Subject Pronouns and Être — Lesson A1

French has 8 subject pronouns and the verb être (to be) is irregular from the start

The 8 Subject Pronouns

French has more subject pronouns than English. The key additions are tu (informal you, singular) vs vous (formal or plural), and ils/elles (they — gender-matched).

French	English	Notes
je	I	→ j' before vowel
tu	you (1 person, informal)	friends, family, children
il / elle	he / she / it	also replaces masculine/feminine nouns
nous	we	formal; spoken French often uses on
vous	you (formal OR plural)	singular polite or any group
ils / elles	they	ils = mixed or all-male; elles = all-female

Tu vs Vous

This distinction doesn't exist in modern English but is crucial in French.

tu — talking to a friend, family member, child, pet, or equal in informal context
vous — talking to a stranger, someone older, an authority figure, your boss, or to any group of 2+ people
Using tu with a stranger can be rude. Using vous with a close friend is stilted.
Young people often use tu more widely. In doubt: use vous.

Être — To Be (Irregular)

This is the most important verb to memorise. It's irregular — no pattern to follow.

Pronoun	Être	English
je	suis	I am
tu	es	you are
il/elle/on	est	he/she/it is
nous	sommes	we are
vous	êtes	you are
ils/elles	sont	they are

Using Être: Descriptions and Identities

Être expresses identity, nationality, profession, origin, and descriptions.

Je suis étudiant(e). — I am a student.
Tu es français(e)? — Are you French?
Il est médecin. — He is a doctor.
Elle est grande. — She is tall.
Nous sommes de Paris. — We are from Paris.
Vous êtes professeur? — Are you a teacher? (polite)
Ils sont fatigués. — They are tired.

⚠️ No article before professions: Il est médecin, NOT Il est un médecin.

On — The Informal We

In everyday spoken French, on is used more often than nous for "we". It uses the same verb form as il/elle.

On est en retard. — We're late. (everyday)
Nous sommes en retard. — We are late. (formal/written)
On also means "one" / "people in general": On parle français ici. (French is spoken here.)
On + verb = il/elle form: on est, on parle, on va

Common Mistakes

Avoid	Use	Why
I is always capital	je (lowercase unless first word)	In French, je is only capitalised at the start of a sentence.
ils for mixed groups	ils sont (not elles)	If a group has even one male in it, use ils. Only an all-female group uses elles.
No article with professions + être	Il est médecin	After être, professions take no article: Elle est infirmière, not une infirmière.
vous = singular polite	Vous êtes Madame Dupont?	Vous can refer to just one person if you're being formal or polite.

Summary

Point	Form	Example
I	je / j'	Je suis étudiant.
you (informal)	tu	Tu es français?
he/she/it	il / elle	Il est grand. Elle est petite.
we (formal)	nous	Nous sommes de Lyon.
we (informal)	on + il/elle verb	On est contents.
you (formal/plural)	vous	Vous êtes professeur?
they (m./mixed)	ils	Ils sont fatigués.
they (f.)	elles	Elles sont contentes.

Subject Pronouns and Être — Les Pronoms Sujets et Être