The indirect object pronoun lui ( /lɥi/) means to him or to her:

Je lui donne le livre. (I'm giving the book to him/her.)

Je lui donne un coup de main. (I'm giving a helping hand to him/her.)

Likewise, the indirect object pronoun leur ( /lœʁ/) means to them:

Je leur donne le livre. (I'm giving the book to them.)

Je leur donne un coup de main. (I'm giving a helping hand to them.)

Lui replaces à [person]:

Je parle à Jean. (I'm speaking to Jean.)

Je lui parle. (I'm speaking to him.)

Likewise, leur replaces à [people]:

Je parle à Jean et Marie. (I'm speaking to Jean and Marie.)

Je leur parle. (I'm speaking to them.)

Lui and leur usually only refer to people; they will sometimes also be used in reference to things.

The expression il y a ( /i.lja/) means there is … or there are …:

Il y a un problème. (There is a problem.)

Il y a des livres. (There are books.)

The interrogative form of il y a is y a-t-il ( /i aˈt̪il/). That is, il y a is inverted to y a-t-il, meaning is there? or are there?, within questions:

Y a-t-il un problème ? (Is there a problem?)

Y a-t-il des magasins près d'ici ? (Are there shops near here?)

Both How much … and How many … (quantity) are translated as Combien de ….

If the person or thing it refers to is countable, combien de is always followed by a plural noun:

Combien de personnes y a-t-il à votre bureau ? (How many people are there in your office?)

Vous avez combien de frères ? (You have how many brothers?)

However, with uncountable nouns, such as l'eau (m) (water ·  /o/) and l'argent (m) (money ·  /aʁ.ʒɑ̃/), the singular form is used:

Vous avez combien d’argent ? (You have how much money?)

In addition to à (at, to ·  /a/ (ah)), de (from, of ·  /də/ (duh)), and dans (in ·  /dɑ̃/ (dah⁽ⁿ⁾)), there are several common prepositions in French.

File:French/Grammar/Common prepositions.ogg
après	/a.pʁɛ/ (ah-preh)	after		Après la porte de Gentilly, tournez à droite.	After the Porte de Gentilly, turn right.
avant	/a.vɑ̃/ (ah-vah(n))	before		La maison où il habite est avant l’église.	The house where he lives is before the church.
contre	/kɔ̃tʁ/ (koh(n)tr)	against		La paille est contre la maison.	The straw is against the house.
derrière	/dɛ.ʁjɛʁ/ (deh-ryuhehr)	behind		Ils ont les mains liées derrière le dos.	They have their hands tied behind their backs.
devant	/də.vɑ̃/ (duh-vah(n))	in front of
sous	/su/ (soo)	below, under		Par suite des inondations, toute la campagne est sous l’eau.	As a result of floods, the entire countryside is under water.
sur	/syr/ (sewr)	on, upon		Le chat est sur le lit.	The cat is on the bed.

Examples

File:French/Grammar/Examples with common prepositions.ogg
Nous devons, avant tout, prendre telle mesure.		We must, above all, take such action.
Elle s'appuie contre la mur.		She's pushing against the wall.
Les citoyens sont pour, mais les hommes politiques sont contre.		The citizens are for, but the politicians are against.
Il a tant d’hommes sous son commandement.		He has so many men under his command.
Je suis sur le point de partir.		I'm about to leave.	lit: I am on the point of leaving.
Il jure sur son honneur.		He swears on his honor.
Cet enfant fait étourderies sur étourderies.		This child makes blunders upon blunders.
${\displaystyle {\frac {a}{b}}}$ se lit ${\displaystyle a}$ divisé par ${\displaystyle b}$ ou simplement ${\displaystyle a}$ sur ${\displaystyle b}$.		${\displaystyle {\frac {a}{b}}}$ reads ${\displaystyle a}$ divided by ${\displaystyle b}$ or simply ${\displaystyle a}$ over ${\displaystyle b}$.
Les frites sont collées les unes sur les autres.		The chips are stuck to one another.