Les pronoms sujets

​C'est quoi un ''sujet''?

• A subject is the person or thing that is doing the action (verb) in a sentence.

• In other words, it's who or what the sentence is talking about.

• Every full sentence in French and English has to have a subject; usually at the very beginning of the sentence.

​C'est quoi un "pronom"?

• Sometimes the subject of a sentence is a pronoun instead of a noun. We call these subject pronouns.

• A pronoun is a word that can replace a noun without changing the meaning of the sentence.

• We mainly use pronouns to avoid repetition when we have several sentences with the same subject.

Les pronoms sujets

​"Je"

• "Je" means "I"

• We use the pronoun "je" when we talk about ourselves

  (instead of saying our own name, which would be weird)

• When the word after "je" begins with a vowel (AEIOUY), you drop the 'e' and add an apostrophe: j'.

  • Ex: J'ai, j'aime, j'écoute de la musique

​"Tu"

• "Tu" means "You"

• We use the pronoun "tu" when we are speaking directly to one person with whom we are relatively familiar

  (friend, classmate, family member, etc.)

​"Il"

• "Il" means "he" or sometimes "it" (masculine)

• We use the pronoun "il" when we are speaking about one boy/man

  OR we are speaking about a masculine object.

  • Example: Jai regardé le film. Il était très amusant.

  • The subject of the second sentence is ''le film'', but to avoid repetition we can replace it with ''il'' since it's masculine. We know ''il'' is referring to ''le film'' and not a person because of the context given in the first sentence.

​"Elle"

• "Elle" means "she" or sometimes "it" (feminine)

• We use the pronoun "elle" when we are speaking about one girl/woman OR we are speaking about a feminine object.

  • Example: Greenbriar est une vieille école. Elle a 50 ans.

  • The subject of the second sentence is ''Greenbriar'', but to avoid repetition we can replace it with ''elle'' since it's feminine. We know it's feminine because the word ''école'' (school) is feminine.

​"Iel"

• "Iel" means "they" (singular)

• We use the pronoun "iel" when we are speaking about one person who does not identify as a boy or a girl (non-binary).

  • It is the equivalent of the ''they/them" pronouns in English.

​"Nous"

• "Nous" means "we"

• We use the pronoun "nous" when we are speaking about a group that includes us

  • Example: Mon ami et moi sommes dans la même classe.

    Nous aimons notre prof!

  • The subject of the second sentence is ''Mon ami et moi'' (my friend and I), but to avoid repetition we can replace it with ''nous'' (we). If you ever see ''moi'' + someone else, you automatically know that the group can be replaced with ''nous''.

​"Vous"

• "Vous" means "you" (plural) or ''you guys''/"y'all"

• We use the pronoun "vous" when we are speaking to multiple people

  • Example: Toi et ton frère êtes responsables.

    Vous aidez vos parents à la maison.

  • The subject of the second sentence is ''Toi et ton frère' (You and your brother), but to avoid repetition we can replace it with ''vous'' (you). If you ever see ''toi'' + someone else, you automatically know that the group can be replaced with ''vous''.

NOTE: ''Vous'' can also be used when you're talking to ONE person (not a group), but you want to show them respect. For example, you should technically address me, your teacher, as ''vous'' even though I'm only one person.

​"Ils"

• "Ils" means "they" (masculine)

• We use the pronoun "ils" when we are speaking about a group that includes at least one boy, or consists entirely of boys

  • Example: Jack, John et Jonah jouent toujours au soccer. Ils sont très sportifs.

  • The subject of the second sentence is ''Jack, John et Jonah'', but to avoid repetition we can replace it with ''ils'' since they're all boys.

​"Elles"

• "Elles" means "they" (feminine)

• We use the pronoun "elles" ONLY when we are speaking about a group of girls (remember, if there's even one boy in the group then we use "ils")

  • Example: Mary, Mariah et Melissa sont amicales. Elles ont beaucoup d'amis.

  • The subject of the second sentence is ''Mary, Mariah et Melissa'', but to avoid repetition we can replace it with ''elles'' since they're all girls.

​"Iels"

• "Iels" means "they" (non-binary)

• We use the pronoun "iels" ONLY when we are speaking about a group of non-binary people

  • Example: Riley et Alex sont créatifs. Iels jouent du piano.

  • The subject of the second sentence is ''Riley et Alex'', but to avoid repetition we can replace it with ''iels''. This would imply that they are both non-binary.