Module 10 – Mode, forme, et santé
Troisième partie: Les passe-temps, la grammaire
In this section:
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Disjunctive pronouns
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Le verbe pouvoir
Disjunctive Pronouns
Forms
Disjunctive pronouns (also known as tonic or stressed pronouns) refer to people whose names have already been mentioned or whose identity is obvious from context. They are used in a variety of situations in French, most often in short answers without verbs, for emphasis, or for contrast with subject pronouns. Here are all the disjunctive pronouns:
| disjunctive pronouns | |
| moi (I, me) | nous (we, us) |
| toi (you) | vous (you) |
| lui (he, him) elle (she, her) soi (one) |
eux (they, them; masc.) elles (they, them; fem.) |
Uses
| A. after prepositions | C’est samedi soir: | It’s Saturday night: | ||
| Elle adore son . Elle ne peut pas vivre sans lui. Elle vit pour lui. Elle veut tout faire pour lui. | She loves her dog. She can’t live without him. She lives for him. She wants to do everything for him. | |||
| B. in short answers or exclamations when no verb is expressed |
Qui sort avec Marie? |
Who is going out with Marie? |
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C. with ni. . . ni, ne. . . que |
Je ne sort qu’avec toi . |
I love only go out with you
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| D. in a compound subject or object | Nathan et moi, nous aimons aller en boîte. | Nathan and I, we like to go clubbing. | ||
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E. in simple agreements or disagreements when no verb is expressed |
Moi aussi!
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Me too! Not me! |
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| F. for emphasis | Eux, ils s’amusent, mais vous, vous ne sortez jamais. | Those guys, they have fun, but you, you never go out. | ||
| G. after c’est or ce sont | C’est moi le plus nul. | I’m the biggest loser. | ||
| H. with -même, to mean’-self’ | Arrête de t’apitoyer sur toi-même! | Stop pitying yourself! | ||
| I. in comparisons | Il n’y a personne qui soit plus pitoyable que moi! | There is nobody who is more pitiful than me. |
Non-binary options for disjunctive pronouns:
- Singular: ellui, iel, luel, luiel, soi
- Plural: elleux, euxelles, euxes, iels
Le verbe pouvoir
Pouvoir, vouloir and devoir are called modal verbs. When used with infinitives, they act as auxiliary (“helping”) verbs or semi-auxiliaries.
Pouvoir expresses the physical ability or permission to do something ie possibility (can do!)
It is also an irregular verb with formation similar to vouloir. The “boot” formation is also evident, meaning the spelling changes in the “nous” and “vous” forms.
| pouvoir ‘to be able, be permitted to’ | |
| je peux | nous pouvons |
| tu peux | vous pouvez |
| il/elle/iel/on peut | ils/elles/iels peuvent |
| past participle: pu | |
| pouvoir in the imparfait | |
| je pouvais | nous pouvions |
| tu pouvais | vous pouviez |
| il/elle/iel/on pouvait | ils/elles/iels pouvaient |
Pouvoir may be followed by an infinitive construction or may stand alone.
Example: Je peux marcher à l’école. Here, marcher is the infinitive!
As in English, pouvoir is used to give or to ask permission translated by the English “may”
Exemple: Est-ce que je peux m’asseoir?, May I sit down?
You will often hear favors asked using “pouvoir”.
Exemple: Tu peux m’apporter ce livre ? (familier) or Peux-tu m’apporter ce livre ? (formel)
It is important not to confuse the roles of pouvoir and savoir in French. Savoir expresses “to know how” whereas pouvoir expresses “to be able to.”
