Personal Pronouns: Subject

Question 1

• What is a pronoun?

Answer 1

• Word you use instead of a noun, when you do not need or want to name someone or something directly.
• • Eg. It, you, non

Question 2

• What is a personal pronoun?

Answer 2

• Such as I, you, he, her and they, which are used to refer to yourself, the person you are talking to or other people and things.
• 1. Can be Subject Pronouns: I, you, he
  2. Can be Object Pronouns: him, her, them

Question 3

• What is a subject pronoun?

Answer 3

• Such as I, he, she and they, which performs the action expressed by the verb. Pronouns stand in for nouns.
  1. My brother isn’t here at the moment. He‘ll be back in an hour.

Question 4

• Name the subject pronouns

Answer 4

Je

Tu or vous

il

elle

on

nous

vous

ils

elles

Question 5

What happens with adjectives you use with tu and vous?

• Are you sure, Mr Leclerc?
• Are you sure, children?

Answer 5

They have to agree in the feminine and plural forms

• Vous êtes certain, Monsieur Leclerc?
• Vous êtes certains, les enfants?

Question 6

il/elle and ils/elles

In english we refer to things (table, book) only as it. In French, il and elle are used to talk about a thing, as well as a person or animal

• He’s already left
• She’s an actress
• Does your dog bite?
• Take this chair.It’s more comfortable

Answer 6

• Il est déjà parti
• Elle est actrice
• Il mord, ton chien?
• Prends cette chaise. Elle est plus confortable

Question 7

il is also used to talk about the weather, the time and in certain other set phrases

• It’s raining
• It’s two o’clock
• We/you have to go

Answer 7

• il pleut
• il est deux heures
• il faut partir

Question 8

ils and elles are used in the plural to talk about things, as well as about people or animals

• They’re going to phone tonight
• Where are Anne and Rachel? They’re at the swimming pool
• Are there any tickets left? No, They’re all sold
• Do you like these shoes? No, they’re horrible!

Answer 8

• ils vont appeler ce soir
• Ou sont Anne et Rachel? Elles sont a la piscine
• Est ce qu’il reste des billets? Non, ils sont tous vendus
• Tu aimes ces chaussures? Non, elles sont affreuses!

Question 9

If you are talking about a maculine and a feminine word, use ils

• What do your father and mother do when they go on holiday?
• Where are the pepper and the mustard? They’re already on the table

Answer 9

• Que font ton pere et ta mere quand ils partent en vacances?
• Ou sont le poivre et la moutarde? Ils sont deja sur la table

Question 10

On

On is frequently used in informal French to mean we

• We’re going to the beach tomorrow
• Shal we go?

Answer 10

• On va a la plage demain
• On y va?

Question 11

On

Can also have the sense of someone or they

• Someone has stolen my purse
• They told me you were ill

Answer 11

• On m’a vole mon porte monnaie
• On m’a dit que tu etais malade

Question 12

On tip

On is often used to avoid a passive construction in French

• You’re wanted on the phone

Answer 12

• On vous demande au telephone

Question 13

On

You can also use on as we use you in English when we mean people in general

• You can visit the castle in the summer
• From here you can see the French coast

Answer 13

• On peut visiter le chateau en ete
• D’ici on peut voir les cotes francaises

Question 14

Key points

Answer 14

• The french subject pronouns are: je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils and elles
• To say you in French, use tu to a person you know and vous if you don’t know
• il/ils and elle/elles are used to refer to things and il is also used in certain phrases
• If there is a mixture of masculine and feminine nouns, use ils
• On can mean we, someone, you, they or people in general. It is often used instead of a passive construction