Chapter 36:

Personal pronouns - subject pronouns

1 Definition

Personal pronouns are words such as il, lui, eux, y and en that stand in the place of a noun:

Mme Chevalier travaille en ville. Elle est avocat.

Madame Chevalier works in town. She's a lawyer.

A subject personal pronoun is used to replace people or things that are the subject of a verb. In French the subject personal pronouns are:

Je ne me suis pas rendu compte de l'heure

I didn't realize the time

It is important to remember that when replacing nouns referring to things, subject pronouns must have the same gender as the noun replaced:

J'aime bien cette voiture. Elle est très fiable.

This contrasts with English which generally uses the impersonal pronoun it.

I really like this car. It's very reliable.

French has two ways of expressing the English you in its singular form:

Vous is used between people who are unfamiliar with one another, or between people in a formal social or professional context. Also, older people are more likely to use vous than younger people.

Tu is used between people who are familiar with one another. In situations such as school or the workplace where there is a clear hierachy, a "superior" might use tu as an indication of authority, an "inferior" responding with vous. In smaller companies or organisations people will often use tu whatever their hierarchical position.

Non-native French speakers should always use vous unless sure that tu is acceptable.

The pronoun il can also be used with an impersonal verb , in which case it does not refer to a specific noun :

Il s'agit dans le roman d'une histoire d'amour conventionelle

The book is about the Second World War

The impersonal il cannot be replaced by a noun, i.e. you cannot say *Le livre s'agit de ...

The pronoun on is generally used impersonally, the equivalent of one or you in English:

Lorsqu'on arrive à un entretien pour un emploi il y a souvent un sentiment d'inquiétude

When you arrive for a job interview you often have a feeling of apprehension

However, in informal contexts on is used as a substitute for nous. In this case French people tend to use the same agreements as for nous:

Hier on est tous allés à la plage

Yesterday we all went to the beach

French generally uses l'on after et, si, que, où or ou:

Les tickets sont moins chers si l'on est déjà abonné

The tickets are cheaper if you're already a subscriber

But not before words beginning with l:

Les tickets sont moins chers si on les paie d'avance

The tickets are cheaper if you pay for them in advance