Subject pronouns and être

Why it matters

Every sentence needs a “who”. English has seven words for it (I, you, he, she, it, we, they). French has nine, and they don’t line up one-to-one: there’s no separate word for “it”, two words for “you”, two for “we” and two for “they”.

Then comes être (to be), the most-used verb in French. It’s wildly irregular: six forms, and they barely look related.

The good news: you’ll use être so often that it sticks within a week. Learn it today and it carries you through descriptions, jobs, nationalities, feelings, and later the past tense.

Who’s who, and être

1. The nine subject pronouns

There’s no word for “it”. A thing is il or elle depending on its gender: le café → il est chaud (it’s hot); la voiture → elle est rouge (it’s red). That’s exactly why tomorrow’s lesson, “Le or la?”, matters so much.

2. On: the “we” you’ll actually hear

In everyday French, people rarely say nous. They say on: On est prêts ? On va au cinéma ? (Are we ready? Shall we go to the cinema?) It’s simpler, too: on always takes the same verb form as il, so on est, not on sommes.

On has a second job: people in general, like English “you” or “they” in a general statement. Au Québec, on parle français. (In Québec, people speak French.)

Use nous in formal writing and exams; use on in conversation. Both are correct.

3. Ils or elles?

Elles is only for a group that’s entirely feminine. The moment there’s one man (or one masculine thing) in the group, it’s ils. A hundred women and one man walk into a café: ils. French grammar is old-fashioned that way.

4. Être, the present tense

Three things your ears need to know. Tu es and il est sound identical (“ay”): the s and t are silent. Vous êtes has a liaison: “voo-zet”. And ils sont (s sound, “they are”) is different from ils ont (z sound, “they have”), which you’ll meet in Lesson 8. One hiss or one buzz changes the meaning.

5. What être is for

Notice fatigué(e) and content(e): describing words change to match the person. A woman says je suis fatiguée. That’s Lesson 10’s job; for now, just notice the extra -e.

Where English says “be”, French sometimes says “have”. Your age, hunger, thirst, heat and cold all use avoir: j’ai 30 ans, j’ai faim, j’ai froid. They get their own lesson (Lesson 8), but avoid je suis faim from day one.

6. C’est or il est?

Both translate as “he is”, “she is” or “it is”. The word that comes after decides:

So the same person can be described both ways: Il est médecin or C’est un médecin. What you can’t do is mix them: il est un médecin sounds wrong to French ears.

Examples

• Je suis étudiante.I'm a student. (a woman: étudiante, no article)
• Tu es canadien ?Are you Canadian? (a question just by raising your voice)
• Il est infirmier. C'est un bon infirmier.He's a nurse. He's a good nurse. (no article / c'est un)
• Elle est à la maison.She's at home.
• On est en retard !We're late! (on = we, with est)
• Nous sommes de Toronto.We're from Toronto.
• Vous êtes d'accord ?Do you agree? (liaison: voo-zet)
• Ils sont fatigués.They're tired.
• Elles sont sœurs.They're sisters. (only women: elles)
• C'est Marc, mon collègue.This is Marc, my colleague.
• La voiture ? Elle est rouge.The car? It's red. (feminine thing: elle)
• C'est beau !It's beautiful! (about a view, a moment)
• Au Québec, on parle français.In Québec, people speak French. (on = people in general)

Memory tricks

Don’t get French fried