French Subject Pronouns – The Ultimate Guide, Examples & Quiz
French subject pronouns
French subject pronouns are a type of pronoun that refer to the subjects of the sentence (person, animal or thing), in English they are i, you, he, she, you, we and it and in French they are je (I), tu (you), il (he), elle (she), nous (we), vous (you), ils/elles (they).
For example, to say “I speak French”, in French you would say “Je parle français”. In this case, “Je” is the personal subject pronoun that means “I”.
Another example would be “Paulina and José study mathematics”, you would replace it with “They study mathematics”, and in French we would say “Ils étudient les mathématiques”. In this case, “Ils” is the subject pronoun that means “they”
They are fundamental words in any language, since they allow us to build simple or complex sentences and communicate clearly and effectively.
Chart
Examples and sentences
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How to use the subject pronouns in French
- Subject pronouns usually go to the beginning of the sentence, before the verb.
- Je changes to J’ when it used in front of a vowel and the word
- In French, it is necessary to use subject pronouns in most cases, just like in English.
She eats bread. – Elle mange du pain. You can’t say mange du pain, you need to use the pronoun, in this case, it’s elle. |
In this sentence, the subject pronoun elle (she) is used to replace the subject, which is implied to be someone previously mentioned or known from the context. The verb mange (eats) is conjugated to match the third person singular subject elle. Without the subject pronoun, the sentence would be grammatically incorrect in French, as the verb form alone is not enough to indicate who is doing the action.
Tu and vous
In French, there are two ways to say “you”: tu (informal) and vous (formal). The choice of which one to use depends on the kind of relationship between the speakers and the age differences between them.
When to use “tu”
Use “tu” when you are speaking to someone you know well, such as a friend or a family member, or when you are speaking to a young person.
Tu vas à la plage domain? – You’re going to the beach tomorrow? |
When to use “vous”
Use “vous” when you are speaking to someone you don’t know well, such as a stranger or an elderly person, or when you are speaking in a formal setting, such as with your boss.on.
Salut madame, comment allez vous? – Hello ma’am, how are you? |
Il and elle
The subject pronoun “il” is used to refer to masculine nouns, while “elle” is used to refer to feminine nouns. These pronouns can be used to refer to people, animals, objects, and specific phrases.
- Il and elle with people
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- Il/elle used as it (with animals and objects)
These pronouns are not only used to refer to people, they are also used to refer to things (animals or objects), this means that they are also used as the English pronoun it.
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- Other phrases with il
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Ils and elles
Ils and elles are the plural forms of il and elle.
Ils | If you talk about males only, or both males and females at the same time. | They |
Elles | If you talk about females only. | They |
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On
The French pronoun “on” is a versatile and commonly used subject pronoun that can be translated to “one”, “we”, or “people” depending on the context. It is often used in informal speech and is considered less formal than “nous” (we).
“On” is conjugated like the third person singular form of a verb, even though it can be translated as “we” in some cases. For example, “On va au cinéma” can mean “One goes to the cinema”, “We go to the cinema”, or “People go to the cinema” depending on the context.
- On used as we
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- On used as they (people in general) or someone
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- On used as you
It’s used with people in general
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Exercises
Now practice what you learned with the following exercises.
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