Key points about emphatic pronouns in French
Emphatic pronouns include moi (me) and toi (you) and are often used after A preposition is a word such as 'at', 'for', 'with', 'into' or 'from' which is usually followed by a noun or pronoun. They are used to show where something is in place or time. .
Higher only – other emphatic pronouns are lui (him), elle (her), nous (us), vous (you), eux (them) and elles (them).
What are emphatic pronouns?
Emphatic pronouns are also known as stressed pronouns or disjunctive pronouns.
They are used after certain prepositions in French, such as avec (with), pour (for) and chez (at someone’s house).
They only apply to people, not things.
French emphatic pronouns ‘moi’ and ‘toi’
Moi means ‘me’ and toi means ‘you’ (as the object of the sentence).
For example:
- J’ai un cadeau pour toi. – I have a present for you.
'Moi' and 'toi' - Mini quiz
Translate this sentence into English:
Tu veux venir avec moi ?
Do you want to come with me?
Moi means ‘me’ after a preposition such as avec (and).
Emphatic pronouns after prepositions
Emphatic pronouns are often used after prepositions.
Here are some useful French prepositions that can be followed by moi (me) or toi (you), with examples.
| French | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Against | Je ne veux pas lutter contre toi. – I don’t want to fight against you. |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | At (the house of), to (the house of), with | Tu veux venir chez moi ce soir? – Do you want to come to my house this evening? |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Before | Tu peux aller avant moi. – You can go before me. |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Behind | Le parc est derrière moi. – The park is behind me. |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Between | Entre toi et moi. – Between you and me. |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | For | J’ai un cadeau pour toi. – I have a present for you. |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | In front of | Le cinéma est devant moi. – The cinema is in front of me. |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Near | C’est près de moi. – It’s near me. |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | On | Tu peux compter sur moi. – You can count on me. |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Under | La chaise est sous toi. – The chair is under you. |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | With | Tu veux venir au cinéma avec moi? – Do you want to go to the cinema with me? |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Without | Il préfère jouer sans moi. – He prefers to play without me. |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | According to | Selon moi, c’est une bonne idée. – According to me (in my opinion), it’s a good idea. |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Except | Tous mes amis sont venus, sauf toi. – All of my friends came, except you. |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | By | Le bâtiment est construit par moi. – The building is built by me. |
Quiz - Emphatic pronouns in French
Practise what you've learned about emphatic pronouns with this quiz.
Higher Tier – Using 'lui', 'elle', 'nous', 'vous', 'eux' and 'elles'
Emphatic pronouns are used after certain prepositions that you need to know for Higher Tier, such as selon (according to), autour (around) and par (by). They only apply to people, not things.
Emphatic pronouns in full
Here are all the emphatic pronouns in French:
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | me |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | you (singular informal) |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | him |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | her |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | us |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | you (plural, formal) |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | them (masculine) |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | them (feminine) |
Emphatic pronouns after prepositions
Emphatic pronouns are often used after prepositions.
Here are some French prepositions that are required for the Higher Tier, with examples of how they can be used with emphatic pronouns.
| French | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Around | Il y a beaucoup d’arbres autour de nous. – There are lots of trees around us. |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Thanks to | Ils ne sont pas en retard, grâce à vous. – They’re not late, thanks to you. |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Towards | Il vient vers moi. – He’s coming towards me. |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Towards | Je n’aime pas votre attitude envers elles. – I don’t like your attitude towards them. |
Emphatic pronouns after prepositions - Mini quiz
Translate this sentence into French:
There are lots of houses around him.
Il y a beaucoup de maisons autour de lui.
Lui means ‘him’ after a preposition such as autour de (around).
Higher Tier - Quiz - Emphatic pronouns
Practise what you've learned about emphatic pronouns in French with this quiz for Higher Tier.
Now you’ve learned about emphatic pronouns in French, why not explore interrogative adjectives?
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