French Subject Pronouns: Guide, Chart, Examples, Exercises

French subject pronouns are words used to refer to the subjects of a sentence. The subject personal pronouns in French are:

Je: I
Tu: You
Il: He
Elle: She
Nous: We
Vous: You
Ils: They
Elles: They

These are specifically called subject personal pronouns (Pronoms personnels sujets) and are fundamental words in any language, as they allow us to construct simple and complex sentences and communicate clearly and effectively.

Chart of french subject pronouns

The list below contains French personal pronouns and their pronunciation:

Examples and sentences

Je parle français. – Je parle français.
Tu es belle. – You are beautiful.
Il est bon. – He is good.
Elle est petite. – She is short.
Nous voulons surtir. – We want to go out.
Vous êtes intelligents. – You are smart.
Ils sont forts. – They are strong.

How to use the subject pronouns in French

They usually go at the beginning of the sentence, before the verb.

Example

Tu danses avec ton ami. – You dance with me.

Vous avez une fête. – You have a party.

Its use is almost always obligatory.

Example

She eats bread. – Elle mange du pain. You can’t say mange du pain, you need to use the pronoun, in this case, it’s elle.

Je is contracted in front of a vowel. The pronoun “Je” changes to “J‘” when used before a vowel, this is done to facilitate pronunciation and fluency in communication.

Example

“J’aime les biscuits” instead of “Je aime les biscuits”.

Tu and vous

Essentially, “tu” and “vous” both mean “you,” but they differ in formality:

Tu:
- Informal “you.”
- Used with friends, family, children, and people you know well.

Tu vas à la plage domain? – You’re going to the beach tomorrow?

Vous:
- Formal “you.”
- Used with strangers, elders, in professional settings, and when showing respect.

Salut madame, comment allez vous? – Hello ma’am, how are you?

Il and elle

Let’s expand on “il” and “elle” with more detail.

With people “il” is used to refer to masculine nouns, while “elle” is used to refer to feminine nouns.

Elle est folle. – She is crazy.
Il est loin d’ici. – He is far from here.

With animals

Il est gris, ton chat? – Is your cat gray?
Je préfère cette table, elle est plus jolie.- I prefer this table, it’s pre

Impersonal “Il”:

“Il” is also used in impersonal expressions, where it doesn’t refer to a specific person or thing.

Il pleut. – It’s raining. – It’s raining. “Il” doesn’t refer to anything specific here; it’s just part of the expression.
Il faut aller à l’école. – We/you have to go to school. is another example of impersonal usage.
Il est 16 heures. – It’s 4 o’clock.

On

The French pronoun “on” is a flexible word that acts like “one,” “we,” or “people,” shifting its meaning based on the situation.

While it’s grammatically treated as a singular “he/she/it,” it often stands in for “we” in casual conversation, making it less formal than the standard “nous.” So, “on” allows for a range of interpretations.

On used as we

En France, on mange des crêpes. – In France, we eat crêpes
On y va? – Shall we go?

On used as they (people in general) or someone

Quand on est bon, la vie est plus facile. – When someone is good, life is easier
Écoute si on te parle! – Listen if someone speaks to you!
On m’a dit que tu vas à l’Italie. – Someone told me you’re going to Italy

On used as you

It’s used with people in general

On peut aller a l’italie au train. – You can go to Italy by train
On peut visiter Versailles en vacances. – You can visit Versailles during vacations

Exercises

Now practice what you learned with the following exercises.

French Subject Pronouns: Guide, Chart, Examples, Exercises

Chart of french subject pronouns

Examples and sentences

How to use the subject pronouns in French

Tu and vous

Tu:

Vous:

Il and elle

On

Exercises