3.1 French Subject Pronouns
I walk
he walks
Subject pronouns tell us who performs an action. In English, we use different subject pronouns to indicate who does the action—we say "I walk" or "he walks". French has subject pronouns too. Check them out:
| I | je |
| you, informal singular | tu |
| he / masculine it | il |
| she / feminine it | elle |
| one / people / we | on |
| we | nous |
| you, formal singular or plural | vous |
| they, masculine or mixed | ils |
| they, feminine | elles |
In French, the subject pronoun normally goes right before the verb:
Je parle français.
I speak French.
This is especially useful because several French verb forms are spelled differently but sound the same.
If you've studied Spanish, here's one way the two languages differ: Spanish often drops subject pronouns (hablo español), but French keeps them—it's je parle français, never just parle français.
3.2 Il, Elle, Ils, and Elles
French distinguishes gender in third-person pronouns.
Il means he and elle means she. They can also mean it when replacing a noun:
Le livre est ici. Il est nouveau.
The book is here. It is new.
La voiture est ici. Elle est nouvelle.
The car is here. It is new.
French also uses il as an impersonal "it" in expressions such as il pleut (it is raining) and il est tard (it is late).
Ils
masculine or mixed
Elles
feminine
When it comes to groups:
- ils refers to an all-male group, a mixed group, or a group of masculine nouns
- elles refers to an entirely feminine group or a group of feminine nouns
Paul et Marie sont ici. Ils sont ici.
Paul and Marie are here. They are here.
Marie et Sophie sont ici. Elles sont ici.
Marie and Sophie are here. They are here.
3.3 Tu and Vous
Tu
one person, informal
or 
Vous
formal or plural
French has two ways to say you.
Use tu when speaking informally to one person, such as a friend, family member, or child.
Use vous when speaking:
- formally to one person
- to two or more people, whether formal or informal
Tu es mon ami.
You are my friend.
Vous êtes mon professeur.
You are my teacher.
Vous êtes mes amis.
You are my friends.
The verbs tutoyer and vouvoyer mean to address someone using tu or vous.
3.4 On: One, People, or We
The pronoun on can have several meanings depending on context. It can mean one, people, a general you, or conversational we.
En France, on mange beaucoup de pain.
In France, people eat a lot of bread.
On ne sait jamais.
You never know. (literally: one never knows)
In everyday conversation, on is also commonly used instead of nous:
On dîne ensemble ce soir.
We're having dinner together tonight.
No matter what on means, it always takes the same third-person singular verb form as il and elle:
- il dîne · elle dîne · on dîne
3.5 Je Becomes J'
Before a verb beginning with a vowel sound, je shortens to j': je + aime → j'aime.
J'aime le français.
I like French.
This shortening is called elision. It also occurs before most words beginning with a silent h:
J'habite en France.
I live in France.
A small number of words beginning with h do not allow elision, but you can learn those exceptions as you encounter them.