Word
Il se doute qu'on lui a téléphoné dans la régie.
Meaning
He suspects she was telephoned in the control room.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Il se doute qu'on lui a téléphoné dans la régie.
il
he
on
one / we (informal)
dans
in, inside
lui
him / to him / to her (indirect object)
Questions & Answers about Il se doute qu'on lui a téléphoné dans la régie.
Why does the French use on lui a téléphoné instead of a passive phrase like elle a été téléphonée?
This is because téléphoner is an indirect transitive verb—you telephone to someone (téléphoner à quelqu'un). In French, verbs that take an indirect object with à generally cannot be put into the passive voice. To express a passive idea like "she was telephoned," you must use the active voice with the indefinite pronoun on (literally, "one telephoned to her").
The English translation says "she was telephoned". How do we know lui means "she" and not "he" here?
Looking at this sentence in isolation, we actually don't! The indirect object pronoun lui is used for both "to him" and "to her". The specific translation "she" is only known because of the surrounding context of the story. Without context, it could just as easily mean "he was telephoned".
I thought expressions of doubt require the subjunctive. Why is a téléphoné in the indicative?
You are absolutely right that douter que (to doubt that) requires the subjunctive. However, this sentence uses the reflexive verb se douter que, which means "to suspect that" or "to have a feeling that". Because it expresses a strong belief or probability rather than actual doubt, it triggers the indicative.
What kind of room is a régie?
A régie typically refers to a control room or production booth in a television, radio, or theater setting, where technicians handle the audio, lighting, and video mixing.