Still not sure how to distinguish the use of these two. Any help?
Elles-meme, Eux-même
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Matthew G.Kwiziq community member
Elles-meme, Eux-même
This question relates to:French lesson "Using [French stress pronouns] + même(s) to express "myself/yourself/etc" in French"
Asked 4 years ago
Hi Matthew,
The lesson says -
eux-mêmes = themselves ( male or mixed group)
elles-mêmes = themselves ( female group only)
Here are a few examples =
Le lave-vaisselle étant en panne, Martine et Nicole ont fait la vaisselle elles-mêmes = The dishwasher having broken down, Martine and Nicole did the dishes themselves
Le lave vaisselle étant en panne, Jacob et Nicole ont fait la vaisselle eux-mêmes = The dishwasher having broken down, Jacob and Nicole did the dishes themselves
Hope this is clearer now ...
Maarten K. Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
The lesson covers the use of «elles-mêmes» when 'themselves' is referring to ONLY females. If there is one or more males included in the group of people being referenced, no matter what size the group, then «eux-mêmes» is used. There are other nuances and details covering some modern usage, and 'things' other than people, and I am not sure if you were looking for some of that usage that is not covered in the lesson?
Matthew G. asked:
Elles-meme, Eux-même
Still not sure how to distinguish the use of these two. Any help?
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