Je vais scanner la copie ce soir et te l’envoyer par courriel.

Breakdown of Je vais scanner la copie ce soir et te l’envoyer par courriel.

je
I
et
and
aller
to go
te
you
l'
it
envoyer
to send
ce soir
tonight
la copie
the copy
scanner
to scan
par courriel
by email
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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 Je vais scanner la copie ce soir et te l’envoyer par courriel.

Why does je vais scanner mean a future action, even though vais literally means go?

In French, aller + infinitive is a very common way to talk about the near future.

So:

  • je vais scanner = I’m going to scan
  • je vais envoyer = I’m going to send

It works much like English to be going to + verb.

This form is often called the near future or futur proche. It is especially common in everyday speech. In this sentence, it suggests a planned action for later today: ce soir.

French could also use the simple future:

  • Je scannerai la copie ce soir et te l’enverrai par courriel.

That is also correct, but je vais... sounds very natural and conversational.

Is scanner really a French verb?

Yes. Scanner is a normal French verb, borrowed from English and commonly used in modern French.

It means to scan, especially with a scanner, phone, or computer.

It is conjugated like a regular -er verb in many forms:

  • je scanne
  • tu scannes
  • il scanne
  • nous scannons
  • vous scannez
  • ils scannent

After aller, it stays in the infinitive:

  • je vais scanner

There is also a more formal or technical French verb, numériser, but scanner is very common in everyday language.

What does la copie mean here?

La copie can mean the copy, but in context it often refers to:

  • a paper copy
  • a worksheet
  • an exam script
  • a document
  • a homework page

So even though the literal meaning is the copy, the exact English translation depends on context. A learner should know that copie is broader than just one fixed English word.

Why is it ce soir and not dans ce soir or à ce soir?

French often uses time expressions without a preposition.

So you say:

  • ce soir = tonight / this evening
  • ce matin = this morning
  • demain = tomorrow
  • lundi = on Monday

In English, we often need a preposition like on or in, but French frequently does not.

So:

  • Je vais scanner la copie ce soir = I’m going to scan the copy tonight

Note that À ce soir ! does exist, but it means something different: See you this evening!

Why is it te l’envoyer? What do te and l’ mean?

In te l’envoyer:

  • te = to you
  • l’ = it (standing for la copie)

So the phrase means:

  • to send it to you

French uses object pronouns here instead of repeating the nouns:

  • envoyer la copie à toi would sound unnatural
  • French prefers te l’envoyer

This is a very common French pattern:

  • Je vais te l’envoyer = I’m going to send it to you
Why is the order te l’ and not l te?

French object pronouns follow a fixed order.

Before the verb, the usual order is:

  1. me, te, se, nous, vous
  2. le, la, les
  3. lui, leur
  4. y
  5. en

So in this sentence:

  • te comes before l’
  • therefore: te l’envoyer

This order has to be memorized; it is one of those core French grammar patterns.

Why does the pronoun come before envoyer?

Because the pronouns belong to envoyer.

In French, when an infinitive has object pronouns, those pronouns usually go directly before the infinitive:

  • Je vais te voir = I’m going to see you
  • Je vais le faire = I’m going to do it
  • Je vais te l’envoyer = I’m going to send it to you

So here the idea is not that te and l’ go with vais. They go with envoyer.

Why is it l’envoyer with an apostrophe?

Because le or la becomes l’ before a vowel sound.

Since envoyer begins with a vowel, French uses elision:

  • le envoyer → not possible
  • la envoyer → not possible
  • l’envoyer → correct

Here l’ stands for la copie, so it means it.

This kind of shortening is extremely common in French:

  • je aimej’aime
  • le amil’ami
  • si ils’il
Why isn’t vais repeated before envoyer?

Because one vais can govern two infinitives joined by et.

So:

  • Je vais scanner la copie ce soir et te l’envoyer par courriel.

means:

  • I’m going to scan the copy tonight and send it to you by email.

French does not need to repeat vais if the same subject and same future idea continue across both verbs.

You could repeat it for emphasis or clarity:

  • Je vais scanner la copie ce soir et je vais te l’envoyer par courriel.

But that is less compact and usually unnecessary.

Why is it te and not toi?

Because te is the unstressed object pronoun, and that is what French normally uses with verbs.

  • te = object pronoun, used in normal sentence structure
  • toi = stressed pronoun, used for emphasis, contrast, or after prepositions

So:

  • Je vais te l’envoyer = correct
  • Je vais l’envoyer à toi = grammatically possible in some contexts, but not the normal neutral way
  • Moi, je te l’enverrai; pas à lui = here lui is stressed for contrast

English often uses full forms like to you, but French usually prefers the short pronoun.

Why does French use te instead of à toi if envoyer is usually send something to someone?

Good question. With a full noun, French often uses à:

  • envoyer la copie à Marie = send the copy to Marie

But when the recipient is replaced by an indirect object pronoun, French uses:

  • me, te, lui, nous, vous, leur

So:

  • envoyer la copie à toi becomes te l’envoyer
  • envoyer la copie à Marie becomes la lui envoyer

This is very normal French grammar.

What does par courriel mean, and is it common?

Par courriel means by email.

  • courriel is a French word for email
  • par courriel = by email

This wording is especially common in more formal French and in Canadian French. In France, many people also say:

  • par e-mail
  • par mail

So par courriel is perfectly correct, but depending on region and register, other versions may sound more everyday.

Could the sentence also use the simple future instead of je vais?

Yes.

You could say:

  • Je scannerai la copie ce soir et te l’enverrai par courriel.

This uses the simple future.

The difference is mostly one of style and tone:

  • je vais scanner... = very common in spoken French, often feels immediate or planned
  • je scannerai... = also correct, sometimes a bit more formal or neutral

Both can mean nearly the same thing in context.

Why does the sentence mention la copie first and then use l’ later?

That is just natural discourse.

First, the speaker introduces the thing:

  • la copie

Then, once it is known, French replaces it with a pronoun:

  • l’

This avoids repetition. English does the same:

  • I’ll scan the copy tonight and send it to you by email.

After the copy is introduced once, it is enough. French works the same way here.