French Disjunctive Pronouns / Stressed Pronouns Add Emphasis
Use French disjunctive pronouns to add emphasis to what you want to say. Use these pronouns instead of changing the tone of your voice (as we do in English). You can place them either at the beginning or at the end of a sentence. Watch my comprehensive video lesson at the bottom of this page, and download your free lesson guide.
| English | French | Example |
| me | moi | Moi, je parle français. Je parle français, moi. |
| you | toi | Toi, tu parles français? Tu parles français, toi? |
| him | lui | Lui, il parle français. Il parle français, lui. |
| her | elle | Elle, elle parle français. Elle parle français, elle? |
| us | nous | Nous, nous parlons français. Nous parlons français, nous. |
| you | vous | Vous, vous parlez français? Vous parlez français, vous? |
| them (masculine) | eux | Eux, ils parlent français? Ils parlent français, eux? |
| them (feminine) | elles | Elles, elles parlent français. Elles parlent français, elles? |
French Disjunctive Pronouns / Stressed Pronouns – Use them after regular prepositions and prepositions of location
Careful: You won’t use disjunctive pronouns with À + A PERSON because that would require an indirect object pronoun. Many times POUR + A PERSON will also require an indirect object pronoun if something is actually being done for that person.
| moi | avec – with | avec moi – with me |
| toi | pour – for | pour toi – for you |
| lui | chez – at the home of | chez lui – at his house |
| elle | avant – before | avant elle – before her |
| nous | devant – in front of | devant nous – in front of us |
| vous | après – after | après vous – after you |
| eux | derrière – behind | derrière eux – behind them |
| elles | à côté de – next to | à côté d’elles – next to them |
French Disjunctive Pronouns / Stressed Pronouns – Emphasize who is doing something
When you want to say something like “I am the one who is going to the store”, just use the following model. You must be sure to make the verb agree with the stress / disjunctive pronoun being used. Even though we don’t say it like this in English, here’s a direct translation. It’s as if you were saying “It is me who am going to the store”. Weird, huh? But that’s how you do it in French, and it makes sense.
| English | French | Example |
| me | moi | C’est moi qui vais au magasin. I’m the one who is going to the store. |
| you | toi | C’est toi qui vas au magasin. You’re the one who is going to the store. |
| him | lui | C’est lui qui va au magasin. He’s the one who is going to the store. |
| her | elle | C’est elle qui va au magasin. She’s the one who is going to the store. |
| us | nous | C’est nous qui allons au magasin. We’re the ones who are going to the store. |
| you | vous | C’est vous qui allez au magasin. You’re the ones who are going to the store. (plural vous) |
| them (masculine) | eux | Ce sont eux qui vont au magasin. They’re the ones who are going to the store. |
| them (feminine) | elles | Ce sont elles qui vont au magasin. They’re the ones who are going to the store. |
French Disjunctive Pronouns / Stressed Pronouns – Use them to say also or neither – either
| English | French | Example |
| me too moi non plus | moi aussi me neither | Je vais au magasin, moi aussi. I’m also going to the store. Je ne vais pas au magasin, moi non plus. I’m not going to the store either. |
| you too you neither | toi aussi toi non plus | Tu vas au magasin, toi aussi. You’re also going to the store. Tu ne vas pas au magasin, toi non plus. You’re not going to the store either. |
| him too him either | lui aussi lui non plus | Il va au magasin, lui aussi. He’s also going to the store. Il ne va pas au magasin, lui non plus. He’s not going to the store either. |
| her too her either | elle aussi elle non plus | Elle va au magasin, elle aussi. She’s also going to the store. Elle ne va pas au magasin, elle non plus. She’s not going to the store either. |
| us too us either | nous aussi nous non plus | Nous allons au magasin, nous aussi. We’re also going to the store. Nous n’allons pas au magasin, nous non plus. We’re not going to the store either. |
| you too you either | vous aussi vous non plus | Vous allez au magasin, vous aussi. You’re also going to the store. Vous n’allez pas au magasin, vous non plus. You’re not going to the store either. |
| them too (masculine) them either (masculine) | eux aussi eux non plus | Ils vont au magasin, eux aussi. They’re also going to the store. Ils ne vont pas au magasin, eux non plus. They’re not going to the store either. |
| them too (feminine) them either (feminine) | elles aussi elles non plus | Elles vont au magasin, elles aussi. They’re also going to the store. Elles ne vont pas au magasin, elles non plus. They’re not going to the store either. |
SAMPLE QUESTION:
Vous allez dîner chez nous demain?
RÉPONSE:
Oui, nous ___ dîner chez ___ demain.
Oui, nous allons dîner chez vous demain.
SAMPLE QUESTION:
C’est toi qui vas apporter le gâteau?
RÉPONSE:
Oui, c’est ___ qui ___ apporter le gâteau.
Oui, c’est moi qui vais apporter le gâteau.
SAMPLE QUESTION:
Tu ne vas pas à la piscine? Et Marc et Jules?
RÉPONSE:
___ non plus. Ils ne ___ pas à la piscine.
Eux non plus. Ils ne vont pas à la piscine.
