A pronoun is a word that is used to replace a noun (a person, place, thing, idea, or quality). Pronouns allow for fluidity by eliminating the need to constantly repeat the same noun in a sentence.
A subject pronoun replaces a subject noun (the noun performing the action of the verb). Just as in English, French subject pronouns are given a person and a number (singular or plural), as shown in Table 1:
Je
Unlike the English pronoun “I,” the pronoun je is capitalized only when it begins a sentence. Je becomes j’ before a vowel or vowel sound ( y and unaspirated h — meaning that no puff of air is emitted when producing the h sound):
- J’adore le français. (I love French.)
- Voilà où j’habite. (There’s where I live.)
Tu
Tu is used to address one friend, relative, child, or pet and is referred to as the familiar form of “you.” The u from tu is never dropped for purposes of elision: Tu es mon meilleur ami. (You are my best friend.)
Vous
Vous is used in the singular to show respect to an older person or when speaking to a stranger or someone you do not know very well. Vous is the polite or formal form of “you:” Vous êtes un patron très respecté. (You are a very respected boss.)
In addition, vous is always used when speaking to more than one person, regardless of the degree of familiarity.
Il and elle
Il (he) and elle (she) may refer to a person or to a thing (it):
- L’homme arrive. (The man arrives.) Il arrive. (He arrives.)
- Le colis arrive. (The package arrives.) Il arrive. (It arrives.)
- La dame arrive. (The lady arrives.) Elle arrive. (She arrives.)
- La lettre arrive. (The letter arrives.) Elle arrive. (It arrives.)
On
On refers to an indefinite person: you, we, they, or people in general. On is often used in place of nous, such as in the following: on part (we’re leaving).
Ils and elles
Ils refers to more than one male or to a combined group of males and females, despite the number of each gender present. Elles refers only to a group of females.
- Anne et Luc partent. (Ann and Luke leave.) Ils partent. (They leave.)
- Anne et Marie partent. (Ann and Marie leave.) Elles partent. (They leave.)
Ce
The pronoun ce (it, he, she, this, that, these, those), spelled c’ before a vowel, is most frequently used with the verb être (to be): c’est (it is) or ce sont (they are). Ce replaces il, elle, ils, and elles as the subject of the sentence in the following constructions:
-
Before a modified noun: C’est un bon avocat. (He’s a good lawyer.)
But, when unmodified, the following is correct: Il est avocat. (He’s a lawyer.)
- Before a name: C’est Jean. (It’s John.)
- Before a pronoun: C’est moi. (It is me.)
- Before a superlative: C’est le plus grand. (It’s the biggest.)
- In dates: C’est le dix mars.(It’s March 10th.)
- Before a masculine singular adjective that refers to a previously mentioned idea or action: Il est important. (He is important.) C’est évident. (That’s obvious).
- Before an adjective + à + infinitive (the form of any verb before it is conjugated): C’est bon à savoir. (That’s good to know.)
Use il in the following constructions:
- To express the hour of the day: Il est deux heures. (It’s 2 o’clock.)
- With an adjective + de + infinitive: Il est bon de manger. (It’s good to eat.)
- With an adjective before que: Il est important que je travaille. (It is important that I work.)
Contents
- FAQs
- What are the examples of subject pronouns in French?
- What are the 5 subject pronouns in French?
- Which French subject pronoun means?
- How do you write a subject pronoun in French?
- What are the 9 French pronouns?
- What are the 10 subject pronouns in French?
- What are subject pronouns?
- How many French subject pronouns are there?
- French Subject Pronouns – je, tu, il, elle, nous, vous, ils, elles
- French Subject Pronouns – French Today
- Subject Pronouns – French I – Cliffs Notes
- 2.3 Subject Pronouns – Introduction to French
- How To Use French Subject (Personal) Pronouns
- Je tu il elle on vous – Singular French Subject Pronouns
- Subject pronouns | Frantastique – Gymglish
FAQs
What are the examples of subject pronouns in French?
The list of French subject pronouns is je (j’), tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils, elles
What are the 5 subject pronouns in French?
French Subject Pronouns – je, tu, il, elle, nous, vous, ils, elles – Lawless French Grammar.
Which French subject pronoun means?
In French, il (meaning he, it) and elle (meaning she, it) are used to talk about a thing, as well as about a person or an animal. You use il for masculine nouns and elle for feminine nouns.
How do you write a subject pronoun in French?
me, te, lui, nous, vous, leur
pronouns.
What are the 9 French pronouns?
The list of French subject pronoun is: Je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils, elles (s is silent).
What are the 10 subject pronouns in French?
Subject pronouns are those pronouns that perform the action in a sentence. They are I, you, he, she, we, they, and who. Any noun performing the main action in the sentence, like these pronouns, is a subject and is categorized as subjective case (nominative case).
What are subject pronouns?
Subject pronouns
A pronoun replaces a noun in a sentence. Often used to prevent repeating the noun. French has six different types of subject pronouns: the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person singular and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person plural.
How many French subject pronouns are there?
Subject pronouns are those pronouns that perform the action in a sentence. They are I, you, he, she, we, they, and who.
French Subject Pronouns – je, tu, il, elle, nous, vous, ils, elles
Subject PronounsPronoms sujetsSubject pronouns are a type of personal pronoun that indicate who or what is performing the action of a verb.Par exemple…Je suis prêt. I‘m ready.Nous devons partir. We need to leave.Characteristics of subject pronounsServe as the subject of verbs.May be singular or plural, masculine or feminine to agree with the noun (subject) they replace.French subject pronounsThe different subject pronouns are determined by number and person.Number is divided into “singular” (one) and “plural” (more than one).Person includes “first person” (the speaker), “second person” (the listener), and “third person” (neither the speaker nor the listener).Thus, with two numbers and three persons, there are a total of six grammatical persons, each of which has at least one French subject pronoun:singular plural1st personje*I nouswe2nd persontuyou vousyou3rd personilhe, it ilstheyelleshe, it ellestheyonone, we, they * NotesJe is only capitalized at the beginning of a sentence.Je contracts to j’ in front of a vowel or mute h. (Informally, it also contracts in front of consonants – learn more.)Par exemple…J’aime le chocolat. I like chocolate.Oui, j’aime le chocolat. Yes, I like chocolate.In addition to “he” and “she,” il and elle mean “it” when they replace a noun of that gender, so le livre (the book) becomes il and la pomme (the apple) becomes elle.Ils is used for men, masculine nouns, and mixed gender groups – it is the default when referring to plural groups.Elles can be used only for a group of women and/or feminine nouns. À noter : There are two French words for “you”: learn more.On is a special case. It can mean “you,” “they,” or people in general, and it can also be an informal replacement for “we.” Regardless of meaning, on is always conjugated as a third person singular – learn more. As in English, plural pronouns replace two or more singular pronouns: you and I = we (nous), you and he = you (vous), etc. But when you actually want to use two singular pronouns – saying something like “you and I” as opposed to “we” – French uses stressed pronouns instead. Related lessonsAll about onTu vs vousCompound subjectsAgreement with vousGender-neutral pronounsInformal subject pronounsInversion with jePersonal pronounsThe PronommeurCapitalizationContractionsIntroduction to verb conjugation En españolPronombres sujetos In italianoPronomi soggetto Share / Tweet / Pin Me!
French Subject Pronouns – French Today
French Subject PronounsThe list of French subject pronouns is je (j’), tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils, elles. OK, but what does it mean? What is a subject? The subject is the entity that does the action of the verb. There is an easy way to find the subject of a sentence. First, find the verb. Then ask: “who + verb” or “what + verb”. The answer to that question will be your subject. A subject is a noun or a pronoun. It can be a person, an animal, a thing, a place, an idea… so pretty much any entity! Examples: I paint. Who paints? I paint. “I” is the subject.Camille is teaching French. Who is teaching? Camille is teaching. “Camille” is the subject. What is happening to Camille? What’s happening? What is happening. “What” is the subject (This one was trickier, wasn’t it?) Was freedom won easily? What was won? Freedom was won. “Freedom” is the subject. Finding the subject of the sentence is fun isn’t it? The key is knowing by heart your subject question: “who + verb” or “what + verb”. The answer is the grammatical subject. Now let’s see the pronouns you would use to replace a noun subject. To replace a noun, you use a word called “a pronoun”. What is a Pronoun? A pronoun replaces one or several nouns. When you speak of John, instead of repeating his name over and over, you use the pronoun “he”.John loves Paris. He loves Paris. “Him”, “his” are other kinds of pronouns which could also refer to John. Anne likes him.This book is his. You choose the correct pronoun according to the noun you want to replace and its grammatical value.For example: “he” is used to replace a “masculine singular” noun (one man for example) which is subject of the verb; “him” when it’s an object pronoun; and “his” when it’s a possessive pronoun. Today, we will concentrate on using subject pronouns. First, let’s see what the grammatical term “subject” means. Unique Audio-BasedModern French Level Test 20 Questions to REALLY test your modern French comprehension. All audio-based with full explanations. Completely free, no signup required Let’s Start… 6 French Subject Pronouns – Singular The list of French subject pronouns to replace one single entity is: Je (or j’ + vowel or h) = I Tu = you singular informal Il = it, he Long “eel” soundElle = it, she Short clipped “el” sound On – this one is more difficult to understand. It used to mean “ one “, but nowadays, “on” is used in casual French to say “ we “, instead of the now more formal/written form “ nous” (see below). Here is my article about the pronoun on in French.Vous = you, one person, formal “Vous” versus “tu” is a can of worms… there is a basic rule, and then many exceptions. I suggest you read my article about “Vous” versus “tu” in French – it makes for an interesting read! About “tu”… there is only one form for “tu” and it’s “tu”. “T’” (t apostrophe) is short for “te”, another pronoun. Now… in informal texting, it’s common for people to misspell things and to write them like they sound. So you may see a “t’” where there should really be a “tu”. Don’t write your French essays that way… Your teacher won’t appreciate it! No “It” Subject Pronoun in French There is no “it” form in French. Everything: objects, concepts, animals, people are either a “he” or a “she”. This is a difficult concept for English speakers to grasp at first, and I’ve explained it clearly in this article: gender and number in French. Subject pronouns, their use and pronunciation is explained in depth, with many examples and audio in my beginner French learning method. À Moi Paris Audiobook Method A new approach to learning both traditional and modern French logically structured for English speakers. More Details & Audio Samples 4 French Subject…
Subject Pronouns – French I – Cliffs Notes
Subject Pronouns A pronoun is a word that is used to replace a noun (a person, place, thing, idea, or quality). Pronouns allow for fluidity by eliminating the need to constantly repeat the same noun in a sentence. A subject pronoun replaces a subject noun (the noun performing the action of the verb). Just as in English, French subject pronouns are given a person and a number (singular or plural), as shown in Table 1: Je Unlike the English pronoun “I,” the pronoun je is capitalized only when it begins a sentence. Je becomes j’ before a vowel or vowel sound ( y and unaspirated h — meaning that no puff of air is emitted when producing the h sound): J’adore le français. (I love French.) Voilà où j’habite. (There’s where I live.) Tu Tu is used to address one friend, relative, child, or pet and is referred to as the familiar form of “you.” The u from tu is never dropped for purposes of elision: Tu es mon meilleur ami. (You are my best friend.) Vous Vous is used in the singular to show respect to an older person or when speaking to a stranger or someone you do not know very well. Vous is the polite or formal form of “you:” Vous êtes un patron très respecté. (You are a very respected boss.) In addition, vous is always used when speaking to more than one person, regardless of the degree of familiarity. Il and elle Il (he) and elle (she) may refer to a person or to a thing (it): L’homme arrive. (The man arrives.) Il arrive. (He arrives.) Le colis arrive. (The package arrives.) Il arrive. (It arrives.) La dame arrive. (The lady arrives.) Elle arrive. (She arrives.) La lettre arrive. (The letter arrives.) Elle arrive. (It arrives.) On On refers to an indefinite person: you, we, they, or people in general. On is often used in place of nous, such as in the following: on part (we’re leaving). Ils and elles Ils refers to more than one male or to a combined group of males and females, despite the number of each gender present. Elles refers only to a group of females. Anne et Luc partent. (Ann and Luke leave.) Ils partent. (They leave.) Anne et Marie partent. (Ann and Marie leave.) Elles partent. (They leave.) Ce The pronoun ce (it, he, she, this, that, these, those), spelled c’ before a vowel, is most frequently used with the verb être (to be): c’est (it is) or ce sont (they are). Ce replaces il, elle, ils, and elles as the subject of the sentence in the following constructions: Before a modified noun: C’est un bon avocat. (He’s a good lawyer.) But, when unmodified, the following is correct: Il est avocat. (He’s a lawyer.) Before a name: C’est Jean. (It’s John.) Before a pronoun: C’est moi. (It is me.) Before a superlative: C’est le plus grand. (It’s the biggest.) In dates: C’est le dix mars.(It’s March 10th.) Before a masculine singular adjective that refers to a previously mentioned idea or action: Il est important. (He is important.) C’est évident. (That’s obvious). Before an adjective + à + infinitive (the form of any verb before it is conjugated): C’est bon à savoir. (That’s good to know.) Use il in the following constructions:…
2.3 Subject Pronouns – Introduction to French
2.3 Subject Pronouns – Introduction to French A subject pronoun stands for the subject in a sentence. In French, subject pronouns indicate number (singular or plural) and gender (masculine or feminine). Singular Pronouns Person French English 1st person Je I 2nd person Tu You 3rd person Il Elle On He/it She/it One/we (colloquial) Plural Pronouns Person French English 1st person Nous We 2nd person Vous You 3rd person Ils Elles They (masculine) They (feminine) Important Notes In French, je (I) is not capitalized, except at the beginning of a sentence. Tu is informal, whereas vous is formal (see Chapter 1). Vous is also the plural form of tu and in this case, it is neither formal nor informal. In French, not only people but also things have gender. That is to say, things are either masculine or feminine. There is no separate pronoun for it. Il is masculine, used for he or masculine it. Elle is feminine, used for she or feminine it. On means one and is used in contexts where English speaker might use you informally. In Canadian English, the subject pronoun one (e.g., “Where does one sit at a hockey game?”) sounds stuffy, but its use is extremely common in French. On is also used in spoken French to mean we. If there is a mix of masculine and feminine people or objects, French always uses the masculine plural. A group of ten women and one man would use the subject pronoun ils. Exercice 5 : Subject Pronouns Identify the French subject in each of the following sentences and give its English equivalent. Modèle: In the sentence “Elle est américaine,” elle is the French subject, and she is its English equivalent. Ils sont professeurs. On mange beaucoup à Noel. Nous sommes étudiants. Elles dansent bien. Il aime Chantal. Tu es jeune. Exercice 6 : More Subject Pronouns Indicate which French subject pronoun you would use to correspond to the subject in each of the following sentences. Modèle: In the sentence “My sister is tall”, the French subject pronoun that corresponds with sister is elle. I like apples. Teachers are often helpful. Are you coming to class today? George and I are going to the movies tonight. My mother is not strict. He eats a lot of protein. Maria, Caroline, Christina, and John are in my study group. We speak French in class. This section includes content derived from Liberté, originally released under CC BY-NC-SA, and Tex’s French Grammar, originally released under CC BY 3.0.
>17:34Know how to say “you” or “we” in French? http://LFWA.COM presents the French subject pronouns (je, tu, il, elle, etc.) in Lesson 09 of Alexa's …YouTube · Learn French With Alexa · Jan 24, 20145 key moments in this video
How To Use French Subject (Personal) Pronouns
How To Use French Subject (Personal) Pronouns The French subject (personal) pronouns are: je (I), tu (you singular informal), il, elle, on (he, she, one) nous (we), vous (you formal and plural) and ils, elles (they). A subject pronoun is defined as person who carries out an action on a verb. We’ve included a chart (see bottom of page) that summarizes the French personal pronouns. When formulating sentences, a subject pronoun often starts the sentence. For example, in the sentence, “Je vais à la plage”, the word “je” (I) is the subject (or personal) pronoun. Personal pronouns explained Now let’s learn about the subject pronouns individually and look at some example sentences. 1. Je (I) Je simply means I. In grammatical terms je is called the “first-person singular.” When je is the first word of a sentence it needs to be capitalized. However, unlike English, when je appears in the middle of a sentence it doesn’t need to be capitalized. For example: Je parle français. I speak French. Il ne sait pas quand j’arrive. He doesn’t know when I’m arriving. 2. Tu (you singular and informal) Tu is you singular and informal. In grammatical terms, tu is called the “second-person singular.” This means you use tu when addressing one single individual and not two or more. Familiar (informal) means that you use tu with and individual who you know and are comfortable being around or a child. Do not use tu with people you’ve just met or strangers. For example: Est-ce que tu aimes Paris? Do you like Paris?Tu viens d’où? Where are you from? 3. Il/elle/on (he, she, one) Il means he, elle means she and on can me “one” or we. This line is called the “third-person singular.” Here are some examples of il and elle. C’est Marie. Elle est intelligente. It’s Marie. She’s intelligent. C’est Martin. Il est professeur. It’s Martin. He’s a teacher. Unlike English, tangible objects can be referred to with il and elle. Speed up your learning with the right audio course My friend, Camille, at Frenchtoday.com has helped thousands of students to build a solid base in their French speaking since 1999. She is now offering all of her audio courses at 20% off until September 4th. Click here to learn more! C’est un vélo. Il est bleu. It’s a bike. It’s blue.C’est une pizza. Elle est chaude. It’s a pizza. It’s hot. This page covers the subjec tof c’est vs. il est in detail. The pronoun “on” means one or we. Here are a few quick examples. On mange à 17h00? Shall we eat at 5pm?On va chez toi? Shall we go to your place?En France on parle français. French is spoken in France. Understanding how to use “on” can be a challenge for many students. This page covers subject pronoun on in detail. 4. Nous (we) The subject pronoun nous means we and there’s not much to explain. Grammatically, nous is called the “first-person plural”. For example: Nous commençons le repas à 18h00 ce soir. We’re starting the meal at 6pm tonight.Nous savons où nous…
Je tu il elle on vous – Singular French Subject Pronouns
Introduction on French Subject Pronouns To replace a noun, French uses a word called “a pronoun”. You choose this pronoun according to both the grammatical value of the word it replaces and the meaning of the word it replaces. Anne est au marché. Elle est avec Mary.Anne is at the market. She is with Mary To replace “Anne” in the second sentence, I used “elle” (she). “Elle” is a subject pronoun: it replaces a noun subject of the verb, and it’s a third person singular to match “Anne” which is a person about whom I am speaking, feminine, one person, so “she”. What is a Subject? The subject is the person or thing that does the action of the verb. How do you Find the Subject of a Sentence in French? There is an easy way to find the subject of a sentence, and it’s important in French you learn this “grammatical question” in order to be able to find the subject of a verb without any doubt. First, find the verb. Then ask: “who + verb” or “what + verb”. The answer to that question will be your subject. A subject is a noun (Camille, flower, room…) or a pronoun (I, you, they…). It can be a person, a thing, a place, an idea… Examples: I paint.Who paints?Answer: I paint. “I” is the subject. Camille is teaching French.Who is teaching?Answer: Camille is teaching.“Camille” is the subject. What is happening to Camille?What’s happening?Answer: What is happening.“What” is the subject (This one was trickier, wasn’t it?) French Subject Pronouns Replacing One Person In French, the list of singular subject pronouns is: Je (or j’ + vowel or h, it’s called an elision) = I Tu (never t’) = you singular informal Il = it, he – long “ee” sound Elle = it, she – short clip “L” sound On – this one is more difficult to understand. It used to mean “ one “, but nowadays is used in casual French to say “ we , instead of the now more formal/written form “ nous “. So although it’s listed as a singular pronoun, nowadays it’s mostly used to replace several people, so for a plural. See my lesson on “on”. Vous = you, one person, formal. Note that “vous” is also the pronoun we use for “you” plural, when you say “you” to talk to more than one person (yous guys 🙂 Traditionally, vous is listed as a plural subject pronoun, although it can and does often refer to only one person. It’s confusing, I know, so I wrote a whole lesson on “tu” versus “vous”. French Subject Pronouns Replacing Several People In French, the list of plural subject pronouns (replacing several people) is: Nous = we – S is silent, but becomes Z when followed by a vowel or an h. (Nowadays, “ nous “ is used in a formal context and in writing mostly. In conversation, we tend to use “on“). Vous = you plural, both formal and informal – S is silent, but becomes Z + vowel or an h. Ils = they masculine or they masculine and feminine – S is silent, but becomes Z + vowel or an h….
Subject pronouns | Frantastique – Gymglish
Subject pronouns | Frantastique Subject pronounsSubject pronouns replace a person or thing. singular plural 1st person je suis nous sommes 2nd person tu es vous êtes 3rd person il / elle / on est ils / elles sont Note: • French has 2 forms for ‘you’: tu and vous. • It also has 2 different forms for ‘they’: ils and elles:Ils is used for groups of men and mixed-gender groups, elles is used for groups of women. • Note also that on and nous (we) share the same meaning in spoken French. « Il a une très jolie barbe. » Go deeper… Learn more about French grammar with us. Still having difficulties with ‘Subject pronouns’? Want to improve your French? Test our online French lessons and receive a free level assessment! Tips for learning ‘Subject pronouns’? Share them with us! Looking to improve French for beginners? Frantastique provides effective and fun training!