rent · French (louer) — Event-Structure Dictionary

Arguments

Lessor, Lessee, Thing, Price · rate open · one French lemma · working claim, revisable

Voice[Lessor ∨ Lessee] + other party_{à · lui} + Theme_thing_ACC + Price_{pour-MeasureP ∨ bare MeasureP} · rate unranked · de rare

A commercial rental, on this reading, has a Lessor, a Lessee, the Thing, and a Price. A duration or a rate may be named in the same clause. They are not four or five equal sisters of louer. Voice adds one party as subject. The other party is an à-phrase, and the clitic of an à-argument of that shape is lui (plural leur). The root’s object is the Thing, a direct object. Where a sum is written beside the thing, Larousse puts it under pour. TLFi also prints a bare sum, with the thing unexpressed, and files that sum as a circumstantial of price. The Price is not a second direct object. Whether a duration or a rate is an argument or only an adjunct is open: the sources name a time and do not rank it.

What is different from the English gloss, from German, and from Spanish. English rent is direction-neutral. The subject can be either party, and the direction sits in the preposition: rent the flat to Chris (the subject lets it) and rent the flat from Chris (the subject takes it). English let is the lessor-only verb. German splits the same direction onto two lemmas. On vermieten the subject is the lessor. mieten has the lessee as subject and is not a page. Spanish keeps both directions on alquilar, and the cited a-phrase does not choose the party. French keeps both directions on louer as well, and the ordinary marker of the other party is the same à on both. The Trésor de la langue française informatisé prints one frame, louer (qqc.) (à qqn), twice. When the subject is the owner or the owner’s agent, the indirect object is the taker (le preneur): donner à loyer. When the subject is the taker, the indirect object, if it is expressed, is the owner (le propriétaire): prendre à loyer. A clause that only has that shape does not, by the preposition, say which bracket it is in. The constructed Je loue un studio à Marie is that shape. de for the owner is printed and marked rare. This page does not open a second lemma for the other direction.

Places · who wears which marking

TLFi, Larousse, the Académie française (8e and 9e), and Le Robert’s definition page print the thing and, on the lessor reading, a person in à. They do not print lessor, lessee, thing, and a numeral sum as four labeled sisters of one clause. Larousse’s lessor example does put the person and a sum in one line: à un couple pour 1 000 euros par mois. TLFi’s price circumstantial cent cinquante francs has no thing in the clause. No line read here prints a bare numeral beside an accusative thing.

Printed lessor-subject frame · à is the taker · accusative thing · price wording and a rate · no numeral

✓ à qui Crevel la louait à bas prix et au mois TLFi · louer 2 · sense 1 · Balzac, La Cousine Bette

to whom · Crevel · it · let · cheaply · and by the month

Printed lessee-subject frame · the same à · TLFi files it as the owner · accusative thing · no price in this line

✓ l’étroite maison qu’il louait à M. Mathas TLFi · louer 2 · sense 2 · Guéhenno, Jean-Jacques

the narrow house · that he · rented · from M. Mathas

Places of louer: introducer, French marking, case status, English, German, and Spanish marking
Place	Introduced by (working)	French marking	Case status	English, German, Spanish
Lessor	Spec,Voice on the donner reading · or the à-phrase on the prendre reading	subject of TLFi sense 1 · à + DP, or lui, when the subject takes the thing · rare de + DP (du propriétaire)	the subject is structural on either reading · the ordinary other-party cloth is à either way · de is the rare source TLFi prints on the taker-subject reading · it is not a second ordinary preposition beside à	subject of rent … to and of let · vermieten subject · source of rent … from · a or subject of alquilar
Lessee	Spec,Voice on the prendre reading · or the à-phrase on the donner reading	subject of TLFi sense 2 · à + DP, or lui, when the subject lets the thing · Larousse à un couple · Le Robert à un étudiant · Académie 8e à quelqu’un	same à cloth as the lessor · lui is that argument’s clitic · the printed lui (Estaunié) is filed as the taker · the clitic does not, by its form, choose the party	to when the English subject is the lessor · subject of rent … from · dative or an+accusative of vermieten · subject of mieten · a or subject of alquilar
Thing	complement of √RENT- (Theme)	direct object (la mansarde, la of the shop, l’étroite maison, un appartement, des machines)	structural · the object the passive promotes	direct object · accusative of vermieten and of alquilar
Price	pour selects one MeasureP ⟨n, U⟩ where Larousse writes the sum · a bare sum is the other printed price cloth, with the thing unexpressed	pour 1 000 euros · cent cinquante francs · à bas prix · très cher / fort cher on the pronominal passive	oblique when a sum is written under pour · the bare sum is a circumstantial of price in TLFi, not a second theme in that line · a bare sum beside the accusative thing is unprinted · cher is not a MeasureP	for + MeasureP · für + MeasureP where a German source prints the sum · por in the Spanish gloss, numeral unprinted there
Duration / rate	unranked · TLFi’s label is a circumstantial of time	par mois inside the Larousse price line · au mois · à la journée, au mois (Académie 9e) · à la semaine · pour la journée · pour la saison	printed as time wording · argument versus adjunct unprinted · par mois sits inside the price example and is not given a seat as a fifth sister · à in à la journée is the rate, not the person	a month / for a period · German period unranked on vermieten · Spanish por el tiempo unranked

Marking map. One letter can belong to either party. Read the head, then the marker.

Direct object of the thing. TLFi’s head of the rental article: the direct object denotes something, given or taken à loyer for a time, for a determined price. Larousse sense 1 and sense 2 are both transitive. The object is the apartment, the house, the machines, the chainsaw. The direct object is the thing whose use is transferred for a time. It is not the price. The praise verb, TLFi louer 1 from Latin laudare, and Le Robert’s first definition, take a person or a thing as the object of praise. That is another verb. No frame is taken from it.
à + the other party, Goal or Source. TLFi sense 1: the subject is the owner or the owner’s agent, and the indirect object is the taker. The frame is louer (qqc.) (à qqn), glossed donner à loyer. Balzac: à qui Crevel la louait. Theuriet: louées en garni à de petits employés ou à des ouvrières. Larousse: à un couple, inside concéder … à quelqu’un. Le Robert: à un étudiant. Académie 8e: louer une maison à quelqu’un. On that reading the à-phrase is the Goal, the person who comes to have the use. TLFi sense 2 prints the same frame. The subject is the taker, and the indirect object, when expressed, is the owner, glossed prendre à loyer. Guéhenno: qu’il louait à M. Mathas. The kolkhoz line is filed in the same section: louait des machines à des MTS, and the apposition calls those MTS rental stations. On that reading the same à is the Source. Larousse’s lessee example, louer une tronçonneuse pour la journée, has no à-person. Académie 9e’s lessee examples have none either. Le Robert’s definition page, as opened, prints the lessor reading and does not print a lessee à. The shared frame, and the switch of who the à-phrase is, are TLFi’s.
lui. An à-argument of a person is the phrase lui replaces. TLFi prints qui lui avait loué la mansarde (Estaunié) under sense 1, so that lui is the taker, and the concierge is the subject. The line has the clitic and the thing. It does not print a full à-phrase beside lui. Guéhenno prints à M. Mathas and does not print lui. The two clothes are separate strings. A lui that TLFi files as the owner is not in the lines read. Doubling lui with à in one rental clause is unprinted. The clitic is the à-argument. It does not, by its form, choose Goal or Source.
de, rare. TLFi sense 2, beside the ordinary à: + de qqn ou par qqn (rare). Chateaubriand: au palais Cicognara qu’elle louait du propriétaire. That de is the owner, on a taker-subject reading. It is the rare source, not the ordinary cloth, and not a possessor inside the thing. The par mate in the same note is Gide’s par l’entremise d’une agence, an intermediary, not a second owner-marking ranked against de. A de that, beside an à-phrase, forces the subject to be the lessee is unprinted.
pour and the price, and the bare sum. Larousse sense 1: pour 1 000 euros par mois, in the same example as à un couple. The sum is one MeasureP under pour. par mois is in that phrase. TLFi, under the lessor section, prints J’ai loué cent cinquante francs (Zola), and the continuation says those francs will come into the house each year. The thing is not in the clause. TLFi’s label on that branch is a circumstantial of price. à bas prix (Balzac) is price wording and not a numeral MeasureP. très cher and fort cher modify the pronominal passive. They are not a MeasureP. A bare numeral beside the accusative thing is unprinted. It is not filed as a second theme.
pour + a person is not the price. TLFi’s lessee frame adds (+ pour qqn). Stendhal: le joli petit palais que le comte M*** avait loué pour la belle Fausta. That pour is a person, a beneficiary, not the owner and not the sum. The owner in that section is the à-phrase. Same letter as the price pour. The complement (a person, or a sum) is what the line shows. This page does not merge them into one phrase.
Duration and rate. Larousse puts par mois in the price example and pour la journée on the lessee example of the chainsaw. Académie 9e, on the lessor sense: louer des chambres à la journée, au mois. The à there is the rate. TLFi prints au mois beside à bas prix, à la semaine of a harpsichord (Musset), and pour la saison (A. France). TLFi’s frame label calls time a circumstantial. None of these lines says whether the time expression is an argument or an adjunct. The question stays open. The rate is not given a seat as a fifth sister, and it is not a second price.
Passive. Two shapes promote the thing. TLFi sense 1 prints a periphrastic passive: Les pièces du premier étage étaient louées en garni à de petits employés ou à des ouvrières. The rooms are the subject. The à-phrase stays, and in that section it is the takers. TLFi then has a third employment, for uses that do not let you tell the owner’s point of view from the taker’s: a pronominal with passive sense, Ces caves se louent très cher (Goncourt), glossed être donné ou pris à loyer. Académie 9e labels Les appartements se louent très cher dans ce quartier as a pronominal passive and files it under the lessor sense. Académie 8e prints se louent fort cher in the same place. Le Robert, under donner en location, prints Cet appartement doit se louer cher and calls it pronominal passive. The thing is the subject in all of these. A passive that makes the à-party the subject and leaves the thing a direct object is unprinted. It is not starred. Toutes les places sont déjà louées (Académie 9e) is the reservation sub-sense, a seat in a train or a theatre, not this transfer of a thing’s use.
Periphrases that name the direction. Le Robert’s synonym list, rental homonym: donner en location, donner à bail, donner à loyer, and prendre en location, prendre à bail, prendre à loyer. The Grand dictionnaire terminologique prints both directions in one definition and, because of what it calls the word’s ambivalence, prefers donner en location or donner à bail, and prendre en location or prendre à bail, when the context is not clear. TLFi’s own glosses are donner à loyer and prendre à loyer. Larousse’s sense 2 definition is prendre quelque chose en location. These periphrases name the direction. The bare verb plus à does not.
Other senses, one line each. Hiring a person is TLFi section B, louer qqn, and Larousse sense 5, and the reflexive se louer of Académie 8e (se donner à louage). The subject or the object is a person in service, not a thing-theme. Reservation is Larousse sense 4, Le Robert’s réserver, retenir, and Académie 9e’s spécialement. No property frame is taken from them. Le Robert cross-refers sous-louer on the lessor sense. No sous-louer page is opened.

EN ⇄ FR valency strip

Each row lines up one English slot with its French slot. The alignment type says what happens to the slot: = (same status), shift (structural ↔ oblique), or one lemma whose subject and whose à-phrase can each be either party. Printed dictionary lines come first. Every other French sentence is constructed, modelled on a printed line. They show the working alignment, not frequency, and not a bilingual corpus.

English–French valency alignment for rent / louer, one row per argument
Slot	EN form	FR form	Align	EN example	FR example
Lessor as subject	SUBJ of rent … to · SUBJ of let	subject of TLFi sense 1 donner à loyer	= for this direction · the lemma also has the other	Crevel let it to him cheaply. constructed EN gloss of the Balzac line	Donner à loyer. TLFi sense 1
Lessee as subject	SUBJ of rent … from · not a subject of let	subject of TLFi sense 2 prendre à loyer · same lemma	one French verb · English rent matches · English let does not · German uses mieten	He rented the house from M. Mathas. constructed EN gloss of the Guéhenno line as TLFi files it	Prendre à loyer. TLFi sense 2
Thing	OBJ	direct object	=	rent the flat constructed gloss	un appartement Larousse · la mansarde TLFi · Estaunié
Other party (à)	to or from	à + DP	shift · two English prepositions → one French à · Goal on the lessor-subject reading · Source on the lessee-subject reading	to the couple / from M. Mathas the two English prepositions of one French letter	à un couple Larousse sense 1 · Goal · à M. Mathas TLFi sense 2 · Source
Clitic	no dative clitic	lui realizes the à-argument	the clitic is that argument · printed without the full à-phrase · doubling unprinted	— English has no lui	qui lui avait loué la mansarde TLFi · Estaunié · lui filed as the taker
Source de	from + DP	de + DP · rare	printed source of the owner · not the ordinary cloth · the ordinary cloth of that owner is à	from the owner gloss	qu’elle louait du propriétaire TLFi · Chateaubriand · rare
Price	for + MeasureP	pour + MeasureP · or a bare sum with the thing unexpressed	= oblique where pour holds the sum · the bare sum is the other printed price cloth	for 1,000 euros a month gloss of the Larousse line	pour 1 000 euros par mois Larousse · cent cinquante francs TLFi · Zola
Duration / rate	time expression · status open	par mois · au mois · à la semaine · pour la journée	printed · argument vs adjunct open · à of the rate is not the person	by the month gloss	à la journée, au mois Académie 9e · par mois Larousse
Passive of the thing	the thing as subject	se louer · or étaient louées	= promotion of the direct object · se does not install the à-party as subject	The cellars rent very dear. constructed gloss	Ces caves se louent très cher TLFi · Goncourt · étaient louées … à de petits employés TLFi · Theuriet
Direction named outright	rent out / rent from, or let	donner en location / prendre en location	periphrases · they choose the direction the bare à does not choose	rent out / take on rent gloss	donner en location · prendre en location Le Robert synonyms · GDT

The strip below is a set of small multiples. Each card holds one frame, with English on top and French under it. The subject chip is the one that can be either party. The à-card keeps both readings of one phrase. The price card stays inside for / pour where Larousse writes the sum. The passive card promotes the thing.

EN · FR · one à

à qqn

I rent a studio to Marie / from Marie.

Je loue un studio à Marie

FR constructed · the shape of TLFi’s frame louer (qqc.) (à qqn), printed twice · EN glosses are the two prepositions of one à · the string is not a dictionary line

RolesHide roles SubjectThingOther party

Subject je · lessor or lessee Thing a studio · un studio à Marie · Goal or Source

Move English to / from → one à

EN · FR · one lemma

donner / prendre

to let something out / to take something on rent

donner à loyer / prendre à loyer

FR · TLFi glosses of one frame · German splits the pair onto vermieten and mieten · Spanish keeps the pair on alquilar

RolesHide roles SubjectThing

Subject lessor on donner · lessee on prendre Thing something · qqc.

Move English rent is one verb · French louer is one verb · German chooses the lemma

EN · FR · printed pour

pour 1 000 euros par mois

for 1,000 euros a month

pour 1 000 euros par mois

FR · Larousse sense 1 · the sum is under pour · par mois is in the same example · the à-person in that example is the couple

RolesHide roles Price

Price for 1,000 euros · pour 1 000 euros · par mois

= for ↔ pour · one MeasureP · the rate stays inside the example

EN · FR · passive se

se ≠ the à-party

These cellars rent very dear.

Ces caves se louent très cher

FR · TLFi · Goncourt · the cellars are the subject · TLFi says this employment does not choose owner or taker · Académie and Le Robert file se louer under the lessor gloss

RolesHide roles Thing

Thing cellars · ces caves

= pronominal passive promotes the thing · it does not make the à-party the subject

Examples

Argument difference. English rent the flat to Chris and rent the flat from Chris keep one verb and put the direction in to or from. English let has the lessor as subject and has no lessee-subject reading, so let is the less accurate gloss of the lemma that also means prendre à loyer. The best English match of the lemma is rent. The frames diverge at the other party: English writes two prepositions, French writes one à. German does not keep the choice inside one lemma: vermieten fixes the lessor, mieten fixes the lessee, and von of the lessor on mieten is unprinted on that page. Spanish alquilar keeps the choice inside one lemma, and the cited a-phrase does not fix it. DLE still writes the source of the lessee-subject sense as de alguien. French TLFi writes the owner, on that reading, as à qqn, and prints de only as rare. lui is the clitic of the à-argument. Passive se, and être plus the participle, promote the thing. donner en location and prendre en location name the direction the bare frame leaves open.

Dictionary lines · checked · quoted as printed

Donner ou prendre (quelque chose) à loyer pour un certain temps, moyennant un prix déterminé. TLFi · louer 2 · head of the rental article · the direct object is the thing

[Le suj. désigne le propriétaire ou son mandataire; le compl. d’obj. indir. désigne le preneur] Louer (qqc.) (à qqn) … Donner à loyer. TLFi sense 1 · à = Goal, the taker

[Le suj. désigne le preneur …; le compl. d’obj. indir., quand il est exprimé, désigne le propriétaire] Louer (qqc.) (à qqn), (+ pour qqn) … Prendre à loyer. TLFi sense 2 · the same frame · à = Source, the owner · pour qqn is listed beside it

✓ à qui Crevel la louait à bas prix et au mois TLFi sense 1 · Balzac · à = taker · à bas prix · au mois · no numeral

✓ l’étroite maison qu’il louait à M. Mathas TLFi sense 2 · Guéhenno · à filed as the owner · no price

✓ Le concierge du 16, qui lui avait loué la mansarde TLFi sense 1 · Estaunié · lui = taker · no full à-phrase in the line

✓ Louer un appartement à un couple pour 1 000 euros par mois. Larousse sense 1 · lessor reading · à = the couple · pour + the sum · par mois

✓ J’ai loué cent cinquante francs. TLFi · Zola · bare sum · the thing is not in the clause · the continuation says the francs come into the house each year

✓ qu’elle louait du propriétaire TLFi sense 2 · Chateaubriand · de rare · the owner

✓ Les pièces du premier étage étaient louées en garni à de petits employés ou à des ouvrières. TLFi sense 1 · Theuriet · the rooms are the subject · à stays · takers

✓ Ces caves se louent très cher. TLFi · Goncourt · pronominal passive · être donné ou pris à loyer · the cellars are the subject

Louer une chambre meublée à un étudiant. · Cet appartement doit se louer cher. Le Robert · definition page · lessor reading · pronominal passive · the lessee reading is not on that page

Louer une maison à quelqu’un. · Les appartements se louent fort cher dans ce quartier. · Il va quitter sa maison, il en a loué une autre. Académie 8e · à quelqu’un on the lessor sense · the lessee example has no à-person

donner en location, donner à bail, donner à loyer · prendre en location, prendre à bail, prendre à loyer Le Robert · synonyms of the rental homonym · GDT prefers the en location and à bail pairs when the context is not clear

Strings below that are not in the block above are constructed, modelled on the printed lines. They are not spontaneous-speech citations and not dictionary lines. Pat / Marie / studio continue the named-participant series. 800 euros is a constructed MeasureP. Larousse prints 1 000 euros, not 800. Stacking a person with a sum is printed in Larousse’s lessor example. It is not printed as an ambiguous line. Je loue un studio à Marie is the shared TLFi frame with the names filled in. The party of Marie stays open.

✓ Je loue un studio à Marie.

RolesHide roles SubjectThingOther party

Subject je · either party Thing un studio à Marie · Goal or Source

constructed · TLFi’s frame louer (qqc.) (à qqn) on both brackets · the preposition does not choose · not a printed citation of this string

✓ à qui Crevel la louait à bas prix et au mois

RolesHide roles SubjectThingGoalPrice

Subject Crevel · lessor Thing la à the merchant · Goal Price à bas prix · au mois

TLFi sense 1 · Balzac · à = taker · rate au mois · no numeral MeasureP

✓ l’étroite maison qu’il louait à M. Mathas

RolesHide roles SubjectThingSource

Subject il · lessee Thing l’étroite maison à M. Mathas · Source

TLFi sense 2 · Guéhenno · same à · filed as the owner · no de · no price

✓ qui lui avait loué la mansarde

RolesHide roles SubjectGoalThing

Subject le concierge · lessor side lui the taker Thing la mansarde

TLFi · Estaunié · lui realizes the à-argument · filed as the preneur · no doubled à-phrase

✓ Louer un appartement à un couple pour 1 000 euros par mois.

RolesHide roles ThingGoalPrice

Thing un appartement à un couple · Goal Price pour 1 000 euros · par mois

Larousse sense 1 · lessor reading · one MeasureP under pour · the rate is in the example · the subject is the owner who stays owner

✓ Je lui loue un studio.

RolesHide roles SubjectOther partyThing

Subject je · either party lui the à-argument Thing un studio

constructed · lui is the clitic of the shared à-argument · the printed lui is Estaunié’s and is filed as the taker · this string has no context that chooses · doubling with à Marie is unprinted

✓ J’ai loué cent cinquante francs.

RolesHide roles SubjectPrice

Subject je · lessor side in TLFi’s filing Price cent cinquante francs · bare

TLFi · Zola · bare MeasureP · the thing is unexpressed · not a second object beside a printed thing

✓ Ces caves se louent très cher.

RolesHide roles Thing

Thing ces caves

TLFi · Goncourt · pronominal passive promotes the thing · direction unchosen in TLFi’s note · très cher is not a MeasureP

✓ qu’elle louait du propriétaire

RolesHide roles SubjectThingde

Subject elle · lessee Thing le palais de du propriétaire · rare

TLFi · Chateaubriand · de = the owner · marked rare · not the ordinary à · not a possessor inside the thing

* Pat loue Marie le studio.

RolesHide roles Other partyThing

Other party Marie Thing le studio

constructed · two bare objects · the printed other party is à qqn

* Pat loue 800 euros le studio.

RolesHide roles ThingPrice

Thing le studio Price 800 euros

constructed · a sum beside the thing, where one is written, sits under pour · the printed bare sum has no thing in the clause · 800 is not a source figure

✓ louer (qqc.) (à qqn) · donner à loyer · prendre à loyer TLFi senses 1 and 2 · one frame
✓ à un couple pour 1 000 euros par mois Larousse · Goal · pour-MeasureP · par mois
✓ à M. Mathas TLFi · Guéhenno · Source · same à
✓ lui avait loué la mansarde TLFi · Estaunié · clitic of the à-argument
✓ du propriétaire TLFi · Chateaubriand · de rare
✓ étaient louées … à · se louent très cher TLFi · the thing is the subject
✓ donner en location · prendre en location Le Robert synonyms · GDT · the direction named outright

lui, se, one à-argument

The clitic and the passive are operations on the same places. They do not add a participant. The clitic does not choose the direction. The pronominal passive promotes the thing.

lui realizes à. Singular of a person is lui. Plural is leur. Estaunié prints lui and the thing, and TLFi files that lui as the taker. Guéhenno prints à M. Mathas as the owner and does not print the clitic. The constructed Je lui loue un studio puts the clitic on the shared frame, with no context. Marie, if she is added as à Marie beside lui, is not in any rental line read here. French does not, in these lines, require the Spanish doubling of clitic and à-phrase in one clause. Before a direct-object clitic of the thing, the order is the general one, accusative clitic then lui. That cluster is unprinted on louer in the lines read. It is not a further argument.

être plus the participle promotes the thing and can leave à. Les pièces du premier étage étaient louées en garni à de petits employés ou à des ouvrières. The subject is the rooms. The à-phrase is still there, and TLFi’s section makes those people the takers. A passive that keeps an owner-à and promotes the thing is unprinted. It is not starred.

Pronominal se promotes the thing. Ces caves se louent très cher. TLFi’s label is a pronominal with passive sense, and the gloss is être donné ou pris à loyer: the employment does not distinguish the two points of view. Académie 9e and Le Robert call the same shape a pronominal passive and file it under the lessor gloss (se louent très cher, doit se louer cher). The thing is the subject on either filing. What stays open is whether that passive has already chosen the lessor reading. This page does not lock it. The reflexive se louer of a person who hires out their own work (Académie 8e, TLFi section B) is a different event. It is not this transfer of a thing.

de does not cancel the à-frame. The ordinary indirect object on both readings is à. The rare du propriétaire is a source phrase on the taker-subject reading. A constructed Pat loue le studio de Marie would put de inside the thing, which is not the shape TLFi prints. That string is not used here.

pour combien. It is not in the dictionary entries read. A question that resumes a pour-MeasureP would be constructed on the Larousse cloth. None is added beyond the note that the printed sum is already inside pour.

Derivations · working sketches, revisable

Each sketch is a working drawing, not a locked analysis. The point of the drawing is one direct object (the thing), one à-phrase that can be either the lessor or the lessee, and a price inside pour where a sum is written beside the thing. The subject is not fixed to the lessor. Open one sketch at a time. Which theta role is the object in this low domain is the revisable note Causative templates and argument selection. This page does not edit that note.

Voice · the subject is either party

Two external arguments of one lemma · the other party is not in Voice

[VoiceP le propriétaire Voice      ← Lessor, TLFi sense 1 donner à loyer
  … à qqn … qqc. …]

[VoiceP le preneur Voice           ← Lessee, TLFi sense 2 prendre à loyer
  … à qqn … qqc. …]

✓ Louer (qqc.) (à qqn). TLFi · one frame · the entry gives both external arguments

On vermieten the external argument is the lessor only. On mieten it is the lessee only. English rent allows either external argument and puts the direction in to or from. English let keeps the lessor. French louer allows either external argument and does not move the direction into a second preposition. Spanish alquilar is the same one-lemma choice. DLE’s source prose for the lessee-subject sense is de alguien. TLFi’s ordinary source is still à.

One à-phrase · lui copies it · two parties

The à-phrase is not stably the lessee · working

[VoiceP Pat Voice                          ← either party
  [ApplP [à Marie]_à  Appl                  ← the other party · lui realizes this DP
    [VP √lou-
       [Theme un studio ]_ACC ]             ← Thing · one direct object
    [PP pour [ MeasureP 1 000 euros ]]]]    ← Price · Larousse, where a sum is written

When the subject is the lessor, the à-phrase is the lessee and comes to have the use of the thing. When the subject is the lessee, the same à-phrase is the lessor, the source TLFi writes as the propriétaire. The tree adds a pour-sum on the Larousse cloth. The ambiguous names are constructed. They are not one dictionary line. lui in Estaunié is the taker. It is the spell-out of the à-argument, not a second person.

✓ à M. Mathas TLFi sense 2 · one indirect object · the owner · no clitic in the citation

* Pat loue Marie le studio. constructed · the other party is not a second direct object

MeasureP · pour holds Amount and unit where a sum is written beside the thing · passive se does not promote it

Larousse prints the numeral under pour · the bare sum has no thing · the rate is not ranked inside a second price

pour [ MeasureP [ Amount 1 000 ] [ N euros ] ]  par mois   ← Larousse · one phrase · rate in the example
cent cinquante francs                                      ← TLFi · Zola · thing unexpressed
à bas prix · au mois                                       ← TLFi · Balzac · not a numeral MeasureP
pour la journée · à la semaine · à la journée              ← time · argument vs adjunct open

✓ pour 1 000 euros par mois Larousse · one phrase · the rate is par mois

✓ cent cinquante francs TLFi · Zola · bare sum · no thing in the clause

[TP [Theme ces caves ]_2
  [ se louent
    [VoiceP_PASS
       [VP t_2 lou- ]]]]

✓ Ces caves se louent très cher TLFi · Goncourt · the promotee is the thing · très cher is not the MeasureP

1 000 euros = one MeasureP, when the sum is written under pour. n and U compose inside that phrase. Orthography is not extra arity. There is no further argument “currency name.” Composition in this cloth is pour(MeasureP), not V(n)(U). The bare cent cinquante francs is the other printed price cloth, and the thing is absent there. par mois is printed in the Larousse example and is not given a second MeasureP.

English, German, and Spanish · where the direction is written

Three ways of writing the same two directions · working · no English rent page

[VoiceP Pat Voice                         ← Lessor
  [ApplP Chris Appl                        ← Lessee · to
    [VP √RENT [Theme the flat ]
       [PP for [ MeasureP … ]]]]]          ← rent the flat to Chris
                                           · let the flat to Chris
                                           · French: louer … à · Goal

[VoiceP Chris Voice                        ← Lessee
  [VP √RENT [Theme the flat ]
     [PP from Pat ]]]                      ← rent the flat from Chris
                                           · German: mieten
                                           · French: louer … à · Source
                                           · Spanish: alquilar, same a

English rent keeps both directions and writes them as to and from. That is where the best English translation’s frame diverges from louer: the lemma matches, the preposition does not. English let keeps the lessor and drops the lessee-subject reading. German prints the split as vermieten and mieten. Spanish prints both directions on alquilar and, in the sentences cited, writes both parties as a, with de in the definition of the source. French prints both directions on louer and, in TLFi’s frame, writes both parties as à. The Price, when a sum is written beside the thing, stays inside for / pour / por / für.

Layer-by-layer parallel: English rent, English let, French louer, Spanish alquilar, German vermieten, German mieten
Layer	rent (EN) · no page	let (EN) · no page	louer	alquilar	vermieten	mieten · no page
Spec,Voice	lessor or lessee	Lessor	Lessor or Lessee · both printed as senses	Lessor or Lessee · both printed as senses	Lessor	Lessee
other party	to or from	to the lessee	à · lui realizes it · Goal or Source · de rare	a · le/les doubles it · either party	dative, or an+ACC	von+DAT expected · unprinted
object	the thing	the thing	the thing · direct object · printed	the thing · accusative · printed	the property	the property · printed
Price	for · MeasureP	for · MeasureP	pour + MeasureP where Larousse writes the sum · bare sum with the thing unexpressed	por in the gloss · numeral unprinted	für · MeasureP where a sum is printed	unprinted as a sum on that page
Passive	the thing can be the subject	unopened	se and être + participle promote the thing · à-party as subject unprinted	passive se promotes the thing	werden promotes the property	unopened

On the lessor reading of louer, the other person comes to have the use of the flat, and a sum under pour measures the price where that sum is written. On the lessee reading, the subject is the one who takes the use, and the à-phrase can be the person who lets it. On payer, the direct object is the money and pour is Consideration. On vendre, the direct object is the goods, the à-phrase is the buyer, and the transfer is not this temporary letting. Same pour-cloth and the same lui / à letter, different Theme, and on vendre the à-phrase is not the ambiguous indirect object of louer.

Notes

Working paper · October 2026 · French micro-entry · Beyond Index 2

Commercial temporary transfer in French: one lemma, both directions. Lessor or Lessee (Voice), the other party (à, realized by lui), Thing (direct-object Theme), and Price (pour plus one MeasureP where a sum is written beside the thing; a bare sum where the thing is unexpressed). A rate such as par mois is in the examples and is not ranked as an argument or as an adjunct. The à-phrase is the Goal on the lessor-subject reading and the Source on the lessee-subject reading. de of the owner is rare. Passive se and être plus the participle promote the thing. donner en location and prendre en location name the direction.

FR micro-entry live Beyond Index 2 Rate unranked à-phrase Goal or Source ES alquilar live DE vermieten live

Sense × language: rent · French (louer). One rental sense on this page, so no subscript. Not given a page here: the praise homonym, hiring a person, reservation, sous-louer. No English rent hub. Geometry neighbors: sell · vendre · pay_GIVE · payer · rent · alquilar · rent · vermieten. Index 2 French Transfer cites échanger, donner — not louer.

Places
EN ⇄ FR strip
Examples
lui and se
Derivations
Hierarchy
Geometry
Open items
Corpus and sources

Working paper. French micro-entry. The frames were read in TLFi louer 2, in Larousse, in Le Robert (definition and synonyms), in the Académie française (8e and 9e), and in the Grand dictionnaire terminologique. Those sources print a direct object of the thing, an à-phrase that TLFi uses for the taker and for the owner, lui on one lessor-side line, pour on a numeral price, a bare sum with the thing unexpressed, rates and durations in the examples, and a passive whose subject is the thing.

Constructed examples. Dictionary lines and the dictionaries’ citations are marked as printed. Every other full clause is marked constructed. Je loue un studio à Marie and Je lui loue un studio are constructed on the shared frame. A bare numeral beside the thing is constructed only as a starred string. A reflexive dative on the rental clause is unprinted and is not given a judgment.

Arity. Index 2 does not list louer. Surface count can name a lessor, a lessee, a thing, and a price. The lexicon does not list four co-arguments of one flat V. Voice adds one party. The à-phrase adds the other. The root takes the thing. pour takes one MeasureP when a sum is written beside the thing. A rate is not filed as a fifth sister. Denomination is not a further sister.

What this page does not do. The praise homonym stays off this frame. Hiring a person and reserving a seat stay other senses. sous-louer stays the cross-reference. No English page of rent is opened. No second French lemma is opened for the other direction.

Hierarchy

Not a flat grid of four sisters. A flat grid would give the verb two direct objects, or a price that is a second object, or an à-phrase that has already chosen its party. louer shows one direct object, the thing, one à-argument, and a price in pour where a sum is written beside the thing. The two directions are two readings of that geometry.

A written sum under pour is one MeasureP. See the MeasureP sketch. Larousse’s pour 1 000 euros par mois is the printed price phrase that has a numeral. TLFi’s cent cinquante francs is a bare sum, and the thing is not in that clause. par mois and au mois sit in the examples. They are not a second price.

What French changes, against the English gloss, is the preposition of the other party: to and from are one à. What French changes against German is the lemma: vermieten and mieten are one louer. What French shares with alquilar is one lemma and one indirect-object letter for either party. What it does not share is the rare-but-printed de of the owner, against Spanish de as definition prose, and lui without doubling, against le as the double of a. What the printed cloth shares with vendre is one direct-object Theme, an à-phrase realized by lui, and pour on a price. The Theme here is the thing let for a time. The Theme there is the goods. The à-phrase there is the buyer.

Geometry · louer beside the live roots

In the constructed Je loue un studio à Marie, one party comes to have the use of the studio and the other is the source of that use. Which of the subject and Marie is which is what the à-phrase leaves open. The price measures that letting. It is not the object that is transferred.

English rent. One verb. The subject is the lessor with to, or the lessee with from. The lemma is the translation that keeps both directions. The prepositions are where the frame diverges. No English page is opened.
English let. Lessor as subject. The lessee is not the subject of let. It does not match TLFi sense 2. No page is opened.
vermieten. The lessor is the subject. The lessee is a dative or an. The other direction is mieten, not a page on that entry either. von of the lessor on mieten is unprinted there. French prints the owner as à, and as rare de.
alquilar. Both directions on one lemma. The cited a-phrase does not choose the party. le / les doubles it. DLE writes the source as de alguien. arrendar is the formal near-synonym and is not a page.
vendre. The buyer is lui / à, the goods are the direct object, and pour is the Price. This page uses the same à / lui letter and does not give louer that fixed party.
payer. The direct object is the money. pour is Consideration. On louer the direct object is the thing and pour is the price where a sum is written beside the thing.
Neighbouring material. donner en location and prendre en location, with à bail and à loyer, are the periphrases. sous-louer is Le Robert’s cross-reference. The praise homonym, the hiring of a person, and reservation are other senses. No frame of this transfer is taken from them.

Open items

One string, two brackets. TLFi prints the frame twice and files the citations into one bracket or the other. It does not print Je loue un studio à Marie and then call that string ambiguous. The ambiguity of a context-free clause is the working claim drawn from the shared frame. It is revisable if a grammar file splits the two à-phrases by a test these dictionaries do not print.
lui as the owner. The printed lui is Estaunié’s, filed as the taker. A lui that is the owner is unprinted. The constructed clitic clause does not choose.
Doubling lui and à. Unprinted on louer in the lines read. Not filed as a requirement, and not starred.
de beside à. de is rare and is the owner on the taker-subject reading. A source de that forces the lessee subject, beside an à-phrase, is unprinted. par l’entremise d’une agence is an intermediary, not that test.
Bare sum beside the thing. Unprinted. The Zola sum has no thing. The starred 800 euros line is constructed. 800 is not a figure from the sources. Larousse’s numeral is 1 000, under pour.
Rate and duration. Printed as par mois, au mois, à la journée, à la semaine, pour la journée, pour la saison. TLFi calls time a circumstantial. Argument versus adjunct is not ranked here.
Direction of se louer. TLFi says the pronominal passive does not distinguish the two points of view. Académie and Le Robert file it under the lessor gloss. The thing-subject is printed either way. The choice of direction stays open.
Passive of the à-party. Unprinted. Not starred. Passive of the thing is printed.
être passive with an owner-à. The printed periphrastic passive keeps an à of takers. The other combination is unprinted. Not starred.
Accusative clitic + lui. The general clitic order. Unprinted on louer.
Le Robert’s definition page. As opened, it prints the lessor reading, the passive, and reservation. The lessee reading is on the synonym list, not on that definition page. Larousse and the Académie print both senses in the definition. The à-owner is TLFi’s, not Le Robert’s definition page.

Corpus filenames and sources checked

Dictionary frames: TLFi louer 2, the rental homonym (Latin locare), not louer 1 (Latin laudare). Larousse, article louer. Le Robert, definition page and synonym page. Académie française, 8e and 9e, article louer. Grand dictionnaire terminologique, fiche louer. The indirect-object clitic is the general replacement of a personal à-phrase by lui. Constructed clauses fill the shared frame with Marie and un studio, or they put lui on that frame without the context that files Estaunié’s lui as the taker. Index 2 does not list louer. French Transfer in Index 2 is échanger, donner. The praise homonym, the hiring of a person, and reservation were read far enough to keep them off this frame. No chart in 501 French Verbs was opened.

TLFi · louer 2 cnrtl.fr/definition/louer/1 · rental homonym · louer (qqc.) (à qqn) on both brackets · donner à loyer · prendre à loyer · Estaunié lui · Guéhenno à M. Mathas · Balzac à bas prix et au mois · Zola bare sum · Chateaubriand du propriétaire rare · Theuriet passive · Goncourt se louent
Larousse · louer larousse.fr · louer · sense 1 à un couple pour 1 000 euros par mois · sense 2 prendre quelque chose en location · pour la journée
Le Robert · definition dictionnaire.lerobert.com/definition/louer · donner (qqch.) en location · à un étudiant · se louer cher · lessee reading not on this page
Le Robert · synonyms dictionnaire.lerobert.com/synonymes/louer · donner en location · prendre en location · à bail · à loyer
Académie 9e dictionnaire-academie.fr · A9L1254 · both senses · à la journée, au mois · pronominal passive · reservation places … louées kept apart
Académie 8e dictionnaire-academie.fr · A8L0821 · louer une maison à quelqu’un · se louent fort cher · lessee example with no à-person · se louer of a person’s work kept apart
GDT · louer vitrinelinguistique.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca · 504019 · both directions in one definition · ambivalence · donner en location / prendre en location · donner à bail / prendre à bail · English rent, hire, lease, let

Records both directions on louer, the direct object of the thing, and the à-phrase that TLFi uses for the taker and for the owner. Records pour as Larousse’s price, with par mois in that example, and the bare sum as TLFi’s price circumstantial when the thing is unexpressed. Records lui as the clitic of that à-argument. Does not open the praise homonym, and does not open a second lemma for the other direction.