for the order of les and lui in this sentence?

In affirmative commands, the direct object (le, la, or les) always comes right after the verb, before the indirect object (like moi, toi, lui, or leur). Since you are saying return them (les) to him (lui), the correct order is Rends-les-lui.

Why doesn't Rends drop the final s for the tu command form?

You only drop the final s in the tu command form for verbs that end in -er (like Parle or Mange). Because rendre is an -re verb, it keeps its normal spelling for the tu form in the imperative: Rends.

Is tout de suite a set phrase?