Why is Lui used in the following sentence?

Judy M.B1Kwiziq community member

Why is Lui used in the following sentence?

I don't understand the use of lui rather than il in this sentence. Paul est mon meilleur ami. Lui, seul comprend mes problèmes.

This question relates to:French lesson "Using lui/leur = him or her/them (French Indirect Object Pronouns)"

Asked 7 years ago

Like0Answer1

AurélieNative French expert teacher in Kwiziq

Bonjour Judy ! In this sentence, "lui" is the disjunctive/stress pronoun (moi, toi, elle, lui...) rather than the indirect object pronoun. It is usually used for emphasis, but this is the specific case when you use it in conjonction with "seul" to express "only he" : "Lui seul me comprend." (Only he understands me.) "Moi seul la comprend." (Only I understand her.) "Elle seule t'écoute." (Only she listens to you.) etc I hope that's helpful! À bientôt !

Like27 years ago

Judy M. asked:

Why is Lui used in the following sentence?

I don't understand the use of lui rather than il in this sentence. Paul est mon meilleur ami. Lui, seul comprend mes problèmes.

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