The list of French subject pronouns is
je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils, elles. You
have been using them for a while now, but do you know what
they all mean?
What Is a subject?
Let’s back up a little bit and review. A subject is anything
that performs the action of a verb. There is an easy way to
find the subject of a sentence.
Par exemple:
First, find the verb.
Then ask: who + verb
--or--
what + verb
The answer to that question is the verb’s subject.
A subject can be a person, an animal, a thing, a place, an
idea … so pretty much anything!
Par exemple:
Claude is teaching French.
Who is teaching? Claude is teaching.
Claude is the subject.
The Subject Pronouns in French
Singular
Meaning
Plural
Meaning
je (j’)
I
nous
we
tu or vous
you
vous
you
il
he
it
ils
they (masculine)
elle
she it
elles
they (feminine)
on
one
(we/you/they)
Let's have a look...
Subject pronouns have number and person.
Number refers to whether the pronoun is
singular (one) or plural (more than one).
Person refers to whether the pronoun is the
speaker (first person—I, we), the one spoken to (second
person—you), or the one spoken about (third
person—he/she/it/one/they).
Unlike the English pronoun I, the pronoun
je is capitalized only when it begins a
sentence. Je changes to j’ in
front of words beginning with a vowel, most words
beginning with h, and the French word
y.
J'ai trois livres. I have three
books.
Je veux aller à Montréal. I want
to go to Montreal.
Tu is used to address one friend,
relative, child, or pet and is the familiar form
of you.
Tu es mon meilleur ami. You are
my best friend.
There is no word for it in French.
Everything--objects, concepts, animals, and
people--is either masculine or feminine. 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 refers to an indefinite person: you,
we, they, or people in general. On is
often used in place of nous. Regardless
of meaning, on is always conjugated as a
third person singular (like il/elle).
On part. We're leaving.
On est fou! People are crazy!
Vous is used in the singular to show
respect to an older person or a person in
authority, when speaking to a stranger, or with
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.
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 to a group made up of all
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.)
Slide:
Unlike in Spanish, the use of subject pronouns is mandatory
in French. Always use a subject pronoun to construct
sentences in the absence of a noun subject.
