Un 5.4
Disjunctive Pronouns
Disjunctive pronouns are a common part of French, particularly when speaking. They can be used on their own, and in other specific contexts.
Disjunctive Pronouns – Les pronoms disjoints
Disjunctive pronouns are pronouns used in isolation (i.e. on their own).
e.g.
|
-Who’s hungry? –Me! |
(and not ‘I’, although showing that ‘I am hungry’) |
In French, disjunctive pronouns serve several purposes. They can be used in isolation. They can be used to emphasise a subject, often to highlight a difference with another, already-mentioned subject. In this usage, the corresponding subject is typically also used, as per a normal sentence. When used in this way, the disjunctive pronoun receives its own rising intonation pattern.
e.g.
|
-Qui a faim ? –Moi ! |
-Who’s hungry? -Me! |
|
Les élèves sont petits. Lui, il est grand. |
The students are small. But him, on the other hand, he’s tall. |
|
Tu travailles bien, toi. |
You’re really working well. |
|
Corresponding Subject Pronoun |
Disjunctive Pronoun |
Corresponding Subject Pronoun |
Disjunctive Pronoun |
|
je |
moi |
nous on |
nous |
|
tu |
toi |
vous |
vous |
|
il elle
|
lui elle *soi |
ils elles |
eux elles |
Disjunctive pronouns can be used after most prepositions.
e.g.
|
Il parle avec moi. |
He talks with me. / He’s talking with me. |
|
La fête est chez eux. |
The party’s at their house. |
Disjunctive pronouns are also needed with certain verbs and verbal constructs, such as ‘être’, ‘être à’ and ‘penser à’.
e.g.
|
C’est moi ! |
It’s me! |
|
Le stylo est à lui. |
The pen’s his. |
|
Je pense à toi. |
(I’m) thinking of you. |
Disjunctive pronouns can be used to clear up any possible confusions or ambiguities (e.g. with possessive adjectives), particularly for the 3rd person.
e.g.
|
L’étudiante a son cahier à elle. |
The student has her own notebook. |
|
Les professeurs utilisent leurs ordinateurs à eux. |
The professors are using their own computers. |
The disjunctive pronoun ‘soi’ is used with impersonal constructions. For the subject pronoun ‘on’, the disjunctive pronoun ‘nous’ is used when referring to the idea of ‘we’.
e.g.
|
Chacun pour soi. |
Everyone for themselves. |
|
Nous, on parle français. |
Well, we speak French. |
