Breakdown of On lui a reproché son erreur pendant la diffusion.
on
one / we (informal)
lui
him / to him / to her (indirect object)
avoir
to have
l'erreur
the mistake, an error (f)
Questions & Answers about On lui a reproché son erreur pendant la diffusion.
Why does this sentence use On lui a reproché instead of a literal translation like Il a été reproché?
In French, you can only form the passive voice using a direct object. The verb structure here is reprocher quelque chose à quelqu'un. Because the person being criticized is an indirect object (indicated by à, replaced here by lui), that person cannot become the subject of a passive sentence. Instead, French uses the active voice with the indefinite pronoun on (one/they): On lui a reproché (They criticized him).
Since erreur is a feminine noun, why does the sentence use the masculine possessive son?
Why is there no French word for 'for' in reproché son erreur (criticized for his mistake)?
The French verb structure is reprocher quelque chose à quelqu'un (to reproach someone for something). The 'something' (son erreur) is a direct object and connects directly to the verb without a preposition. Translating the English 'for' by adding a word like pour here would be incorrect.
Does lui in this sentence mean 'him' or 'her'?