Personal Pronouns

"Personal pronouns" are words that replace nouns ("pronouns"), and that agree with the grammatical person they replace ("personal").

There are 5 different kinds of personal pronouns in French:

1) Subject:

• "Je": 1st pers. sing. (ex: "Je mange." means "I eat.")
• "Tu": 2nd pers. sing. (ex: "Tu manges." means "You eat.")
• "Il": 3rd pers. sing. masc. (ex: "Il mange." means "He eats.")
• "Elle": 3rd pers. sing. fem. (ex: "Elle mange." means "She eats.")
• "On": 3rd pers. sing. neutral. (ex: "On mange." means "One eats.")
• "Nous": 1st pers. plur. (ex: "Nous mangeons." means "We eat.")
• "Vous": 2nd pers. plur. (ex: "Vous mangez." means "You eat."), or 2nd pers. sing. formal
• "Ils": 3rd pers. plur. masc. (ex: "Ils mangent." means "They eat.")
• "Elles": 3rd pers. plur. fem. (ex: "Elles mangent." means "They eat.")

2) Stressed:

• "Moi": 1st pers. sing. (ex: "Le chien est avec moi." means "The dog is with me.")
• "Toi": 2nd pers. sing. (ex: "Le chien est avec toi." means "The dog is with you.")
• "Lui": 3rd pers. sing. masc. (ex: "Le chien est avec lui." means "The dog is with him.")
• "Elle": 3rd pers. sing. fem. (ex: "Le chien est avec elle." means "The dog is with her.")
• "Soi": 3rd pers. sing. neutral. (ex: "Chacun a un chien à soi." means "Each one has his own dog.")
• "Nous": 1st pers. plur. (ex: "Le chien est avec nous." means "The dog is with us.")
• "Vous": 2nd pers. plur. (ex: "Le chien est avec vous." means "The dog is with you.")
• "Eux": 3rd pers. plur. masc. (ex: "Le chien est avec eux." means "The dog is with them.")
• "Elles": 3rd pers. plur. fem. (ex: "Le chien est avec elles." means "The dog is with them.")

3) Reflexive:

• "me": 1st pers. sing. (ex: "Je me couche." means "I go to bed.")
• "te": 2nd pers. sing. (ex: "Tu te couches." means "You go to bed.")
• "se": 3rd pers. sing. masc. and fem (ex: "Il/Elle se couche." means "He/She goes to bed.")
• "nous": 1st pers. plur. (ex: "Nous nous couchons." means "We go to bed.")
• "vous": 2nd pers. plur. (ex: "Vous vous couchez." means "You go to bed."), or 2nd pers. sing. formal
• "se": 3rd pers. plur. masc. (ex: "Ils/Elles se couchent." means "They go to bed.")

Note: here, the French verb is "se coucher" (to go to bed), which is called a "reflexive verb" as it is preceded by a reflexive pronoun. ("coucher" without the pronoun means "to put to bed/to lay down").

4) Direct object:

• "me" or "m' " (before vowel or mute "h"): 1st pers. sing. (ex: "L'enfant me voit." means "The child sees me.")
• "te" or "t' " (before vowel or mute "h"): 2nd pers. sing. (ex: "L'enfant t'a vu." means "The child saw you.")
• "le" or "l' " (before vowel or mutre "h"): 3rd pers. sing. masc. (ex: "L'enfant le voit." means "The child sees him/it.")
• "la": 3rd pers. sing. fem (ex: "L'enfant la voit." means "The child sees her/it.")
• "nous": 1st pers. plur. (ex: "L'enfant nous voit." means "The child sees us.")
• "vous": 2nd pers. plur. (ex: "L'enfant vous voit." means "The child sees you."), or 2nd pers. sing. formal
• "les": 3rd pers. plur. masc. (ex: "Les cadeaux, ils/elles les donnent aux enfants." means "The presents, they give them to the children.")

5) Indirect object:

• "me": 1st pers. sing. (ex: "L'enfant me parle." means "The child talks to me.")
• "te": 2nd pers. sing. (ex: "L'enfant te parle." means "The child talks to you.")
• "lui": 3rd pers. sing. masc. and fem. (ex: "L'enfant lui parle." means "The child talks to him/her.")
• "nous": 1st pers. plur. (ex: "L'enfant nous parle." means "The child talks to us.")
• "vous": 2nd pers. plur. (ex: "L'enfant vous parle." means "The child talks to you."), or 2nd pers. sing. formal
• "leur": 3rd pers. plur. masc. and fem. (ex: "L'enfant leur parle." means "The child talks to them.")

Note: here, the French verb is "parler à" (to talk to), which is "intrasitive" as it is followed by the preposition "à". ("parler" without the preposition means "to talk").