Emphatic Pronouns in French

This section explains emphatic pronouns in French and includes tips for students studying foundation and higher tiers.

Introduction to Emphatic Pronouns

Emphatic pronouns (also called "disjunctive pronouns") are used to emphasise a person or thing in a sentence. They are often used for contrast, or after prepositions (like avec - with, pour - for). Emphatic pronouns can also appear in sentences where the subject is repeated for clarity or emphasis.

List of Emphatic Pronouns

How to Use Emphatic Pronouns

Emphatic pronouns are typically used in the following ways:

• For emphasis: To put extra focus on a person or thing, often used in statements where you want to stress the subject.
  • Example 1:
    Moi, je préfère le chocolat. (As for me, I prefer chocolate.)
    • Moi is used to emphasise that it's the speaker who prefers chocolate.
  • Example 2:
    C'est lui qui a gagné. (It is him who won.)
    • Lui is used to emphasise who won.
• After prepositions: Emphatic pronouns are used after prepositions to indicate who the action is directed at.
  • Example 1:
    Je parle avec elle. (I am talking with her.)
    • Elle is used after avec (with) to show who the speaker is talking to.
  • Example 2:
    Il pense à eux. (He is thinking about them.)
    • Eux is used after à (about) to show who is being thought about.
• In compound sentences: Emphatic pronouns can also be used when a subject is repeated or for contrast.
  • Example 1:
    Toi, tu as raison. (You are right.)
    • Toi is emphasised here to highlight the person being addressed.
  • Example 2:
    Nous, nous allons au cinéma. (We are going to the cinema.)
    • Repeating nous with the emphatic pronoun emphasises the subject.

Higher Tier Examples:

For higher-tier students, it’s important to use emphatic pronouns for more complex sentence structures and to understand the subtleties of emphasis.

• Example 1:
  Eux, ils ne veulent pas venir. (They don’t want to come.)
  Here, eux emphasises the group of people who don’t want to come, contrasting them from other groups.
• Example 2:
  Elle a gagné, mais moi, je n’ai pas eu de chance. (She won, but as for me, I didn’t have any luck.)
  Moi is used here to put emphasis on the contrast between elle (she) and moi (me).
• Example 3:
  Nous avons visité Paris, mais eux, ils sont allés à Lyon. (We visited Paris, but they went to Lyon.)
  Eux is emphasised to contrast the two different groups' destinations.

Key Notes for GCSE:

• Emphatic pronouns are often used for contrast, to make a sentence clearer, or when you want to emphasise something.
• They can also follow prepositions, as they replace the subject of a sentence and show who the action is directed to.
• Emphatic pronouns are often used in conversational French to add emphasis or clarity.

Important Points to Remember:

• Moi and toi are often used in casual speech for emphasis (e.g., Moi, j'adore ce film – As for me, I love this film).
• Emphatic pronouns are never used as the subject of the verb, but are used for emphasis or after prepositions.

Quick Recap:

• Emphatic pronouns are used to emphasise, for contrast, and after prepositions.
• The pronouns moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, and elles are used to replace a noun and add extra focus on the subject.
• Use them in complex structures and remember the placement rules in sentences for clarity and emphasis.