Grammaire 2: describing people (subject pronouns, être and ne…pas)
On étudie !
(a) Les pronoms sujets
A “subject pronoun” (pronom sujet) is a short substitute for a subject noun.
The man is my friend ➔ He is my friend. My friends and I go to Capilano University. ➔ We go to Capilano University.
Here are the French subject pronouns:
| personne | singulier | pluriel |
|---|---|---|
| 1ère personne | je | nous |
| 2e personne | tu (casual, informal) | vous (formal) |
| 3e personne | il, elle, iel, on | ils, elles |
- In French, je (I) is not capitalized, except at the beginning of a sentence. Je also contracts to j’ in front of a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) of mute h: Je suis, j‘ai , j’habite (I am, I have, I live). This élision (see previous section) is used to ease the pronunciation of the pronoun and verb.
- Tu is informal, whereas Vous is formal (see earlier section). Vous is also the plural form of tu and in this case, is neither formal nor informal.
- In French, not only people but also things have gender. That is to say, things are either masculine or feminine. There is no separate pronoun for ”it”. Il is masculine, used for ”he” or masculine ”it””. Elle is feminine, used for ”she” or feminine ”it”.
- For a non-binary individual, iel is the alternative to the gender specific pronouns il and elle. While not officially accepted by the Académie française, the term has seen increased use and has been adopted by the most recognized dictionary, Le Robert, in 2022.
- On can mean ”one” or ”you” in an impersonal way, like In Paris one eats baguettes or In Paris you eat baguettes, where you means anyone/people in general visiting or living in Paris. In most French dialects, on is used instead of nous in everyday conversation. Thus, the sentence, En France, on aime manger du pain could mean In France, we like to eat bread or In France, one likes to eat bread.
- Il, elle, ils, elles. These pronouns don’t only have to refer to people, they also refer to things. For example, la table (the table) = elle (it); le fromage (the cheese) = il (it); les livres (the books) = ils (they); les tables (the tables) = elles (they).
- If there is a mix of masculine and feminine people or objects, French always uses the masculine plural. A group of ten women and one man would use the masculine plural subject pronoun ils.
(b) Le verbe être
Use the verb être (to be) to describe yourself and others. When forming a sentence in French, you must use the proper form of the verb with each subject. Since there are six different grammatical subjects, there are six forms in the present form. The basic form of the verb is the infinitive (l’infinitif). It correspond to the English form ”to (verb)”.
Changing the verb to the proper form is called conjugating the verb (la conjugaison du verbe). You must memorize the correct forms (the conjugation) of the verb or people will have great difficulties understanding you.
As boring as it may seem, writing/reciting it out several times is a good way to learn this important verb. You will learn a variety of verbs and conjugations throughout the course.
ÊTRE (to be)
| Pronoms sujets | Français | Anglais |
|---|---|---|
| je | suis | I am |
| tu | es | you are (familiar, singular) |
|
il elle on |
est est est |
he is, it is she is, it is one is, we are
|
| nous | sommes | we are |
| vous | êtes | you are (formal or plural) |
|
ils elles |
sont sont |
they are (people or things) |
As you listen to the track, pay special attention to:
- the final consonants of the verb forms are not pronounced. I.e. e
s, sommes, sont - the liaison between the subject pronoun and the verb. I.e. ”Il∼est”, ”On∼est” and ”vous∼êtes”.
(c) La négation
Use ne…pas to make a sentence negative. Just place the verb in between them, like this:
Je suis (v.) (I am). ==> Je ne suis (v.) pas. I am not.
— Est-ce que tu es professeur ? Are you a prof?
— Non, je ne suis pas professeur. No, I am not a prof.
Ne becomes n’ if the verb begins with a vowel/mute h.
Il est (v.) canadien. He is Canadian. ==> Il n’est pas Canadien. He is not Canadian.
— Est-ce qu’il est indien? Is he Indian? —Non, il n’est pas Indien. Il est Français. No, he isn’t Indian. He is French.
