Learn Hardcore French: Marie m'écoute.

The m' is a contracted form of the direct object pronoun me. In this case, it indicates that Marie is doing the action (listening) to “me.” French grammar typically places object pronouns before the conjugated verb.

Why is the apostrophe used in m'écoute instead of writing me écoute?

The apostrophe is used due to elision. When the pronoun me comes before a verb that starts with a vowel (here, écoute), the final vowel of me is dropped and replaced with an apostrophe to ensure smoother pronunciation.

How is the sentence Marie m'écoute. structured grammatically?

The sentence follows a typical French sentence structure: the subject (Marie) is followed by the object pronoun (m', meaning “me”), and then the verb (écoute). Despite the English translation being “Marie listens to me,” in French the preposition “to” isn’t used with the direct object pronoun.

Why can’t we use moi instead of m' in this sentence?