Transcript French Subject Pronouns

Subject Pronouns
Français 1
Subject Pronouns
Subject pronouns are used when the
pronoun is the subject of the sentence.
You can remember subject pronouns
easily by filling in the blank subject space
for a simple sentence.
Example:
______ did the job.
I, you, he, she, it, we, and they all fit into
the blank and are, therefore, subject
pronouns.
In French, just like in English,
a sentence must have
a subject and a verb.
When studying French, you must
understand subject pronouns
before you can begin learning how
to conjugate verbs, because the
forms of verbs change for each
subject pronoun.
Subject Pronouns
1ST, 2ND, 3RD
Person Singular
• Je  I
• Tu  you
Il  He /it
Elle  She /it
On  one /we,
they, the people,
someone
1ST, 2ND, 3RD
Person Plural
• Nous  we
• Vous  you
Ils  They
Elles  They
French Subject Pronouns:
je = I
• Je contracts to j' when followed by a
vowel or mute h.
• Unlike I, in French je is only capitalized
at the beginning of a sentence.
Examples
• Je suis américaine.
• J’habite Jackson.
• J’ai vingt-neuf ans.
• Elle est contente que je parle français.
• Tu as un stylo que je peux emprunter?
French Subject Pronouns:
tu, vous = you
• French has two different words for you:
Vous is the formal and plural you.
tu and vous.
Tu is the familiar you,
which demonstrates
a certain closeness
and informality.
Use tu when speaking
to one: friend , peer,
colleague, relative,
child, or pet.
It is used to show respect or
maintain a certain distance or
formality with someone.
Use vous when speaking to one:
person you don't know well,
someone older, an authority
figure, or anyone to whom you
wish to show respect.
Vous is also the plural you and
must be used when talking to
more than one person (y’all).
Examples
• Squirty, tu es adorable!
Exemples
• Mme Tucker, j’ai beaucoup de respect
pour vous.
• Mes élèves, vous étudiez beaucoup!
French Subject Pronouns:
il, elle = he, she, it
• Il can refer to a male, he, as well a
masculine noun/object, it.
• Elle can refer to a female, she, or a
feminine noun/object, it.
Examples
• Elle est belle,
cette robe!
• Elle = it
Examples
• J’aime le stylo. Il est bleu.
French Subject Pronouns:
on = one, we, you, they
• On is the indefinite pronoun and literally
means one. It's often equivalent to the
passive voice in English.
• In addition, on is an informal
replacement for we, you, they,
someone, or people in general.
Examples
• On va au cinéma. = We’re going to the
movies.
• On dit que Beyoncé est gentille. They say
Beyoncé is nice.
• On parle français. = French is spoken.
• On ne parle pas à la bibliothèque. = You
don’t talk in the library.
French Subject Pronouns:
nous = we
• The first person plural French
subject pronoun nous is used
exactly like we in English.
Examples
• Nous regardons la télé le dimanche soir.
= We watch tv Sunday evening
French Subject Pronouns:
ils, elles = they
• Ils is used for groups of men as well as mixedgender groups (Even when talking about a room full
of hundred women and one man, you have to use
ils- French male domination!).
• Ils is also used for groups of all masculine nouns
and groups of mixed masculine-feminine nouns.
• Elles can be used only when every single person or
thing you're referring to is female or feminine.
Examples
• Mes frères, ils parlent tous anglais et un
peu d’español.
• Etienne et Robert, ils parlent français.
• Jacqueline et Philippe, ils parlent français
et anglais.
• Fatima et Marie-Christine, elles parlent
français, arabe et anglais.
FIN