Just like in English we have 'I' and 'me' (but note, only 'you'), French uses these so-called singular Stress Pronouns.
| Subject Pronoun | Stress Pronoun |
| je I |
moi me |
| tu you |
toi you |
| il he |
lui him |
| elle she |
elle her |
Simple uses of Stress pronouns
- extra emphasis
Moi, je m'appelle Tim.
Me, my name is Tim.
Je veux une glace au chocolat mais elle, elle veut une glace à la vanille.
I want a chocolate ice cream but she wants a vanilla ice cream.
- single word responses
Qui veut un cadeau ? Moi! Moi!
Who wants a present? - Me! - Me!
Qui est ta copine ? - Elle.
Who is your girlfriend? - She is.
- very simple sentences
See also the plural stress pronouns: Nous, vous, eux, elles = us, you, them (stress pronouns)
and the more advanced lesson Moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles (advanced stress pronouns)
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Qui veut un cadeau ? Moi! Moi!
Who wants a present? - Me! - Me!
Je veux une glace au chocolat mais elle, elle veut une glace à la vanille.
I want a chocolate ice cream but she wants a vanilla ice cream.
Et toi, comment tu vas ?
And you, how are you?
Oui, c'est toi le menteur!
Yes, you are the liar!
literally: Yes, it's you the liar!
Qui est ta copine ? - Elle.
Who is your girlfriend? - She is.
Moi, je m'appelle Tim.
Me, my name is Tim.
Q&A
Duke
Kwiziq community member
20 December 2017
4 replies
Please explain "Il lui (verbe)"
Bonjour! I'm trying to improve my French through reading, and I've encountered a problem that I don't think was covered in my lessons. I keep seeing the following structure used in a sentence: "Il lui (verbe)." For example: "Il lui manque la montié d'une oreille et ses yeux sont... ." I unferstand this sentence to mean "He is missing half of an ear, and his eyes are... ." My problem is that I can't figure out why such sentences are using "Il lui (verbe)" instead of just "Il (verbe)." Another example is "Il lui arrive même de nous faire cadeau d'un rat." Could you please explain (1) is "lui" is being used as a stress pronoun in this case? And (2) why is it being used at all? Marci! -Duke
Chris
Kwiziq community member
20/12/17
"Lui" is the indirect object of "il"
That said, let's look at the two sentences you cite (and I am taking the liberty of abbreviating them a bit):
1) Il lui manque une oreille -- He is missing an ear. Literally this would be translated as: "It is an ear missing from him". The "from him" is the indirect object, hence "lui".
2) Il lui arrive de nous faire un cadeau. -- He happens to make us a present. Literally: It happened to him to make us a gift. Again the "to him" is the indirect object, i.e., "lui" in French.
Yes, "lui" could also be the stress pronoun but not in these cases. Stress pronouns usually are at the end of sentences or following prepositions. Neither is the case here.
I suggest you check out the lessons on indirect objects.
Greetings,
-- Chris.
Duke
Kwiziq community member
20/12/17
Hmmm...very interesting. I thought I understood indirect objects, but I didn't realize that was what this was, because in English we often omit them in cases like this. Ex: "He was missing half an ear" versus "he was missing half of one of his ears." Thanks! I think I need to become more accustomed to typical French structure!
Chris
Kwiziq community member
21/12/17
-- Chris.
Chris
Kwiziq community member
21/12/17
Ron
Kwiziq community member
25/08/17
En réponse à votre question, voici un phrase d'explication de la leçon en ce qui concerne pronoms de stress avancé:
Notice that stress pronouns are used in the following 3 cases:
- in sentences, after prepositions (de, à, avec, derrière, pour etc),
- in comparisons, after que (plus/moins/aussi ....que),
- with the restriction ne... que (only), after que.
Comme on le voit, il y a plusieurs d'occasions d'utiliser des pronoms de stress.
Bien sûr, j'espère que cela vous aiderait.
Bonne chance et bonne continuation dans vos études de la langage française, la «Langue de Molière».
Ron
Rachel
Kwiziq community member
11 February 2018
4 replies
Aren't these pronouns just object pronouns?
Laura
Kwiziq language super star
11 February 2018
11/02/18
Bonjour Rachel,
While most stress pronouns are similar to object pronouns, there's one big difference: the indirect object pronoun lui is both masculine and feminine, while for stress pronouns, there is a separate feminine form: elle.
Cécile
Kwiziq language super star
15 February 2018
15/02/18
Hi Rachel,
There are different sets of pronouns in French . Fortunately the 'nous' and 'vous' pronouns tend to remain the same in all of them!
These stress pronouns are the ones which come after prepositions too , so I find that a good way to learn them is after the 'chez' ( at the home of) .
Chez moi, chez toi, chez elle, chez lui, chez nous, chez vous, chez eux, chez elles.
Hope this helps!
Rachel
Kwiziq community member
17 February 2018
17/02/18
Hi Laura, yes, I see that these are a separate set of pronouns from the Direct Object and Indirect Object sets. My question was more based on the usage; basically, when I would use these vs using the object pronouns. I think I've gotten them straight now, to some extent. :)
Thanks!
Rachel
Kwiziq community member
17 February 2018
17/02/18
Hi Celcile,
Thanks! I see that they are a different set from the object pronouns - I was curious more so about the usage; in other words, when to use these vs when to use object pronouns. But your explanation about the prepositions in very helpful in explaining the difference.