evolang.
Browse
About
French · Grammar · A1

French pronouns: je, tu, vous, on, and moi, toi

Subject or stressed? · tap a person
Subject · before the verbje
JeIsuisamprêt.ready
zhuh swee PRAY · “I’m ready.”Why: je → j’ before a vowel: j’ai.
Stressed · on its own, after a prepositionmoi
Moi,mejeIreste.stay
MWA, zhuh REST · “Me, I’m staying.”Why: moi doubles up for emphasis.

Short answer: a subject pronoun says who does the action. French ones are je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils, elles, and unlike Spanish they can never be dropped, because many verb forms sound identical (je parle, tu parles, il parle all sound like “parl”). Je becomes j’ before a vowel: j’aime. Tu is for one friend; vous is for one stranger or any group. In everyday speech on usually replaces nous: On y va ? (Shall we go?). When a pronoun stands alone or follows a preposition, French uses the stressed form: moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles: Et toi ?, avec moi.

Choosing “you”

Tu or vous?

How many? one: close? two or more tuvousvous yes: friend, family, childno: stranger, bossalways
When in doubt, use vous and wait for the other person to suggest On se tutoie ? (Shall we say tu?). Tutoyer and vouvoyer are the verbs for each choice.
On: we, people, someone

On y va !

on = we (speech)
Onwevagoau cinéma ?to-the cinema
on VA oh see-nay-MA · “Shall we go to the cinema?”Why: Much more common than nous allons in conversation.
on = people in general
En France,in Franceononemangeeatstard.late
an FRANS, on MANZH TAR · “In France, people eat late.”Why: Like English “you” or “people” in general statements.
on = someone
Ononem’a voléme-has stolenmon vélo.my bike
on ma vo-LAY mon vay-LOH · “Someone stole my bike.”Why: French often uses on where English uses the passive.
Subject and stressed forms

The full set

EnglishSubjectStressedparler
I / meje (j’)moije parle
you (friend)tutoitu parles
he / himilluiil parle
she / herelleelleelle parle
we (speech) / oneonsoion parle
we / usnousnousnous parlons
you (formal, plural)vousvousvous parlez
they (m. or mixed)ilseuxils parlent
they (all f.)elleselleselles parlent
Agreeing with stressed pronouns

Moi aussi, moi non plus

Me too
J’adoreI-lovele jazz.the jazz——Moi aussi.me also
zha-DOR luh DZHAZ. MWA oh-SEE · “I love jazz. Me too.”Why: Agreeing with a positive.
Me neither
JeIn’aime pasnot-likeça.thatMoi non plus.me not more
zhuh nem PA SA. MWA non PLÜ · “I don’t like that. Me neither.”Why: Agreeing with a negative: non plus, never aussi.
Not me
Moi,menon.no
MWA, NON · “Not me.”Why: Disagreeing with a positive.
I do
Moi,mesi.yes
MWA, SEE · “I do.”Why: Disagreeing with a negative: si.
Indefinite pronouns

Quelqu’un, personne, tout le monde

Keep going

Related guides

parlePresent tense →Why je parle and il parle sound the same.je le voisObject pronouns →me, te, le, la, lui.tutoyerRegister →When to switch to tu.ton livrePossessives →mon, ton, son.