By the end of this lesson you'll be able to use the pronouns that can stand on their own: after a word like avec, as a one-word answer, and for emphasis.
A second set of pronouns
You know the subject pronouns from the lesson on subject pronouns. They always stay with a verb. Stressed pronouns do the jobs that subject pronouns can't.
| Subject | Stressed |
|---|---|
| je | moi |
| tu | toi |
| il | lui |
| elle | elle |
| nous | nous |
| vous | vous |
| ils | eux |
| elles | elles |
Four of them look exactly like the subject pronouns. Only the ones in bold are new.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| moi | mwah | me |
| toi | twah | you (informal) |
| lui | lwee | him |
| eux | uh | them (masculine or mixed) |
Eux is for a group of men or a mixed group. Elles is for a group of women. Lui here means "him". You'll see a different use of lui in the lesson on indirect object pronouns.
After a preposition
After a small word like avec (with), pour (for), sans (without) or chez (at the home of), you need a stressed pronoun.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| sans | sahn | without |
| chez moi / chez lui | shay MWAH / shay LWEE | at my place / at his place |
| moi aussi | mwah oh-SEE | me too |
| moi non plus | mwah nohn PLEW | me neither |
Tu viens avec moi ?
Are you coming with me?
C'est pour toi.
It's for you.
Je pars sans eux.
I'm leaving without them.
Léa travaille avec elles.
Léa works with them.
For this lesson, use chez only with these pronouns: Je suis chez moi (I'm at home), Il reste chez lui (He's staying at home).
After c'est
After c'est, use a stressed pronoun.
C'est moi !
It's me!
C'est nous.
It's us.
C'est eux is the normal way to say "It's them".
On their own
A stressed pronoun can be a complete answer.
Qui veut du café ? — Moi !
Who wants coffee? — Me!
With et
When a pronoun is joined to someone else with et, it has to be a stressed one: Paul et moi (Paul and I), toi et lui (you and him).
Toi et lui, vous êtes en retard !
You and he are late!
For emphasis
English stresses a word with the voice: "I'm tired." French adds a stressed pronoun, and the subject stays.
Moi, je suis fatiguée.
I'm tired. (said by a woman)
Toi, tu aimes ça ?
Do you like that?
The verb doesn't change. It's Moi, je suis…, and never Moi suis…. The stressed pronoun is an extra, and je still does its normal job.
Me too, me neither
To agree with someone, you need to look at whether their statement is positive or negative.
- J'adore le chocolat. — Moi aussi. (I love chocolate. — Me too.)
- Je ne travaille pas lundi. — Moi non plus. (I'm not working on Monday. — Me neither.)
You can change the pronoun, too: Lui aussi (Him too), Elle non plus (Her neither).
En français
- Qui vient avec moi au cinéma ? (Who's coming with me to the cinema?)
- Moi ! Et Paul ? (Me! And Paul?)
- Lui, il reste chez lui. (He's staying at home.)
- Je n'aime pas les films tristes. (I don't like sad films.)
- Moi non plus. (Me neither.)
What's next
Next, the lesson on direct object pronouns shows you how to say "I see him" and "I eat it". You'll practise all the pronouns together in the review of this unit.