How to use subject pronouns and stressed pronouns in French?

In French, we use subject pronouns to replace the subject of a sentence and stressed pronouns to refer to people in order to add emphasis.

In the example above, you can see that French subject pronouns function much like the English subject pronouns “I,” “you,” “he,” etc. On the other hand, French stressed pronouns are not always used in the same ways as you’ll find them in English. Don’t worry! In this post, we’ll reveal all the rules of both subject pronouns and stressed pronouns. First, we’ll review the subject’s role in a sentence, and then we’ll tackle the nine French subject pronouns. Did you know that French has two forms of “we,” two forms of “you,” and, guess what, two forms of “they”? Once you’ve mastered these differences, you’ll learn the French stressed pronouns, as well as how and when to use them. Let’s dive in!

To identify the subject of a sentence and replace it with a subject pronoun, first remember that the subject is who or what is performing an action or is being described. Follow the steps below to locate the subject of a sentence and replace it with a subject pronoun:

• Step 1: Ask yourself who or what is performing the action of the verb.

  Charlotte prend le bus.

  Translation: Charlotte is taking the bus.

  Who is taking the bus? ⇒ Charlotte. Therefore, this is the subject of the verb prend.

• Step 2: Use a subject pronoun to avoid repetition.

  Charlotte prend le bus. Charlotte est en retard.

  Translation: Charlotte is taking the bus. Charlotte is late.

  In the sentences above, the second instance of “Charlotte” can be replaced by “she,” which is elle in French:

  Charlotte prend le bus. Elle est en retard.

  Translation: Charlotte is taking the bus. She is late.

If you’d like some more practice with identifying the subject of a sentence, check out these tips!
Now, let's review the French subject pronouns.

The French subject pronouns are je, tu, il , elle, on, on, nous, vous, and elles.

If you think of a pronoun as “pro + noun” (meaning “instead of noun”) you will remember that the pronoun replaces the noun! A noun can be a person, an animal, a place, or a thing. French nouns fall into two categories: feminine or masculine. This category is referred to as the gender of a noun in French. Pay attention to this to choose the correct subject pronoun.

Now that you are aware of the subject pronouns, let’s take a closer look at some of them.

The subject pronoun je is used for the first person singular to mean “I.” Je has a few particular rules:

• Je is capitalized only at the beginning of the sentence, unlike the English “I.”

• Je becomes j' in front of a vowel or the letter h.

  J’y vais.*

  Translation: I’m off.

There are five ways to use the subject pronoun on.

• To refer to people in general:

  En France, on mange beaucoup de pain !

  Translation: In France, people eat a lot of bread!

• To say “you,” meaning “one” or “everyone”:

  On doit se brosser les dents deux fois par jour.

  Translation: You must brush your teeth twice a day.

• To say someone:

  On m’a dit que Mme Deleau a déménagé.

  Translation: Someone told me / I was told that Mrs. Deleau has moved house.

• When referring to unknown people:

  On va lui faire une piqûre.

  Translation: He is going to be given an injection.

• To say “we”: let’s explore below ↴

To choose between on and nous, remember that you will use on 90 percent of the time. The English pronoun “we” has two possible translations in French. On is used in speaking and informal writing, and nous is used in formal speech and writing. If I sent my friends a text, I would type, On va au ciné ? (meaning Shall we go to the cinema?) But the French president would say Nous devons rester unis (meaning We must stay united).

So, we have two forms of “we,” because on is informal and nous is formal. Now, why do you think we have two forms of “you”?

Use tu (meaning you) in informal situations and vous (meaning you) in formal contexts:

• Use tu to address people informally: with your family, your friends, your colleagues, and with children. Children and young people use tu among themselves. Beware when random people in the street stop addressing you with tu, it's seen as a sign of aging!

  Marc, tu t’occupes d’organiser la réunion ?

  Translation: Marc, are you organizing the meeting?

• Use vous:

  • to address people formally, e.g. to talk to someone with respect, like your teacher or your director, or to address a person you don’t know well, like your dentist or a shop assistant.

    Bonjour madame, est-ce que vous vendez des piles ?

    Translation: Good morning, madam, do you sell batteries?

  • to talk to a group of people, regardless of if they are your friends or people you don’t know.

    Jean et Nicolas, vous voulez un jus de fruit ?

    Translation: Jean and Nicolas, would you like a fruit juice?

If you’d like a little more information on how to say “you” in French, take a look at this handy resource.

So far, you’ve seen that on and tu are informal and nous and vous are formal. What do you think about ils and elles (meaning they)?

Use il(s) and elle(s) to say “he,” “she,” or “they.” Remember that nouns have a gender: masculine or feminine. Gender is the reason why we have two ways to say “they,” not formality! Here are the rules for using il, elle, ils and elles:

The French stressed pronouns are moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, and elles. Stressed pronouns are used in French to refer to people and animals in order to add emphasis. There are specific instances in which a stressed pronoun will be required in French. For example, when I greet my English speaking friend with Bonjour, ça va ? (meaning Hello, how is it going?), a reply I often hear is Oui, et tu? The correct answer should be Oui, et toi ? (meaning Yes, and you?). Here, toi is a stressed pronoun. Let’s find out about the other stressed pronouns and how and when to use them.

First, here are all of the French stressed pronouns, as well as their corresponding subject pronouns:

Stressed pronouns can be used in the following contexts:

• Adding emphasis is the main reason why you will use a stressed pronoun in French.

  Moi, je suis toujours à l’heure.

  Translation: (Me), I’m always on time.

  However, in English, you would not say “me, I…,” but you would put emphasis on “I” with the tone of your voice.

  Mais toi, tu es toujours en retard !

  Translation: But (you), you are always late!

• List item content

• After et (meaning and) is another use of stressed pronouns that is important to know.

  Moi, ça va, et lui ?

  Translation: Me, I’m fine, and him?

  On a faim. Et eux ?

  Translation: We’re hungry. And them?

• Stressed pronouns can also be used on their own, for example, when answering a question. How do you choose the correct pronoun? Think about who you want to describe and use the above table to help you. For example, if it is yourself, use moi (meaning me). If it is a single man, use lui (meaning him). Or if it is a group of women, use elles (meaning them).

  Qui veut une barbe à papa? Moi !

  Translation: Who wants candy floss? Me!

  Qui sonne à la porte ? Lui !

  Translation: Who is ringing the doorbell? Him!

• After the common French phrase c'est (meaning it is):

  Coucou, c’est moi !

  Translation: Hiya, it’s me!

• After être à, using stressed pronouns shows belonging.

  Cette trottinette est à lui.

  Translation: This scooter belongs to him.

  C’est à moi de jouer !

  Translation: It’s my turn to play!

• After all prepositions in French, such as pour (meaning for), chez (meaning at), avec (meaning with), or sans (meaning without).

• Stressed pronouns are used with French comparison words after que.

  • moins...que (meaning less...than):

    Olivier est moins courageux qu’eux.

    Translation: Oliver is less brave than them.

  • plus...que (meaning more...than):

    Rose est plus petite que lui.

    Translation: Rose is shorter than him.

  • autant...que (meaning as...as):

    Ils sont aussi sportifs que nous.

    Translation: They are as sporty as us.

• Use the stressed pronouns moi and toi in replacement of the object pronouns me and te in the French imperative mood.

  Donne-moi ce journal !

  Translation: Give me this newspaper!

• Four ways to express agreement or disagreement with what someone said using stressed pronouns and the words aussi, non plus, pas, and si.

  Expression	Use	Example
  moi aussi Translation: me too	You agree with a positive statement.	– J’aime bien poster mes photos sur les réseaux sociaux. Translation: I like to post my photos on social networks. – Moi aussi ! Translation: Me too!
  moi non plus Translation: me neither	You agree with a negative statement.	– Je n’aime pas les araignées. Translation: I don’t like spiders. – Moi non plus ! Translation: Me neither!
  pas moi Translation: not me	You disagree with a positive statement.	– J’adore la musique electro. Translation: I love electro music. – Pas moi. Je préfère le rap. Translation: Not me. I prefer rap music.
  moi si Translation: I do	You disagree with a negative statement.	– Je n’ai jamais visité le musée du Louvre. Translation: I never visited the Louvre museum. – Moi si. Translation: I have.

The same rule applies to all stressed pronouns. For instance, lui aussi (meaning him as well), nous non plus (meaning we neither), pas eux (meaning not them)

Let's review what we've learned!

When using French subject pronouns and stressed pronouns, remember these important points:

• Use the subject pronouns to avoid repeating the subject of the sentence.

• Je becomes j' in front of vowels and the letter h, except for cases where this is an aspirated h.

• Use on when you speak, and keep nous for formal writing. If you speak to two people or more, or if you want to be polite and show respect to your elders, use vous (meaning you) rather than tu (meaning you).

• Use il(s) and elle(s) to refer to people, animals, and things.

• Use stressed pronouns in a variety of contexts. Most of the time, you will use them:

  • to emphasize the person you are talking about

  • to compare people

  • when telling people what to do

  • with prepositions like avec, sans, or chez, and after c'est.

Want to practice? Now, you can try these exercises to practice French subject pronouns and stressed pronouns.