Il m'a dit du faire - French Mistake

Mistakes will always be made in French, and now you can learn from them.

Wrong: Il m'a dit du faire

Right: Il m'a dit de le faire

Explanation: When the preposition de is followed by the definite article le or les, they are obliged to contract into du or des: "Le livre de le garçon" > Le livre du garçon (The boy's book).

However, when de is followed by the direct object le or les, they cannot contract. So "He told me to do it" is Il m'a dit de le faire - not "Il m'a dit du faire".

Related lessons: Definite articles | Direct objects | Contractions | Grammar glossary