Me in French: moi, me and the other French pronouns

Me in French is moi or me, and the sentence decides which one you need. This page gives both, then the words for she, we and they, and the stressed forms that catch English speakers out. To practise the sounds, see French pronunciation practice. For the verbs that follow these pronouns, see How to conjugate French verbs. For another small word that works differently from English, see Yes in French.

How do you say me in French?

You say moi or me. French has two sets of pronouns, and the Académie française says the choice between moi and the unstressed forms je and me depends on the function and position of the pronoun in the sentence [1].

Use moi in these cases, all from the Académie’s entry [1]:

• A short answer with no verb. “Qui veut nous accompagner ? – Moi.” (Who wants to come with us? – Me.)
• After a preposition. Venez avec moi (come with me), Cela s’est fait sans moi, Chez moi.
• After an affirmative command. Croyez-moi, Dites-moi la vérité, Écoutez-moi bien.
• In a comparison. Il est aussi grand, plus grand que moi.
• With c’est. C’est moi.
• For emphasis. Moi, je prétends le contraire.

Use me before the verb. The OQLF’s table of object pronouns lists me as both the direct and the indirect form for the first person singular [9]. A negative command also uses me, not moi. The Académie’s examples are Ne me grondez pas and Ne me parlez plus [1].

Before en or y, me is shortened to m’. The OQLF gives Donnez-m’en un kilo and Fais-m’y penser, and warns against saying Donnez-moi-z-en [11].

What are the French pronouns?

French pronouns come in three families: subject (who does the action), object (who receives it) and stressed (for emphasis, after prepositions and on their own). The OQLF’s dictionary entry says personal pronouns take different forms depending on the person, the number, the function in the sentence and, in the third person, the gender [10].

The object column also holds the pronoun le for him or it, listed by the OQLF as the direct form in the third person singular [9]. Read the table by row: each person has one subject form, one or two object forms and one stressed form. Only some forms change. Nous and vous are the same in all three families [6][8].

How do you say she in French?

She in French is elle. Larousse describes elle and elles as the feminine personal pronouns of the third person, and its example is “Elle n’est pas là.” [5]. The masculine is il. The Académie française says il and ils are used only as subjects, and that as objects French uses le, lui, eux, leur, se or soi [2].

Elle does not change when it is stressed. The OQLF’s example is Elle-même en aurait fait autant pour toi (she herself would have done as much for you) [8]. The masculine stressed form is not il but lui, which is why Elle est plus raisonnable que lui uses lui at the end [4].

The Académie says il and ils name people or things that the conversation is about, with the example “J’ai lu cet ouvrage, il est fort intéressant.” (I read this work, it is very interesting.) [2]. A feminine noun takes elle in the same way.

How do you say we in French?

We in French is nous. Larousse defines it as the first person plural pronoun for both genders, and gives these examples: Nous partons (we leave), Il nous voit (he sees us), Venez avec nous (come with us) and C’est nous (it is us) [6]. The same form is subject, object and stressed form.

Nous also repeats itself for emphasis. Larousse gives Nous, nous restons [6]. It adds that in careful writing you say nous, nous n’en savons rien, while repeating nous with on, as in nous, on n’en sait rien, belongs to relaxed speech [6].

Adjectives and participles agree with who is speaking. The Académie gives Nous sommes vêtues de belles robes, with a feminine plural ending [7].

How do you say they in French?

They in French is ils for a group of men or a mixed group, and elles for a group of women. The Académie says ils can stand for nouns of different genders, with the example “Le directeur et sa femme ont écrit qu’ils ne pourraient venir.” [2].

For the stressed form of ils, use eux [3]. The Académie’s examples show the main uses [3]:

• Alone as a subject. Nous irons à pied et eux prendront le train.
• For emphasis. Ils ne sont jamais là, eux.
• After a preposition. Nous irons bientôt chez eux, Arrangez-vous avec eux, Adressez-vous à eux.

The Académie adds that eux is ordinarily used for people, more rarely for animals. For things, French uses en instead of “de eux” and y instead of “à eux” [3]. The stressed form of elles is elles, and the object forms are les and leur [3][9].

How do you say me too in French?

Me too in French is moi aussi. The Académie’s example is “Vous jouez du piano ? Moi aussi.” [1]. The same pattern works with other stressed pronouns: Eux aussi viendront (they too will come) [3], and the OQLF writes Vous aussi pouvez contribuer à un monde meilleur [8].

After a negative statement, the Académie uses non plus: “Il ne les connaît pas, et moi non plus.” [1]. It also gives Eux non plus n’obtiendront rien [3]. So the examples pair aussi with a positive statement and non plus with a negative one.

The OQLF notes that when a stressed pronoun is followed by seul, même or aussi, the subject pronoun disappears and there is no comma: Toi seul connais la réponse [8]. With a comma, the stressed pronoun adds emphasis and the subject pronoun stays: Moi, j’aime bien me promener [8].

How do you put pronouns in the right order in a command?

In a positive command with two object pronouns, the direct object goes straight after the verb and the indirect one follows, joined by hyphens. The OQLF’s examples are Rendez-le-nous, Adresse-la-leur and Dites-le-moi le plus tôt possible [11].

It says people sometimes swap the order, mostly in speech, but that it is better to avoid it. The correct form is Donne-le-moi, not Donne-moi-le [11]. In a negative command both pronouns go before the verb and the hyphens disappear, as in Ne me le dis pas [11]. For more practice, see French grammar exercises.

Common mistakes

• Saying “je” for a one-word answer. To “Qui veut venir ?” the answer is Moi, not Je [1].
• Using lui for she. Lui is the stressed form of il. The feminine is elle [4].
• Putting moi before the verb in a negative command. The Académie gives Ne me parlez plus, with me [1].
• Swapping the order in a command. Say Donne-le-moi, not Donne-moi-le [11].
• Saying “Donnez-moi-z-en”. Before en and y, the OQLF uses the shortened form: Donnez-m’en [11].
• Forgetting agreement after nous. A woman who says we are dressed writes vêtues [7].
• Relying on a grammar page from a blog, including this one. Dictionaries and language offices update their entries. Compare each page’s edition and date with the date at the top of this page.

See also: what does it mean in French.

See also: my name is in French.

See also: French possessive adjectives.

See also: reflexive verbs in French and the French imperative.

Sources