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Key Grammar Concepts

Subject Pronouns

Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns. Nouns designate people, animals, places, ideas or things. A subject pronoun will serve as the main actor of a sentence. In general, subject pronouns in French and English are used in a similar way.

Pronoms sujets

je, j’	→	I
tu	→	you (familiar, singular)
vous	→	you (formal, singular)
il	→	he, it
elle	→	she, it
on	→	one (not specific)
nous	→	we
vous	→	you (familiar / plural / formal)
ils	→	they (masculine)
elles	→	they (feminine)

Examples

Je parle avec Nicolas, mais tu danses avec Christine.

I talk with Nicolas, but you dance with Christine.

Philippe et Rose sont amis; il vient de Corse et elle vient du Québec.

Philippe and Rose are friends; he is from Corsica, and she is from Quebec.

Michel! Isabelle! –Nous sommes ici!

Michel! Isabelle! –We’re here!

Elles vendent beaucoup de baguettes.

They sell a lot of baguettes.

Madame, vous choisissez une belle robe.

Madame, you choose a beautiful dress.

Anne, est-ce que tu aimes le cinéma ?

Anne, do you like movies ?

En France on parle français.

In France, one (you) speaks French.

Helpful tip

Takeaway: French expresses “you” in two ways: tu and vous.

Tu is informal: friends, relatives, peers.
Vous is formal: strangers, acquaintances, or older people.
When in doubt, use vous.