pronoun

eux

them · they

Pronom utilisé pour désigner plusieurs personnes déjà mentionnées ou connues dans la conversation.

Definition & meaning

Eux is the French masculine plural stressed pronoun (also known as a disjunctive or tonic pronoun). It translates to "them" in English. It is used to refer to a group of people or things that are either all masculine or a mix of masculine and feminine.

It is used in several specific grammatical contexts:

After a preposition: For example, "avec eux" (with them) or "chez eux" (at their house).
For emphasis: For example, "Eux, ils sont d'accord" (They, they agree).
After the verb "être" in the expression "c'est": For example, "C'est eux" (It is them).
In compound subjects or objects: For example, "Lui et eux" (He and them).
In comparisons: For example, "plus grand qu'eux" (taller than them).

Grammar & Word origin

Grammatically, eux serves as the stressed counterpart to the third-person masculine plural subject pronoun ils. While ils is used as the subject performing an action, eux is used when the pronoun is separated from the verb or needs extra weight in the sentence.

The word originates from the Latin illos, which is the accusative masculine plural form of the demonstrative pronoun ille (that one/he). Over time, the "l" sounds were vocalized in Old French, eventually leading to the modern spelling and pronunciation.

Synonyms & antonyms

Because eux is a functional grammatical word (a pronoun), it does not have synonyms in the traditional sense of having the same meaning. However, it is closely related to other third-person plural pronouns: