The subject of a verb is the person or thing which performs the action of that verb: Tom travaille.

Tom is working. Mes parents habitent en Espagne.

My parents live in Spain. La voiture ne veut pas démarrer.

The car won't start. Subject pronouns replace this person or thing: Il travaille.

He is working. Ils habitent en Espagne.

They live in Spain. Elle ne veut pas démarrer.

It won't start. 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. Continue reading below for detailed information about how to use each French subject pronoun.

01 of 06 1st Person Singular French Subject Pronoun: je = I The first person singular French subject pronoun je (listen) is used a lot like its English equivalent "I": Je travaille tous les jours.

I work every day. Je veux voir ce film.

I want to see this movie. Je sais ce qui s'est passé.

I know what happened. Notes 1. Unlike "I," je is only capitalized at the beginning of a sentence. Hier, je suis allé à la plage.

Yesterday, I went to the beach. Non, je ne veux pas voir ce film.

No, I don't want to see this movie. Dois-je commencer maintenant ?

Do I have to start now? 2. Je must contract to j' when followed by a vowel or mute h. J'aime danser.

I like to dance. Tu sais, j'ai le même problème.

You know, I have the same problem. Oui, j'habite en France.

Yes, I live in France.

02 of 06 2nd Person French Subject Pronouns: tu, vous = you In English, the second person subject pronoun is always "you," no matter how many people you're talking to, and regardless of whether you know them. But French has two different words for "you": tu (listen) and vous (listen). The difference in meaning between these two words is very important* - you must understand when and why to use each of them. Otherwise, you may inadvertently insult someone by using the wrong "you." Tu is the familiar "you," which demonstrates a certain closeness and informality. Use tu when speaking to one: friend

peer / colleague

relative

child

pet Vous is the formal "you." It is used to show respect or maintain a certain distance or formality with someone. Use vous when speaking to: someone you don't know well

an older person

an authority figure

anyone to whom you wish to show respect Vous is also the plural "you" - you have to use it when talking to more than one person, no matter how close you are. Summary familiar and singular: tu

familiar and plural: vous

formal and singular: vous

formal and plural: vous Because the tu / vous distinction doesn't exist in English, beginning French students often have trouble with it. Some people follow the guideline of using whatever the other person uses with them. This can be misleading: someone in authority may use tu with you, but that certainly doesn't mean that you can respond in kind. You can try asking On peut se tutoyer?, but when in doubt, I tend to use vous. I'd rather show someone too much respect than not enough! *There are even verbs to indicate which pronoun you're using:

tutoyer = to use tu

vouvoyer = to use vous

03 of 06 3rd Person Singular French Subject Pronouns: il, elle = he, she, it The French third person singular subject pronouns il (listen) and elle (listen) are used just like their English equivalents "he" and "she" when talking about people: Il aime skier.

He likes to ski. Elle veut être médecin.

She wants to be a doctor. In addition, both il and elle can also mean "it." In French, all nouns are either masculine or feminine, so to replace them, you use the subject pronouns corresponding to that gender. Je vais au musée - il est ouvert jusqu'à 20h00.

I'm going to the museum - it's open until 8pm. Où est la voiture ? Elle est chez Jean.

Where's the car? It's at Jean's place. Summary Il can refer to a male, "he," as well a masculine noun, "it."

can refer to a male, "he," as well a masculine noun, "it." Elle can indicate a female, "she," or a feminine noun, "it."

04 of 06 French Subject Pronoun: on = one, we, you, they On (listen) is the indefinite pronoun and literally means "one." It's often equivalent to the English passive voice. On ne devrait pas poser cette question.

One shouldn't ask that question. On demande : caissier.

Cashier wanted. On ne dit pas ça.

That isn't said. Ici on parle français.

French is spoken here. In addition, on is an informal replacement for "we," "you," "they," "someone," or "people in general." On va sortir ce soir.

We're going out tonight. Alors les enfants, que veut-on faire ?

OK kids, what do you want to do? On dit que ce resto est bon.

They say that this restaurant is good. On a trouvé mon portefeuille.

Someone found my wallet. On est fou !

People are crazy! On ne sait jamais

You never know Agreement with on There are two related debates about whether agreement is required with the subject implied by on:​ Adjectives: In On est content (We/They are / Someone is happy), should the adjective agree?

feminine: On est contente.

plural: On est contents.

feminine plural: On est contentes. Être verbs: In On est tombé (We/They/Someone fell), should the past participle agree?

feminine: On est tombée.

plural: On est tombés.

feminine plural: On est tombées. There is no real consensus, so here's my opinion: On is a neuter singular pronoun, so there shouldn't be agreement, but it's pretty much up to you - or your French teacher. ;-)

05 of 06 1st Person Plural French Subject Pronoun: nous = we The first person plural French subject pronoun nous (listen) is used exactly like "we" in English. Nous allons en Égypte.

We're going to Egypt. J'espère que nous arriverons à temps.

I hope we arrive in time. Devons-nous travailler ensemble ?

Do we have to work together? Quand pouvons-nous commencer ?

When can we begin? In informal spoken French, on is used in place of nous.