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Breakdown of Ne me le rends pas maintenant; rends-le-moi après-demain.
ne ... pas
not
maintenant
now
me
me
le
it
rendre
to give back
après-demain
the day after tomorrow
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“How does grammatical gender work in French?”
Every French noun is either masculine or feminine, and this affects the articles and adjectives used with it. "Le" is used with masculine nouns and "la" with feminine ones. Adjectives also change form to match — for example, "petit" (masc.) becomes "petite" (fem.).
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Questions & Answers about Ne me le rends pas maintenant; rends-le-moi après-demain.
Which verb form is rends, and why does it end with -s?
It’s the second-person singular imperative of rendre (addressing tu). For -re and -ir verbs, the tu imperative keeps the final -s (e.g., rends, finis). Only -er verbs drop the -s in the affirmative (e.g., parle !), and they add it back before y/en for euphony (e.g., parles-en !, vas-y !).
Why use rendre instead of donner or retourner?
Because “to give back (to someone)” is rendre quelque chose à quelqu’un.
- donner = to give (not necessarily “back”).
- retourner = to go back/turn over; for sending an item back (to a store), French more often uses renvoyer or retourner in that specific context, but for giving it back to its owner, use rendre.
- For “bring back,” use ramener (people/things to the speaker) or rapporter (bring back an object).
In Ne me le rends pas, why is it me le and not le me?
Because pre-verbal object pronouns follow a fixed order:
me/te/se/nous/vous + le/la/les + lui/leur + y + en.
So it must be Ne me le rends pas, not Ne le me rends pas.
In rends-le-moi, why isn’t it rends-moi-le?
In the affirmative imperative, pronouns go after the verb with hyphens and the order is:
le/la/les + moi/toi/lui/nous/vous/leur + y + en.
Hence rends-le-moi is correct; rends-moi-le is not.
Why me in the negative but moi in the affirmative?
With the affirmative imperative, me/te become moi/toi and are placed after the verb with hyphens: rends-le-moi. In the negative imperative, they revert to pre-verbal clitics: Ne me le rends pas.
What’s with the hyphens in rends-le-moi?
In the affirmative imperative, object pronouns attach to the verb with hyphens: Donne-le-moi, Dis-le-lui, Parles-en. In the negative, pronouns go before the verb with no hyphens: Ne me le dis pas.
Is Ne me le rend pas ever correct?
No. The understood subject is tu, so the verb must be rends (2nd person singular). rend is 3rd person singular.
How does this change if I address someone politely or more than one person?
Use vous forms: Ne me le rendez pas maintenant ; rendez-le-moi après-demain.
The recipient (me) doesn’t change: moi/me remain the same.
What if I want “give it back to him/her,” not to me?
Use lui for “to him/her”:
Negative: Ne le lui rends pas maintenant.
Affirmative: Rends-le-lui après-demain.
(Notice the orders: pre-verbal le + lui; post-verbal le - lui.)
Can I replace après-demain with something else?
Yes: dans deux jours is common; in narratives, le surlendemain means “the day after the next day.” You can also say après-demain matin/soir.
Does après-demain need a hyphen?
Yes. It’s written après-demain (with a hyphen). Writing it without a hyphen is considered incorrect.
Why use a semicolon here? Could I use a period or a comma?
A semicolon neatly separates two closely related independent clauses. A period works too. A simple comma between two independent clauses is less standard unless you add a conjunction (e.g., …, mais …). Note that in French typography there’s a (thin) space before ;: maintenant ;
Can I drop ne in casual speech?
Yes, colloquially: Me le rends pas maintenant ; rends-le-moi après-demain. In standard writing, keep ne.
Can I move maintenant or après-demain?
Yes. Après-demain, rends-le-moi is fine (slightly more emphatic). Ne me le rends pas maintenant is the most natural placement; maintenant can also go at the start for emphasis: Maintenant, ne me le rends pas.
How does it change if the thing is feminine or plural?
Swap le for la or les:
- Feminine: Ne me la rends pas maintenant ; rends-la-moi après-demain.
- Plural: Ne me les rends pas maintenant ; rends-les-moi après-demain.
Is there any pronunciation tip to know?
- rends ends with a silent -s: pronounced roughly “ran.”
- No liaison between rends and le: rends-le ≈ “ran-lə.”
- With y/en, there is a liaison: rends-en ≈ “ran-zan.”
- après-demain ≈ “a-prè də-mɛ̃.”
What’s the general rule for multiple object pronouns?
- Before the verb (negative imperative/normal tenses): me/te/se/nous/vous + le/la/les + lui/leur + y + en (e.g., Ne me le rends pas; Je le lui donne).
- After the verb (affirmative imperative): verb + le/la/les + moi/toi/lui/nous/vous/leur + y + en (e.g., Rends-le-moi, Donnez-le-leur).
Is the imperative here more direct than a request?
Yes. Ne me le rends pas… ; rends-le-moi… is a command. For a softer request, use something like Tu peux me le rendre après-demain, s’il te plaît ? or Veuillez me le rendre après-demain, s’il vous plaît.
Why does French use bare après-demain when English says “the day after tomorrow”?
Because après-demain functions as an adverb in French, not a noun phrase, so no article is needed.