Kristin asked: "Je l'ai épousée." Why the "- e" at the end of "épousée" ?"

Question

Accepted Answer

Bonjour Kristin !

This is due to a more advanced rule of agreement with "avoir" as auxiliary.

Though you've learnt that the past participle never agrees with the subject of the verb with "avoir" as auxiliary, it can agree with the direct object of the verb when this one is placed before "avoir".

This is the case when using direct object pronouns, as they're always placed before the auxiliary in compound tenses.

Here is a link to our related lesson:
Special cases when the past participle agrees (in number & gender) when used with 'avoir' in the compound past in French (Le Passé Composé)">Special cases when the past participle agrees (in number & gender) when used with 'avoir' in the compound past in French (Le Passé Composé)

I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !

Answer

In this case, does "Tu lui as parlé" imply that the object pronoun "lui" is masculine, or does the rule only apply to *direct* object pronouns?

Merci en avance!

Answer

Bonjour Kathy !

The rule only applies to direct object pronouns, so here it could still be masculine or feminine :)

À bientôt !