Subject and stressed pronouns
je, tu, il, elle, on, and moi, toi, lui.
A French verb always needs its subject, since many of its forms sound alike: parle and parlent are said the same, and only il or ils tells them apart.
| Subject | Stressed | |
|---|---|---|
| I | je, j' | moi |
| you (one friend) | tu | toi |
| he, it | il | lui |
| she, it | elle | elle |
| one, we | on | soi (one), nous (we) |
| we | nous | nous |
| you (formal or plural) | vous | vous |
| they (men or mixed) | ils | eux |
| they (women) | elles | elles |
il and elle also mean "it", by the noun's gender: La table ? Elle est cassée. For tu and vous, see Tu and vous.
on
on is everywhere in speech. Most often it means "we": On y va ? "Shall we go?" It also means "people, you, one" in general (Ici, on parle français), and "someone" (On a frappé à la porte). Its verb always takes the il form.
Stressed pronouns
The stressed pronouns stand where a subject pronoun can't:
- alone: Qui est là ? Moi !
- after a preposition: avec moi, chez lui, pour eux;
- after c'est: C'est moi;
- after que in comparisons: plus grand que toi;
- with aussi and non plus: moi aussi "me too", moi non plus "me neither";
- to stress the subject: Moi, je pense que… "Personally, I think…"
Cards from this guide
8 cardsEach card asks about one thing this guide teaches, and its back gives the answer with why and an example. They're reviewed with the rest of the Pronouns cards.
What are the French subject pronouns?
je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils, elles.
What does on usually mean in everyday French?
"We".
How do you say "it" for a feminine thing like la robe?
elle.
Which pronoun is "they" for a group of men and women?
ils.
How do you say "Me too"?
Moi aussi.
How do you say "with him"?
avec lui.
Why would you start a sentence with Moi, je…?
To stress who's speaking: "Me, I…", "Personally, I…".
What's the stressed form of ils?
eux.