FRENCH PRONOUNS

By Calixte Wondje, Ph.D.

WELCOME

Welcome to Cachi Academy – Your French Language Advantage for the Professional World.

At Cachi Academy, we specialize in helping professionals master French for real-world success.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur expanding into francophone markets, an executive leading bilingual teams, a diplomat navigating international relations, or a driven professional looking to sharpen your workplace communication, you’re in the right place.

PLAN

• Stressed Pronouns
  • Stressed pronouns : forms and usage
  • Subject-verb agreement with stressed pronouns and other special cases
• Possessive Pronouns
• Demonstrative Pronouns
• Interrogative Pronouns

STRESSED PRONOUNS

Stressed pronouns are used to emphasize a noun or pronoun used as a subject or object, or to replace a noun used as a subject or object.

Stressed pronouns : forms and usage

-Moi, je fais du latin, mais lui, il fait du grec.  I’m taking Latin, but he’s taking Greek.

-Nous, on travaille aujourd’hui. Et toi ?  We’re working today. What about you?

-Je vais à la plage, moi.  I’m going to the beach.

A stressed pronoun may stand alone in answer to a question.

-Qui fait le ménage aujourd’hui? Toi?  Who’s doing the housework today? You?

-Pas moi. Eux.  Not me. They are.

The stressed pronouns are used after c’est and ce sont to identify people.

C’est moi (it’s me); c’est toi (it’s you); c’est lui (it’s him); c’est elle (it’s her); c’est nous (it’s us); c’est vous (it’s you).

But: Ce sont eux (it’s them (masculine – male – plural); ce sont elles (it’s them (feminine – female – plural))

Coloquially one says C’est eux/C’est elles; in the negative, ce n’est pas eux; ce n’est pas elles.

Also used in questions: Qui est-ce? (formal) and C’est qui? (informal).

The stressed pronouns are used after prepositions.

-Tu pars sans elle?  Are you leaving without her?

-Pas du tout. Elle vient chez moi et nous partons ensemble.  Not at all. She is coming to my house and we are leaving together.

The stressed pronouns are also used after ne … que.

Je ne connais que toi à Paris.  You are the only one I know in Paris.

Il n’aime qu’eux.  He likes only them.

The stressed pronoun soi (himself, herself, themselves) is used with indefinite pronouns or to avoid ambiguity.

Chacun pour soi.  Every man (one) for himself.

Il ne faut pas parler toujours de lui.  One shouldn’t talk about him all the time.

Il ne faut pas parler toujours de soi. One shouldn’t talk about oneself all the time.

Subject-verb agreement with stressed pronouns and other special cases

After the phrase c’est + stressed pronoun + qui, the verb agrees with the stressed pronoun.

-C’est toi qui t’en vas?  Are you the one who is leaving?

-Non. C’est moi qui suis de garde.  No. I’m the one who is on duty.

-Ce sont eux qui partent.  They’re the ones who are leaving.

-C’est vous qui apprenez le japonais?  Are you the ones who are studying Japanese?

-Non. C’est nous qui étudions le russe. No. We are the ones who are studying Russian.

Compound subjects linked by et or ou or ni … ni … are usually followed by a third person plural verb.

When the subject is linked by ni … ni … , ne precedes the verb.

L’argent ou l’influence sont utiles.  Money or influence is useful.

Ni l’un ni l’autre ne viendront nous voir.  Neither one will come to see us.

However, the phrase l’un ou l’autre (one or the other) is followed by a singular verb.

L’un ou l’autre viendra nous voir.  One or the other will come to see us.

The third person plural is used after expressions of quantity, such as beaucoup, la plupart, trop, combien, une foule, une multitude.

But the singular is used after la foule de.

Beaucoup (de tourists) visitant la ville.  Many (tourists) visit the city.

Une foule d’étudiants sont allés voir le directeur.  A crowd of students went to see the director.

La foule d’étudiants a été reçue par lui.  The crowd of students was received by him.

After approximate numbers ending in –aine and fractions, either the singular or the plural is used.

Une vingtaine d’ingénieurs travaille/travaillent ici.  About twenty engineers work here.

La moitié des ingénieurs arrive/arrivent à l’heure.  Half of the engineers arrive on time.

POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS

The English possessive pronouns are: mine, yours, hers, ours, theirs. Those forms are used to replace a possessive adjective and noun.

The French possessive pronouns consist of the definite article and a special possessive form.

A possessive pronoun agrees in gender and number with the noun it replaces.

Possessive Pronouns

Le sien, la sienne, les siens, les siennes may mean: his, hers, or its, depending on the owner.

Moi, j’ai ma calculatrice, mais Pierre n’a pas la sienne.  I have my calculator, but Pierre doesn’t have his.

Nous aimons notre quartier, mais elle préfère le sien.  We like our neighborhood, but she prefers hers.

The articles le and des of the possessive pronouns contract with à and de.

-Tu penses à mon problème?  Are you thinking about my problem?

-Non. Je pense au mien.  No, I’m thinking about mine.

-Elle se souvient de nos idées?  Does she remember our ideas?

-Non. Elle se souvient des siennes.  No. She remembers hers.

DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS

French demonstrative pronouns (English: this one; that one; the one; these; those; the ones) agree with the noun they refer to.

-ci or –là can be added  to the noun to distinguish between this/that and these/those.

-Quel logiciel recommandez-vous?  Which software package do you recommend?

-Celui-ci est plus utile que celui-là. This one is more useful than that one.

-Quelle est la difference entre les imprimantes?  What is the difference between these printers?

-Celles-ci sont plus chères que celles-là.  These are more expensive than those.

Demonstrative pronoun + -ci and demonstrative pronoun + -là are also used to mean the latter ad the former, respectively. The pronouns agree with the nouns they refer to.  In French, the latter (-ci) precedes the former (-là).

L’industrie et l’agriculture sont importantes en France. Celle-ci emploie moins d’ouvriers que celle-là.

Industry and agriculture are important in France. The latter employs fewer workers than the former.

A demonstrative pronoun may be followed by the relative pronoun qui or que to mean the one(s). The demonstrative pronoun may also be followed by de to signal possession.

Quel livre a-t-il pris?  Celui qui était sur la chaise?  Which book did he take? The one that was on the chair?

Oui, c’était celui qu’il cherchait.  Yes. That was the one that he was looking for.

Mais c’était celui de mon frère.  But it was my brother’s.

J’ai lu les revues françaises; celles qui étaient sur votre bureau.  I read the French magazines; the ones that were on your desk.

Celles de la nouvelle étudiante française.  The new French student’s?

Oui. Celle qu’elle a apportées de France.  Yes. The ones that she brought from France.

The pronoun ceci (this) and cela (that) refer to situations rather than to specific nouns. In modern French, cela (or ça in spoken language) tends to be used instead of ceci.

Et avec ceci?  Anything else?

Cela suffit, merci.  That’s enough, thank you.

Il a perdu son travail. C’est dur, ça.  He lost his job. That’s a very difficult situation.

Oui, mais c’est ça la vie!  Yes, but that’s life.

INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS

French interrogative pronouns agree in gender and number with the noun they refer to.

Un de nos élèves est tombé malade.  One of our student got sick.

Lequel?  Which one?

Mon frère travaille dans une banque.  My brother works in a bank.

Dans laquelle?  In which one?

Il y a deux robes qui sont pour toi.  There are two dresses which are for you. Lesquelles?  Which ones?

The prepositions à and de contract whit the interrogative pronoun.

Nous allons à un pays étranger.  We are going to a foreign country.

Auquel?  To which one?

J’ai besoin de ces journaux.  I need those newspapers.

Desquels? Il y en a tant.  Which ones? There are so many.

The following pronouns are used for who, whom in questions:

Qui or qui est-ce qui  who (subject)

Qui  whom (object of verb, requires inversion of subject of the verb)

Qui sort?  Who’s going out?

Qui cherchez-vous?  Whom are you looking for?

Qui as object may be replaced by Qui est-ce que without inversion.

Qui est-ce que vous cherchez? Whom are you looking for?

The interrogative pronoun what as object of the verb is rendered either Que (with inversion) or Qu’est-ce que (without inversion).

Que voulez-vous?  What do you want?

Qu’est-ce que vous voulez?  What do you want?

What as subject of the sentence is rendered Qu’est-ce qui (without inversion).

Qu’est-ce qui te fait mal?  What heurts you?

Both Qui and Qui est-ce que can be used after prepositions. Que becomes quoi after prepositions, qu’est-ce que becomes quoi est-ce que.

À qui pensez-vous?  About whom are you thinking?

À qui est-ce que vous pensez? About whom are you thinking?

De quoi avez-vous besoin?  What do you need?

De quoi est-ce que vous avez besoin?  What do you need?

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS LESSON!!!

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