Learn French: Ils sont toujours avec eux. - They are always with them.

Ils sont toujours avec eux.

They are always with them.

Breakdown of Ils sont toujours avec eux.

être

to be

ils

they (masculine/mixed)

Questions & Answers about Ils sont toujours avec eux.

Why do we use eux for "them" here instead of les?

In French, when a pronoun comes right after a preposition like avec (with), pour (for), or sans (without), you must use a stressed pronoun. Eux is the masculine plural stressed pronoun. You would use les if "them" was a direct object tied to a verb, rather than following a preposition.

Does eux refer to a group of men or women?

Eux is masculine, so it refers to a group of men, or a mixed group of men and women. If "them" meant a group of entirely women, you would use the feminine stressed pronoun elles instead, making the sentence Ils sont toujours avec elles.

Both ils and eux represent a group of people. Can I use them interchangeably?

No. Ils is a subject pronoun, which means it is doing the action (they are the ones who "are"). Eux is a stressed pronoun, used here because it follows the preposition avec. You cannot say avec ils, just like you wouldn't say "with they" in English.

Do you pronounce the "s" at the end of toujours?

Yes, but only because it is followed by a word starting with a vowel (avec). This creates a "liaison," meaning you connect the words by pronouncing the "s" in toujours as a "z" sound. It sounds like "too-zhoor-zah-vek". If the next word started with a consonant, the "s" would be silent.