GCSE · French · AQA · Spec 8652 · Foundation
Subject pronouns (F)
English has one word for 'you'. French has two, and whichever pronoun you pick changes the verb that comes after it.
French · Subject pronouns
Pick the person, and the verb follows
Every subject lives in one of six boxes: 1st, 2nd or 3rd person, one or more than one. Start with the pronouns, then switch verbs. The boxes never move. Watch the verb change to match whichever box your subject is in.
the pronouns — who is doing it
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person | je (I) | nous (we) |
| 2nd person | tu (you) | vous (you) |
| 3rd person | il (he) / elle (she) / on | ils / elles (they) |
Nine pronouns, six boxes. il, elle and on share a box, and so do ils and elles. Sharing a box means sharing a verb form, so every verb has six forms to learn, not nine. vous always sits in the plural box: even when it means one person, it takes this box's verb form.
Tap a box to focus it. ★ marks an irregular form: learn it as it is. The coloured letters in a regular form are its ending.
French · Choosing the pronoun
Which pronoun would a French speaker use?
English uses 'you' for everybody and 'they' for every group. French makes you choose. Pick a situation, then put it under the pronoun a French speaker would use.
Still to sort
tu (0)
One person you know well: a friend, someone in your family, someone your age.
Where the line is: As soon as there's more than one of them, tu is out, however well you know them.
vous (0)
More than one person, or one adult you're being polite to.
Where the line is: Same word, two jobs. Either way the verb takes the vous form: vous êtes, vous allez.
il (0)
One male person, or one masculine noun (le bus → il).
elle (0)
One female person, or one feminine noun (la pizza → elle).
ils (0)
A group of males, or any mixed group.
Where the line is: One male in the group is enough to make it ils.
elles (0)
A group that is all female.
on (0)
People in general, or 'we' in everyday speech.
Where the line is: It means more than one person, but its verb is the il/elle form: on est, on va.
French · Three time frames
Which word does the agreeing?
Same verb, three time frames. Read down each column. In the present, the verb's own ending changes. In the other two, a little verb in front does the changing, and the coloured word never moves.
regarder — to watch
| present | perfect | aller + infinitive | |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | je regarde | j'ai regardé | je vais regarder |
| tu | tu regardes | tu as regardé | tu vas regarder |
| il / elle / on | il / elle / on regarde | il / elle / on a regardé | il / elle / on va regarder |
| nous | nous regardons | nous avons regardé | nous allons regarder |
| vous | vous regardez | vous avez regardé | vous allez regarder |
| ils / elles | ils / elles regardent | ils / elles ont regardé | ils / elles vont regarder |
Perfect: avoir agrees with the pronoun and regardé stays exactly the same. aller + infinitive: aller agrees and regarder stays exactly the same. They're the very avoir and aller forms from the grid above.
The coloured word is the one that never changes, whoever the subject is.
Predict, then check
French questions come in three shapes. The trick is knowing where the pronoun goes in each one.
Tu vas au cinéma means 'You're going to the cinema.' Now ask 'Where are you going?' using est-ce que. Which is right?
WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED
A quick recap of today's lesson.
Choose the pronoun by who you mean, and the verb has to follow it.
What you need to know
- The subject pronouns are je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils and elles.
- vous is 'you' for more than one person, and the polite 'you' for one person.
- The verb agrees with its subject pronoun: 1st, 2nd or 3rd person, singular or plural.
- You need the regular -er pattern plus aller, avoir, être and faire, in the present, the perfect and aller + infinitive.
- In a question, the pronoun goes before the verb with intonation and with est-ce que, and after it (joined by a hyphen) with inversion.
The big picture
A French subject pronoun says who is doing something, and it decides the verb form. The nine pronouns fit into six boxes (1st, 2nd or 3rd person, singular or plural), and a verb has one form per box. You choose tu or vous, il or elle, ils or elles by who you actually mean, not by the English word. In the perfect and in aller + infinitive, it's avoir or aller that agrees with the pronoun. In a question, the pronoun stays in front of the verb unless you use inversion.
Key points
Worked example
Problem
Translate into French: 'Chloé and Inès? They have visited Paris.' (visiter = to visit)
⚠ Watch out
Translating 'you' as tu every time. tu is only for one person you know well. Two friends, or one adult you're being polite to, need vous, and then the verb needs its vous form too: vous êtes, vous avez, vous allez.
Memory hook
The pronoun picks the box, and the box picks the verb. And the big four all end in -ont with ils: ils ont, ils sont, ils vont, ils font.
Check yourself
A student writes: « Mon père et ma sœur ? Elles sont au cinéma. » Explain what's wrong with the pronoun, and write the sentence correctly.
Flashcards
(11)Which subject pronouns share the il form of the verb?
When do you use vous for just one person?
Talking to two friends at once: tu or vous?
Three girls and one boy: ils or elles?
What can on mean, and which verb form does it take?
Present tense endings of a regular -er verb?
The ils form of avoir, être, aller and faire?
The vous form of être and of faire?
In tu as regardé, which word agrees with the pronoun?
How do you say 'they're going to play' about a mixed group?
Where is the pronoun in Où vas-tu ?
Tap any card to flip it, or use Study as deck to go through them one at a time. In the full lesson these run as a spaced-repetition deck — you rate each card Hard, Good or Easy and the tricky ones keep coming back until they stick.
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