Learn French: Le patron nous la fait suivre. - The boss is having us follow it.

Le patron nous la fait suivre.

The boss is having us follow it.

Breakdown of Le patron nous la fait suivre.

nous

we / us (object pronoun)

her, it (feminine direct object pronoun)

Questions & Answers about Le patron nous la fait suivre.

Why are both pronouns placed before fait instead of right before suivre?

In the causative construction (faire + infinitive), the two verbs act as a single inseparable block. Any object pronouns belonging to either verb must go before the conjugated verb (fait), never between the two verbs.

Since we are the ones doing the following, why is the pronoun nous treated as an indirect object?

In a causative sentence, the verb block can only take one direct object. Since the thing being followed (la) is already the direct object, the agent (the people being made to do the action, nous) gets bumped to being an indirect object.

Why is the order nous la instead of la nous?

When using double pronouns, French follows a strict ranking order. First- and second-person pronouns (like me, te, nous, vous) always come before third-person direct object pronouns (like le, la, les).

Can faire suivre have another meaning in a business context?

Yes! While it translates literally here as having someone follow something, faire suivre is the standard phrase for forwarding mail or an email. In an office setting, Le patron nous la fait suivre would usually mean The boss forwards it to us (like a newsletter or an invoice).