Word
Ils la lui font lire.
Meaning
They are having him read it.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Ils la lui font lire.
ils
they (masculine/mixed)
lui
him / to him / to her (indirect object)
faire
to do, to make
lire
to read
Questions & Answers about Ils la lui font lire.
Why are the pronouns la and lui placed before font instead of before lire?
Normally, object pronouns go right before the infinitive (like ils veulent la lire). However, the causative faire construction acts as a single, inseparable block. Because of this rule, any pronouns belonging to the action must be placed before the conjugated form of faire.
Why do we use the indirect pronoun lui for 'him', when the English sentence says 'have him read'?
This is the trickiest rule of the causative faire. When the infinitive (lire) has a direct object (here, la, meaning the thing being read), the person performing the action (the agent) is forced to become an indirect object. Since the direct object slot is taken by la, the agent becomes the indirect lui.
Why is the pronoun order la lui instead of lui la?
Could this sentence also mean 'They are having her read it'?