In this French grammar lesson, you will learn how to use stress pronouns.
In this lesson you will learn about:
- subject pronouns versus stress pronouns
- what stress pronouns are
- how to use stress pronouns
- how stress pronouns are used in sentences
- how you can quiz yourself on how to use stress pronouns
- how Anki files can be downloaded for how to use stress pronouns
Please refer to the French A1 Curriculum to get a better overview of French grammar, if you are curious about this fits in French A1.
By the end of the lesson, you will know all about how to use stress pronouns!
Table of Contents
Subject Pronouns versus Stress Pronouns
| Subject Pronouns | Stress Pronouns |
| je I | moi me |
| tu you | toi you |
| il he | lui him |
| elle she | elle her |
| nous we | nous us |
| vous you | vous you |
| ils they | eux them |
| elles they [all female] | elles they [all female] |
The first step to know how to use stress pronouns is to actually see them.
In the left column you can see the subject pronouns that you have already learnt.
In the right column you can the new stress pronouns.
As you can see half of the subject pronouns change in the list of stress pronouns.
The changes are highlighted in blue.
But, you may be thinking, what are stress pronouns, and how do you use them?
The following chapters are dedicated to those questions!
What are Stress Pronouns?
Stress pronouns are pronouns that put an extra emphasis on a subject or object.
Toi, tu dois sauter maintenant !
You, [yes] you need to jump now!
In this sentence ‘you’ needs to jump. There could be a big group of people, but the speaker wants to put an emphasis on someone.
To put it simply, if you want to emphasize someone, this is what you use.
How to use Stress Pronouns
In this chapter we are going to explore how to use stress pronouns.
For French A1, you just need to know these 3 use cases.
- Extra emphasis
Ma mère a 55 ans. Moi, j’ai 25 ans.
My mom is 55 years old. I am 25.
Toi, tu dois sauter maintenant !
You, [yes] you need to jump now!
Je veux un hamburger mais elle, elle veut une pizza.
I want a hamburger, but she wants a pizza.
Je vais faire mes devoirs pendant que vous, vous jouez avec le bébé.
I am going to do my homework while you play with the baby.
Please notice that in all the sentences, the stress pronoun has been used to put an extra emphasis on a person.
Sometimes a pronoun has been repeated twice. In the last two examples this has been done.
This is just a stylistic choice to show you where the emphasis has been put.
Those sentences would also have been correct without the repetition in pronouns.
So, if you want to put an extra emphasis on a person you should use stress pronouns.
- Very simple sentences
C’est lui et elle !
It’s him and her!
Pas nous !
Not us!
Non, pas eux !
No, not them!
So, in simple sentences, where you want to put an emphasis on a person, stress pronouns will be used.
- Single word reply
Elles? Vraiment?
Them? Really?
Qui veut du vin ? Nous !
Who wants some wine? We!
Qui est votre frère. Lui.
Who is your brother. Him.
So, if you have to give a single word reply, and you have to refer to a person, then stress pronouns will be used.
Example Sentences on How to Use Stress Pronouns
The final section of this lesson on how to use stress pronouns is about seeing stress pronouns in action.
This is valuable because you can improve your understanding of stress pronouns through examples.
The ten sentences here are the same ones as in the previous chapter, but order from the moi form to the elles form.
This can serve, as a complete and ordered overview, of all the sentenes used in this lesson on how to use stress pronouns.
Ma mère a 55 ans. Moi, j’ai 25 ans.
My mom is 55 years old. I am 25.
Toi, tu dois sauter maintenant !
You, [yes] you need to jump now!
C’est lui et elle !
It’s him and her!
Qui est votre frère. Lui.
Who is your brother. Him.
Je veux un hamburger mais elle, elle veut une pizza.
I want a hamburger, but she wants a pizza.
Qui veut du vin ? Nous !
Who wants some wine? We!
Pas nous !
Not us!
Je vais faire mes devoirs pendant que vous, vous jouez avec le bébé.
I am going to do my homework while you play with the baby.
Non, pas eux !
No, not them!
Elles? Vraiment?
Them? Really?
Quiz Yourself on How to Use Stress Pronouns
It’s not enough just to read the lesson on this subject.
You should test your knowledge to see if you really understood everything, and to be able to repeat the material.
It is also for this reason that it is recommended to download the Anki Decks and do them.
At the end of every lesson you can do a small test.
You will see the sentences of the previous chapter. It is up to you to give the correct answer.
You will either need to fill in the blanks, choose the correct multiple choice option, or both.
Once you are done the correct answer will be shown.
You can redo the quiz as many times as you want. There’s no limit to it!
Anki File for How to Use Stress Pronouns
It is important to do the Anki exercises for this lesson so that you can better remember what you just studied.
By downloading the Anki File for French A1, you can practice every French A1 lesson that is on Language Atlas. This is recommended as you will have every lesson that you need. You shouldn’t miss out on the complete learning experience!
You can also choose to just get the Anki File for French A1 Pronouns. This only has the pronouns for French A1.
If you don’t know why you should use Anki, or if you don’t know what Anki is, then please click here.
Anki can be downloaded from here.
