# Stressed Pronouns

https://langs123.com/en/french/pronoms/pronoms-toniques/
CEFR A1–A2 · 2026-10-24 · CC BY 4.0, langs123 contributors (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

> The stressed pronouns **moi**, **toi**, **lui**, **elle**, **nous**, **vous**, **eux**, **elles** follow a preposition or **c’est** and add emphasis. After a preposition, use a stressed pronoun, never **je** or **tu**: Je viens avec **toi**. C’est pour **lui**.

## Summary

| Point | Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Form | **moi** / **toi** / **lui** / **elle** / **nous** / **vous** / **eux** / **elles** | Je viens avec **toi**. | I'm coming with you. |
| After a preposition | always a stressed pronoun: **avec**, **pour**, **de**, **chez**… | Elle parle de **lui**. | She talks about him. |
| After c’est | **c’est** + stressed pronoun: **c’est moi**, **c’est toi** | **C’est moi**. | It's me. |
| Short answer | a stressed pronoun alone answers a question | Qui a faim ? — **Moi**. | Who is hungry? — Me. |
| Moi aussi, moi non plus | **aussi** after a positive statement, **non plus** after a negative one | Je n’aime pas le thé. — **Moi non plus**. | I don't like tea. — Me neither. |
| Emphasis | **moi**, **toi**… before the subject pronoun for emphasis | **Moi**, je parle français. | I speak French. |
| Two subjects | a noun or pronoun + **et** + stressed pronoun | Léa et **moi**, nous sommes amis. | Léa and I are friends. |
| After à | **être à** + stressed pronoun says whose a thing is | Ce stylo est à **moi**. | This pen is mine. |
| Trap | never **je** or **tu** after a preposition or **c’est** | Viens avec **moi**. | Come with me. |

## Overview

- The stressed pronoun stands where a subject pronoun cannot stand alone: after a preposition, after **c’est**, in an answer. Je viens avec **toi**. / **C’est moi**. (I'm coming with you. / It's me.)
- The stressed pronoun does not replace the subject pronoun before the verb. **Moi**, **je** parle français. (I speak French.)
- The subject pronouns: see Subject Pronouns.
- Object pronouns such as lui, me, te: see Object Pronouns.

## Form: the stressed pronouns

| Person | Singular | Plural |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **moi** | **nous** |
| 2 | **toi** | **vous** |
| 3 | **lui** / **elle** | **eux** / **elles** |

- **Nous**, **vous**, **elle** and **elles** have the same form as the subject pronoun. Il habite chez **nous**. / Je pars sans **elles**. (He lives with us. / I'm leaving without them.)
- **Lui** stands for **il** and **eux** for **ils**; **eux** means men or a mixed group. Marc est là : c’est **lui**. / Paul et Léa sont là : c’est pour **eux**. (Marc is here: it's him. / Paul and Léa are here: it's for them.)
- **lui** also serves as an object pronoun: see Object Pronouns.

## Use: where a stressed pronoun goes

| Use | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| After a preposition: **avec**, **pour**, **sans**, **de**, **chez** | Je viens avec **toi**. / Elle parle de **lui**. / Elle habite chez **eux**. | I'm coming with you. / She talks about him. / She lives with them. |
| After **c’est** | **C’est moi**. / **C’est nous**. | It's me. / It's us. |
| Alone, to answer a question | Qui a faim ? — **Moi**. | Who is hungry? — Me. |
| **moi aussi**: after a positive statement | J’aime le thé. — **Moi aussi**. | I like tea. — Me too. |
| **moi non plus**: after a negative statement | Je ne mange pas de viande. — **Moi non plus**. | I don't eat meat. — Me neither. |
| Before the subject pronoun, for emphasis | **Moi**, je parle français. / **Toi**, tu viens ? | I speak French. / And you, are you coming? |
| With **et**: two subjects together | Léa et **moi**, nous sommes amis. / **Toi** et Paul, vous habitez à Lyon ? | Léa and I are friends. / Do you and Paul live in Lyon? |
| After **à**: whose a thing is | Ce stylo est à **moi**. / Ce sac est à **elle**. | This pen is mine. / This bag is hers. |
| After **que** in a comparison | Il est plus grand que **moi**. / Elle est plus petite que **toi**. | He is taller than me. / She is smaller than you. |

- Prepositions of place, such as chez: see Prepositions of Place.
- For **c’est** and **ce sont**: see C’est and Il est.
- Comparatives: see Comparatives and Superlatives.

## Pronunciation: the stressed pronouns

| Person | Singular | Plural |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | /mwa/ | /nu/ |
| 2 | /twa/ | /vu/ |
| 3 | /lɥi/, /ɛl/ | /ø/, /ɛl/ |

- In **eux**, the **x** is silent: /ø/. Je pars avec **eux** /ʒə paʁ avɛk ø/. (I'm leaving with them.)
- Canada: In Québec speech, **moi** and **toi** are often said /mwɛ/ and /twɛ/.
- The sounds of French: see Pronunciation.

## Typical errors

| ✗ | ✓ |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Je viens avec tu. | Je viens avec **toi**. | after a preposition, use **toi**, not **tu** |
| C’est je. | **C’est moi**. | after **c’est**, use **moi**, not **je** |
| Moi parle français. | **Moi**, **je** parle français. | before the verb, the subject pronoun stays: **moi, je parle** |
| Je n’aime pas le thé. — Moi aussi. | Je n’aime pas le thé. — **Moi non plus**. | after a negative statement, “me neither” is **moi non plus**; **moi aussi** would mean “I like it” |
| Léa et je, nous sommes amis. | Léa et **moi**, nous sommes amis. | in a double subject, use **moi**, not **je** |