French Stressed Pronouns: moi, toi, lui, eux, with Examples

French has three sets of personal pronouns. The stressed set, moi, toi, lui, eux, is the one you use when a pronoun stands on its own, away from a verb: avec moi - with me.

Stressed pronouns at a glance

The whole set on one screen. Four forms are new; the other four look like the subject pronouns.

Three sets, three jobs

Each set has its own job. The stressed one is for a pronoun with no verb to lean on.

Lui is in two sets: the stressed him (avec lui) and the object to him (je lui parle, I'm talking to him). Its position tells them apart.

After a preposition: avec moi, chez lui

Every preposition takes the stressed form, whichever pronoun follows it.

Chez + a stressed pronoun means someone's home: chez moi - at my place, chez nous - at ours.

After c'est: c'est moi

To say it's me, it's him, French uses c'est + the stressed form, never the object form.

• C'est moi. - It's me.
• C'est lui qui a gagné. - He's the one who won.
• Ce sont eux. - It's them.

In speech c'est eux is normal; ce sont eux is the careful written form.

Standing alone: moi aussi, pas lui

A pronoun with no verb, as a one-word answer or after aussi and pas, is always stressed.

• Qui veut un café ? Moi ! - Who wants a coffee? Me!
• Moi aussi. - Me too.
• Pas moi. - Not me.
• Ni lui ni elle. - Neither him nor her.

1234

1. 1Elle lit.
2. 2Lui aussi.
3. 3Elle lit.
4. 4Pas lui !

She reads, and he does too: lui aussi. Then she reads and he plays football instead: pas lui. Standing alone, him is lui.

For emphasis: moi, je...

English stresses a pronoun with the voice: I think so. French cannot stress je, so it puts the stressed pronoun at the front and keeps the subject pronoun too.

• Moi, je pense que oui. - I think so.
• Lui, il ne comprend jamais. - He never understands.
• Nous, on reste ici. - We're staying here. (Everyday speech, with on for nous.)

With moi and toi both pronouns are needed: moi pense is not French. (Lui and eux can stand alone as the subject: Lui ne comprend jamais.)

In comparisons: plus grand que toi

After que in a comparison, the pronoun is stressed.

• Il est plus grand que toi. - He's taller than you.
• Je travaille autant qu'eux. - I work as much as them.

Two subjects: lui et moi

When the subject is two people and one is a pronoun, use the stressed forms, then sum them up with a plural subject pronoun.

• Lui et moi, nous partons demain. - He and I are leaving tomorrow.
• Toi et elle, vous êtes en retard. - You and she are late.

A pair with moi in it becomes nous; a pair with toi (and no moi) becomes vous.

Myself, yourself: moi-même

Add -même with a hyphen for the emphatic myself, and -mêmes in the plural.

After penser à: je pense à lui

Most verbs with à + a person put the object pronoun lui before the verb: Je lui parle. - I'm talking to him. A few refuse, and keep à + a stressed pronoun after the verb.

So je lui pense is wrong: it has to be je pense à lui.

Common mistakes English speakers make

What to do next

1. Answer three questions out loud with one word: Moi !, Pas moi., Moi aussi.
2. Swap the person in avec moi through the whole set: avec toi, avec lui, avec eux.
3. Review the pronouns that go before the verb in French object pronouns.