Learn French: À force d'étudier ce dialecte, je le lui explique facilement. - Through repeatedly studying this dialect, I explain it to him easily.

À force d'étudier ce dialecte, je le lui explique facilement.

Through repeatedly studying this dialect, I explain it to him easily.

Breakdown of À force d'étudier ce dialecte, je le lui explique facilement.

lui

him / to him / to her (indirect object)

this (before a noun)

étudier

to study

Questions & Answers about À force d'étudier ce dialecte, je le lui explique facilement.

Why use the infinitive étudier after à force d' here?

À force de (meaning by dint of or through repeatedly doing) must be followed by either a noun or an infinitive verb. Because the subject of the main clause (je) is the one doing the studying, we use the infinitive étudier rather than a conjugated verb.

What is the exact difference in meaning between À force d'étudier and En étudiant?

En étudiant (by studying or while studying) simply states how or when an action happens. À force d'étudier adds a strong sense of repetition and intensity. It tells us that it is specifically the high volume of repeated studying that resulted in the ability to explain it easily.

Why is the pronoun order le lui and not lui le?

In French, when you have two third-person object pronouns placed before a verb, the direct object (le, la, or les) always precedes the indirect object (lui or leur). Here, le represents the dialect (the direct object) and lui represents the person receiving the explanation (the indirect object).

The translation says explain it to him. Could lui also mean to her?

Yes, absolutely. As an indirect object pronoun, lui means both to him and to her. Without additional context outside of this sentence, je le lui explique could just as easily be translated as I explain it to her.