Les pronoms toniques (Stressed Pronouns)
Moi, toi, lui, elle, and more: the pronouns you use after c'est, after prepositions, and to insist.
You already know the subject pronouns (je, tu, il...). French has a second set called stressed pronouns (pronoms toniques): moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles. You cannot say 'C'est je' or 'avec je': French uses the stressed form instead, 'C'est moi', 'avec moi'. They are everywhere in real conversation: 'Moi, j'adore le café. Et toi ?'
AFTER C'EST: use the stressed pronoun right after c'est (it's), never the subject pronoun: C'est moi. (It's me.), C'est lui ! (It's him!)
AFTER A PREPOSITION: avec (with), pour (for), chez (at the place of), sans (without), and à côté de (next to) all take the stressed form: Tu viens avec moi ? (Are you coming with me?), On dîne chez eux. (We're having dinner at their place.)
TO INSIST OR CONTRAST: double the subject, stressed pronoun first, comma, then the full sentence: Moi, je suis étudiant. (Me, I'm a student.) Lui, il est médecin. (Him, he's a doctor.)
IN SHORT ANSWERS: when there's no verb, the stressed form stands alone: Qui parle français ? - Moi ! (Who speaks French? - Me!), Et toi ? (And you?)
IN COMPARISONS: after que (than), always use the stressed form: Elle est plus grande que moi. (She is taller than me.).
- C'est toi, Marie ? - Oui, c'est moi ! — Is that you, Marie? - Yes, it's me!
- Tu travailles avec lui ? — Do you work with him?
- Moi, j'adore le café. Et toi ? — Me, I love coffee. And you?
- Ce soir, on mange chez nous ou chez eux ? — Tonight, are we eating at our place or at theirs?
SUBJECT RULE: a stressed pronoun can't be the verb's subject alone, it must double a subject pronoun: Moi, je parle (Me, I speak), never 'Moi parle'
LUI HAS TWO JOBS: here it means only 'him' (stressed pronoun). At A2 you'll meet a different word, also spelled lui, that means 'to him/her' before a verb, don't confuse the two
PRONUNCIATION: eux (them (m.)) sounds like 'deux' without the D
COMMON COMBOS: memorize these as fixed chunks: avec moi (with me), pour toi (for you), chez lui (at his place), sans eux (without them), à côté d'elle (next to her)
- Pour moi, un croissant, s'il vous plaît. — For me, a croissant, please.
- Il habite à côté de chez elle. — He lives next to her place.
- Nous, on est de Lyon. Eux, ils sont de Marseille. — Us, we're from Lyon. Them, they're from Marseille.