Subject Pronouns

Subjects Every sentence has a subject. You can tell WHO or What the subject is by asking yourself WHO is doing something.

Subjects The subject may be: A noun A proper noun A pronoun

Subject pronouns Singular 1st person: I Je / J’… Je suis intelligent!

Subject pronouns You = VOUS (Formal address) 2nd person: You Tu Singular 2nd person: You Tu You = VOUS (Formal address) Singular “YOU” is tricky for English speakers. Although You is Tu most of the time, it switched to VOUS if it is a formal; address, that is a grown up or sme one you do not know and need to mark a distance to or respect to.

Singular You informal Tu t’appelles comment? For example when you ask a friend: what’s your name? in French it will be “what are you called?” , you will use “tu”

Singular You formal Vous vous appelez comment? But! When you ask the same question to a grown up or someone formally, you will use: VOUS

Singular You informal Pierre, tu aimes la musique? You will be Tu when you ask you friend Pierre or your brother Pierre : do you like music? Tu is the equivalent of the word thou which is a second person singular pronoun in English. It is now largely archaic, having been replaced in almost all contexts by you. thou was used to express intimacy, familiarity, or even disrespect. thou fell into disuse in the standard language.

Singular You formal Monsieur, vous aimez la musique? But! When you ask the same question to a grown up or someone formally, you will use: VOUS. It is a mark of respect to use VOUS instead of TU.

Subject pronouns Singular 3rd person: he il she elle Note that IT cannot exist because every thing in French, animate or inanimate , has a gender: it is either masculine: he or feminine elle

il or elle Il est adorable ; elle est adorable

il or elle le stylo la règle il est bleu elle est jaune As it does not exist because everything has a gender, you will choose between Il and elle for objects also.

ON On = 3rd person singular subject pronoun On = same conjugation as il or elle On is used in French where the passive voice is used in English. Note how : Englsih spoken becomes On parle. On makes the verb active while keeping the meaning of people in general.

ON While it conjugates like a 3rd person singular, it means: you, we or they; people in general = ONE On mange On pense It is also the equivalent of the ONE in old English:One eats: one age, One thinks; on pense

Plural Subject pronouns 1st person plural: We Nous Nous jouons We play: nous jouons

Plural : You 2nd person plural: You (you all) VOUS Because you is both singular and plural, various English dialects have attempted to revive the distinction between a singular and plural you to avoid confusion between the two uses. This is typically done by adding a new plural form; examples of new plurals sometimes seen and heard are y'all, or you-all (primarily in the southern United States. In French this plural you is the same as the formal form of TU

Plural YOU Vous Vous Singular/ formal Plural Although this may be be cnfusing to English speakers, the singular VOUS (formal) is the same thing as the plural VOUS

They 3rd person plural Ils or elles They can be either ils with an s or elle with an s. The golden rule in French is that the masculine rules ver the feminine.

They 3rd person plural Ils elles They can be either ils with an s or elle with an s. The golden rule in French is that the masculine rules ver the feminine. If it is a grup pf boys it will be “Ils” with an s If it is a group pf girls with one boy, it will also be ils Only a group with girls nly will be elles.

They 3rd person plural le stylo + la règle 2 règles = ils = elles Remember this applies to inanimate objects. The golden rule in French is that the masculine rules over the feminine. If it is a group of masculine nouns it will be “Ils” with an s If it is a group of feminine nouns with one masculine, it will also be ils . Feminien only will be elles.

Nouns or proper nouns as subjects The subject may be a noun : Mon amie = elle Mes copains = ils Les concerts = ils

Nouns or proper nouns as subjects The subject may be a proper noun : Marie = elle Marc, Marie et Martine = ils

Nouns or proper nouns as subjects Ma famille et Moi = nous Ton frère et toi = vous Mes amis et moi =nous Watch out for logical connections: My family and I would make WE Your brother and yoourself would make you, my friends and I = we

Subjects Pronouns Singular Plural 1 Je nous 1 vous 2 3 il / elle ON 2 tu or vous formal vous 2 3 il / elle ON ils / elles 3

Stress Subjects Pronouns Singular Plural MOI, Je Nous, nous Toi, tu vous, vous Vous , vous Lui, il (elle, elle) Eux, ils (elles, elles) The French like to stress their subject pronouns. Instead f just saying I , tthey like to accentuate it, or stress by saying: moi je. It is useful to memorize these stress pronouns:

Practice Which subject pronoun? Marie va à l’école Mon frère et moi aimons les bonbons Mon frère et ses amis travaillent Ma famille est grande

Practice Which subject pronoun? Marie = ELLE Mon frère et moi = NOUS Mon frère et ses amis = ILS Ma famille est grande = Elle Ma famille is a single entity. Therefore it is “it”= elle singular.