A2 · The pronouns
Stressed pronouns: moi, toi
A second set of words where English reuses the first.
At a glance
- Remember
- French cannot shout a pronoun, so it uses two.
- Form
- moi, toime, you
- Signal words
- avec
- chez
- pour
- sans
- c’est
- Trap
- Wrong:Moi préfère le thé.Right:Moi, je préfère le thé.
Your turn
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The form
The forms and what they mean
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in French.
| me, you | moi, toi |
| him, her | lui, elle |
| us, you | nous, vous |
| them (m), them (f) | eux, elles |
| after a preposition | avec moi, chez eux |
| for emphasis | Moi, je pense que… |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
After a preposition the stressed form is used.
Viens avec moi.Come with me.
Standing alone, the stressed form is used.
Qui veut du café ? — Moi.Who wants coffee? — I do.
After c’est the stressed form is used.
C’est elle qui a payé.She is the one who paid.
For emphasis it is added, not substituted.
Moi, je ne suis pas d’accord.I do not agree.
Example sentences
Ce cadeau est pour toi.This present is for you.
Nous dînons chez eux ce soir.We are having dinner at their place tonight.
Lui, il travaille le samedi.He works on Saturdays.
C’est nous.It is us.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
The stressed form does not replace the subject pronoun. Moi préfère le thé is not a sentence; it is Moi, je préfère le thé, with both. English needs only one «I» and puts the emphasis in the voice, which is exactly why the second word gets left out. There is no way to say it with one word in French.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
Beside the pronouns that go in front of the verb there is a second row: moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles. English has no second row — «me» does every job there is, in «with me», in «Who? — Me.» and in «It's me» — so these are new words rather than a new rule.
They appear after a preposition (avec moi), alone as an answer (Qui ? — Moi.), after c'est (c'est lui) and for emphasis at the front of a sentence (Moi, je préfère le thé).
That last one has no English counterpart at all. English emphasises by saying the same word louder — «I prefer tea» — and French cannot do that, because je is too small to carry a stress. So it adds a second pronoun in front and keeps the first: Moi, je, both of them, side by side.
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