In French, à followed by a stressed pronoun can mark ownership, say who is responsible for an action, or name the person an action or judgment relates to. The pronouns are moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, and elles. After a preposition such as à, French uses these forms, not subject forms such as je, tu, or ils.

The pronouns

Subject form	Stressed form	English
je	moi	I, me
tu	toi	you
il	lui	he, him
elle	elle	she, her
nous	nous	we, us
vous	vous	you
ils	eux	they, them
elles	elles	they, them

Use eux for a group of men or a mixed group, and elles for a group made up only of women. The stressed form lui after a preposition means “him”; elle means “her.”

What à adds

The basic sense of à is often “to” or “at,” but the whole phrase does not always translate word for word. In the examples below, the context decides whether à + pronoun means “belongs to,” “is up to,” or “of” someone.

Ownership: “belongs to”

The pattern être à + stressed pronoun shows who owns something. English usually says “is mine,” “is yours,” or “is his,” not the literal “is to me” or “is to him.”

• Ce livre est à moi. “This book is mine.”
• Cette place est à toi. “This seat is yours.”
• La voiture est à lui. “The car is his.”
• Cette idée est à elle, pas à lui. “This idea is hers, not his.”
• Ces clés sont à nous. “These keys are ours.”
• Le choix est à vous. “The choice is yours.”
• Cette maison est à eux. “This house is theirs.”
• Ces sacs sont à elles. “These bags are theirs.”

In C’est à lui, the thing owned may be understood from the context. For example, if someone asks whose coat is on the chair, C’est à lui can mean “It’s his.”

• À qui est ce manteau ? – Il est à lui. “Whose coat is this? – It’s his.”
• Ce téléphone est à moi, pas à toi. “This phone is mine, not yours.”

Responsibility, choice, or turn: “it is up to”

With c’est à + stressed pronoun de + infinitive, the phrase says that someone is responsible for an action or has to choose or act. Here, c’est à lui does not mean that something belongs to him. It means that the task or choice is his to handle.

• C’est à moi de décider. “It’s up to me to decide.”
• C’est à toi de choisir. “It’s up to you to choose.”
• C’est à lui de répondre. “It’s his turn to answer.”
• C’est à elle de parler maintenant. “It’s her turn to speak now.”
• C’est à nous de trouver une solution. “It’s up to us to find a solution.”
• C’est à vous de voir. “It’s for you to decide.”
• C’est à eux de faire le premier pas. “It’s up to them to make the first move.”
• C’est à elles de s’occuper des réservations. “It’s up to them to take care of the bookings.”

Without de + infinitive, c’est à lui can still mean “it’s his turn” or “it’s up to him,” if the situation makes that meaning plain.

• À qui de jouer ? – C’est à lui. “Whose turn is it? – It’s his.”

Judging someone’s action: “kind of someone”

The phrase c’est gentil à + stressed pronoun means “it’s kind of someone.” It often appears with de + infinitive, which says what the person did. The à phrase points to the person being praised; it does not mean “kind to” in the sense of how someone treats another person. French also uses de votre part or de ta part in a similar expression.

• C’est gentil à toi de m’aider. “It’s kind of you to help me.”
• C’est très gentil à vous de nous recevoir. “It’s very kind of you to have us.”
• C’est gentil à lui d’avoir appelé. “It was kind of him to call.”
• C’est très gentil à elle de partager son déjeuner. “It’s very kind of her to share her lunch.”
• C’est gentil à nous de les attendre. “It’s kind of us to wait for them.”
• C’est gentil à eux de nous inviter. “It’s very kind of them to invite us.”
• C’est gentil à elles de proposer leur aide. “It’s kind of them to offer their help.”

The example C’est très gentil à eux is possible when the action is already clear from what was said. More often, speakers name the action with de + infinitive.

The adjective gentil stays masculine singular in these examples because it describes the general situation introduced by ce (“it”). It does not change to match toi, elle, or eux.

To say that a person treats someone kindly, use gentil avec + stressed pronoun instead:

• Il est gentil avec moi. “He is kind to me.”
• Elle est toujours gentille avec eux. “She is always kind to them.”

Other verbs followed by à + pronoun

Some verbs keep à before a person’s stressed pronoun. In these phrases, à can mean “to” or “about,” depending on the verb. Learn the verb and its preposition together; English wording alone does not always show which French form to use.

• Je pense à toi. “I’m thinking of you.”
• Nous tenons à vous. “We care about you.”
• Elle s’intéresse à lui. “She is interested in him.”
• Fais attention à eux. “Watch out for them.”
• Il s’adresse à elle. “He is speaking to her.”

This is different from verbs where lui or leur comes before the verb and replaces à + person. For example:

• Je lui parle. “I’m speaking to him or her.”
• Je pense à lui. “I’m thinking of him.”

The first lui sits before the verb; the second follows the preposition à.

Alternatives

Choose an alternative to match the meaning, not just the English wording.

• For ownership: C’est le mien means “It’s mine”; C’est le tien means “It’s yours.” The ending changes to match the thing owned. The à + pronoun form can name the owner directly, as in C’est à elle (“It’s hers”).
• For praise: C’est gentil de ta part means “That’s kind of you.” C’est gentil à toi de… is also natural, especially when followed by the action.
• For a kind act toward someone: Il est gentil avec elle means “He is kind to her.” This describes how he treats her, unlike C’est gentil à lui de…, which praises something he does.
• For a duty or choice: C’est à lui de décider and Il lui revient de décider can both mean “It’s up to him to decide.” The second is more formal.

Summary

À plus a stressed pronoun is not one fixed phrase with one fixed meaning. In être à moi, it marks ownership. In c’est à moi de…, it marks whose turn, duty, or choice it is. In c’est gentil à toi de…, it names the person whose action is kind. The phrase gentil avec quelqu’un instead describes how someone treats that person. Use the context and the words that follow à to tell these meanings apart.