Topic first, then the comment
In left dislocation (dislocation à gauche) you pull a phrase out in front of the sentence and pick it up again inside with a pronoun. The front holds the topic, what you are talking about. The rest is what you say about it. The content stays the same; only the weighting changes.
Same statement, two weightings
Unmarked
Je prends toujours le café au bar.
I always have my coffee at the counter.
Je n'ai pas vu Marie.
I haven't seen Marie.
Left-dislocated
Le café, je le prends toujours au bar.
Coffee, I always have at the counter.
Marie, je ne l'ai pas vue.
Marie? I haven't seen her.
When to use left dislocation
Changing topic: you steer the conversation to something new or come back to something.
Contrast: two topics are set side by side, each with its own comment.
Picking up: you take up what the other person just mentioned and respond to it.
English can front a topic too, but it usually leaves a gap (Coffee I always have at the counter) or uses as for. A pronoun inside the sentence (Coffee, I always have it at the counter) sounds very casual in English. In French the pronoun is required and sounds completely normal in conversation.
The right pronoun
The pronoun inside the sentence shows the topic's role. It depends on the verb: a verb with à needs lui or y, a verb with de needs en. In conversation the preposition itself usually disappears from the front.
Topic and pronoun
| Role in the sentence | Pronoun | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | il, elle, ils, elles | Ton collègue, il exagère un peu. |
| definite direct object | le, la, les | Ces photos, je les ai prises à Lisbonne. |
| indefinite quantity | en | Des amis, il en a partout. |
| person with à | lui, leur | Mon frère, je lui ai téléphoné hier. |
| thing with à | y | Les vacances, j'y pense déjà. |
| thing with de | en | Ce problème, on en parle demain. |
When the resuming le, la, les comes before avoir, the past participle agrees: Marie, je l'ai vue. Ces photos, je les ai prises.
ça and c'est for things in general
If you mean a thing in general rather than a specific one, you usually pick the topic up with ça or c'est. After c'est the adjective stays masculine singular, whatever noun stands in front.
Specific or general?
Specific: le, il, elle
Ce gâteau, je l'adore.
I love this cake.
Les enfants, ils sont fatigués ce soir.
The kids are tired tonight.
General: ça, c'est
Le chocolat, j'adore ça.
I love chocolate.
Les enfants, c'est fatigant.
Kids are exhausting.
La politique, c'est compliqué.
Politics is complicated.
An infinitive or a whole idea can be fronted the same way: Partir maintenant, ce serait idiot.
Contrast and several topics
Two left-dislocated sentences in a row set topics against each other. In casual speech you sometimes even get two topics up front, usually a stressed pronoun and a noun. More than two quickly gets confusing.
Le rouge, je l'aime bien. Le blanc, beaucoup moins.
Red wine I quite like. White, much less.
Two topics in contrast.
Moi, ma voiture, je ne la prête à personne.
Me, I never lend my car to anyone.
Two topics up front, casual.
Spoken and written
Left dislocation belongs in conversation and relaxed writing. In formal texts you announce a topic with quant à or en ce qui concerne, or you keep the unmarked sentence.
Same topic, two registers
Spoken
Le budget, on le vote en mars.
The budget, we vote on in March.
Written
Quant au budget, il sera voté en mars.
As for the budget, it will be voted on in March.
