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L'ami dont le neveu est fidèle va m'aider.

L'ami dont le neveu est fidèle va m'aider.
The friend whose nephew is loyal is going to help me.
From Lesson 164:Possessive relative pronouns (dont)·French

Questions & Answers about L'ami dont le neveu est fidèle va m'aider.

Why is there a le in dont le neveu? Doesn't dont already mean 'whose'?
Yes, dont means 'whose' here, but French grammar rules are slightly different from English. In English, we drop the 'the' and say 'whose nephew'. In French, the noun that follows dont must still keep its definite article (le, la, or les). So, you literally say 'whose the nephew'.
Who is doing the helping in this sentence, the friend or the nephew?
The friend is helping. The core sentence is L'ami va m'aider (The friend is going to help me). The clause dont le neveu est fidèle is just extra information tucked in the middle to tell you which friend is going to help.
Why is the pronoun m' placed before aider instead of before va?
When you have a conjugated verb (va) followed by an infinitive (aider), object pronouns like me (shortened to m') are placed immediately before the infinitive they belong to. You are being helped, so it goes before aider.
Does fidèle usually mean 'faithful' or 'loyal'?
It can mean both! In the context of a romance, it means 'faithful'. In the context of a friendship, a cause, or a pet, it is usually translated as 'loyal'. Here, describing a nephew, 'loyal' is the most natural fit.

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