Home > French > Grammar - Introduction
Les Pronoms Personnels Sujets Subject Pronouns

Je suis le patron. I am the boss.
Tu es un élève. You are a student.
Il est français. He is french.
Elle est française. She is french.
Nous sommes des élèves. We are students.
Ils sont de France. They are from France.
Elles sont de Angleterre. They (woman) are from England.

When je is followed by a word that begins with a vowel, it becomes simply j'.

J'arrive! I'm coming!

Vous is the formal 'you' form. Using it shows respect and social distance. It should always be used when addressing strangers except for in certain environments like school where students normally use tu with each other. Permission should be asked before using tu, but you normally shouldn't ask if someone is significantly older than you. It should always be employed when addressing people of authority like your teachers or the police.

Vous êtes le nouveau voisin, non? You are the new neighbor, no?

 

Normally, the final consonant of word ending in d, s, t, or x isn't pronounced. However when followed by a vowel ending word or a word that begins with silent h, this final consonant is pronounced. This is called liaison.

petit ami boyfriend
les enfants the children
Je suis heureuse. I am happy (f.).

Vous is also used for plural you.

Vous êtes fous. You (all) are crazy.
Vous mangez des olives. You (all) eat olives.

As you might have noticed, the verb form changes whenever the subject changes. The form of the verb, known as the conjugation, indicates the person of the subject as well as the tense. Most verbs are conjugated with the same patterns and are called regular. Other verbs don't follow any sort of pattern and are irregular. The conjugations of être, the French 'to be' verb, are irregular.

 
être
je 
suis
tu 
es
il / elle 
est
nous 
sommes
vous 
êtes
ils / elles 
sont

Now would be a good time to study the regular verbs which are divided into -er ending verbs, -ar ending verbs and and -ir ending verbs.

Next Page »
 
Home | Welcome! | Contact us | About Us | Newsletter | Donations | Volunteer
Preferences | Help