If no antecedent, which direct object pronoun?

Question

In these examples and on the B2 test, I think that if the gender of the singular direct object pronoun's antecedent is unspecified, the masculine «le» should be used. E.g., "I'm giving it to you." = «Je vous le donne», "I give it to him" = «Je le lui donne».
The correct response in the lesson and on the test was to use the feminine «la» in both cases.  ??

Answer

Can you provide the B2 lesson that applies to this, s'il vous plaît?

Answer

Bonjour Leslie !

The thing is that, without context, the antecedent could be either masculine or feminine.

So to express "I give it to you." when not being given the noun it refers to, the possibilities "Je le lui donne" or "Je la lui donne" are equally potentially right, as I could be giving "un cadeau" (le) as much as "une lettre" (la) for example.

I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !