Why is it “il me sourit” as opposed to “il sourit à moi” ?? Or are they both correct?? Thank you

Question

Accepted Answer

Hi Steven,
In the case of verbs using 'à quelqu'un' like sourire, répondre , téléphoner, dire...  you will use indirect object pronouns and they will come before the verb. They are:
me, te, lui, nous, vous, leur
Hope this helps!

Answer

I have the same question, but your answer didn’t help me.

Are you saying that if the quelqu’un is not a specific 3rd person, then you must use an indirect object pronoun ?

Or maybe another way to say it is that “à + stress pronoun” after the verb must always be replaced with the corresponding indirect object pronoun before the verb.

Jean sourit à Marie ( ma sœur, le chien, etc. ) ? ... Oui, il lui sourit !!!

How about compound objects ?

Il sourit à Marie et moi.

Answer

Hi David, 
I will try and explain it with examples -
Jean sourit à moi ----->  Jean me sourit
Jean sourit au chien------> Jean lui sourit
Jean sourit à ma sœur -----> Jean lui sourit
Jean sourit à toi ----> Jean te sourit
Jean sourit à Marie et à moi ----> Jean nous sourit
Jean sourit  à Marie et à Julien -----> Jean leur sourit
 
 
Hope this helps!

Answer

Bonjour Cécile:J’espère que vous êtes tous en santé ansi que les membres de vos groupes, communautés et familles.First, let me thank you for your help on this wonderful site. It is such great fun and I am learning so much.C’est possible que nous avons une barrière de langue.The question still remains: is “Il sourit à moi” WRONG ?If so, please add an explanation to the lesson.I know how to replace an indirect object with the proper indirect object pronoun; as per your examples. But, are the left-hand sides of #1 & #4 of your examples WRONG ?“Il sourit à moi.” was marked as incorrect in the quiz. I know that this is equivalent to “Il me sourit.” But is it WRONG ? Or is Kwiziq wrong in marking it as incorrect ? Merci d’avance pour votre réponse

Answer

Hi David,
Firstly, thank you for your kind concern about the Kwiziq staff . We are a multi-national team but quite a few people are based in London. We are all working remotely now and Kwiziq is ideal for this. I believe everyone is healthy for the moment.
Thank you also for your kind comments about the site.
Revenons à nos moutons!
Il sourit à moi/lui/eux etc.  isn't great French so it won't be encouraged .
You won't hear an adult French person saying this, only very young children until they know better.
Il sourit à Marie , however, is correct.
Hope this helps!