Je l’écoute souvent le soir pour me détendre.

I often listen to it in the evening to relax.

Breakdown of Je l’écoute souvent le soir pour me détendre.

• je: I
• le soir: the evening
• souvent: often
• écouter: to listen

Questions & Answers about Je l’écoute souvent le soir pour me détendre.

Why is l’ used in Je l’écoute?

L’ is the direct object pronoun, meaning him, her, or it depending on context.

So Je l’écoute means I listen to him / her / it.

It becomes l’ instead of le or la because the next word, écoute, begins with a vowel. French usually drops the vowel in le or la before another vowel:

• je le connais → I know him / it
• je la connais → I know her / it
• je l’écoute → I listen to him / her / it

The exact meaning of l’ depends on what was mentioned earlier.

Why isn’t it J’écoute à lui or something similar?

Because écouter in French normally takes a direct object, unlike English listen to.

In English, you say:

• I listen to him

But in French, you say:

• Je l’écoute
• J’écoute Marie
• J’écoute la radio

So with écouter, you do not use à before the person or thing being listened to.

This is a very common difference between English and French.

Why is the pronoun placed before the verb in ?