les pronoms toniques grammar in French

Language: French
Level: A2
Unit: Pronoms
Practice types: 0

What this grammar point covers

Stressed pronouns (les pronoms toniques) are special pronouns in French used to emphasize a person, after prepositions, or in certain sentence structures.

When to use it

Use stressed pronouns in French to: (1) emphasize the subject or object, (2) after prepositions (like 'avec', 'pour'), (3) to answer questions with 'qui', (4) in comparisons, and (5) alone, as a short answer.

Key forms

moi
toi
lui
elle
nous
vous
eux
elles

Examples

C’est moi.

English: It’s me.

Tu viens avec nous ?

English: Are you coming with us?

Elle parle de lui.

English: She talks about him.

Moi, je préfère le café.

English: Me, I prefer coffee.

Qui veut du gâteau ? Eux !

English: Who wants cake? Them!

Tips

Stressed pronouns are not used as the subject of a verb alone; they usually come after prepositions or for emphasis.
Don’t confuse 'lui' (him) and 'leur' (them, indirect object); 'lui' is used for 'him' or 'her' as a stressed pronoun.
Use 'eux' for 'them' (masculine or mixed group), and 'elles' for 'them' (feminine group).