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I came about the French word "eux". I'm a bit confused of the proper usage of the word. Is it "them" or "they", or do the usages not correspond? When is eux used in French?

Stéphane Gimenez
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Simplicity
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    it is a "tonic pronoun," which English doesn't have. Think of it as the English word "them," but heavily emphasized. If you are just looking to translate to English, you can safely say "them." However, not all instances of English "them" correspond to French "Eux." This link may help http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_personal_pronouns#Disjunctive_pronouns – hunter Jul 15 '14 at 13:23
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    Please tag your question properly. The tag france is for French as spoken in France as opposed to other countries, which this question is not about. Quoting what @Gilles told you a few days ago. – None Jul 15 '14 at 16:05
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    When you ask about the meaning of a word, please quote the sentence where you have met the word. Please take time to read the Help center. – None Jul 15 '14 at 16:11
  • Another helpful link to learn about French pronouns. – None Jul 15 '14 at 16:12

1 Answers1

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French language is always tricky, so I'll say, both and more :)

If "Eux" is used as a subject, it's they. Ex: "Je voulais venir, mais eux ne voulaient pas" => "I wanted to come, but they didn't".

If it is used to induce a possession, it's their. Ex: "Je vais chez eux" => "I'm going to their house"

Finally, you can also find it used as an object, and then it's them. Ex : "Tu les as vus?" => "Have you seen them?"

Flugueubluck
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    je pense qu'il faut dire "je voulais venir, mais eux, ils ne voulaient pas..." – hunter Jul 15 '14 at 13:20
  • Il manquait une virgule en effet, mais je ne suis pas sûr qu'il soit obligatoire de rajouter un sujet supplémentaire, à moins de vouloir ajouter une redondance. – Flugueubluck Jul 15 '14 at 13:22
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    Les deux sont possibles, mais sans la répétition du sujet il n'y a pas de deuxième virgule : "Je voulais venir, mais eux ne voulaient pas". – Quentin Jul 15 '14 at 14:03
  • Au temps pour moi je ré-edit! Merci de l'info – Flugueubluck Jul 15 '14 at 14:06
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    Ce n'est pas eux qui introduit la possession mais chez dans cette phrase. Eux does not induce possession, in this sentence chez does. – None Jul 15 '14 at 15:58
  • @hunter: à la rigueur, mais encore très lourd. « Je voulais venir, eux pas », « Je voulais venir, eux non » ou « je voulais venir, pas eux » – None Jul 15 '14 at 16:20
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    Translating to English is certainly not a way to explain the use of eux. – Stéphane Gimenez Jul 15 '14 at 21:14