How do you conjugate a verb after a compound subject like ma sœur et moi?

Reduce it to a single pronoun. Anything plus moi gives nous (ma sœur et moi partons), anything plus toi but no moi gives vous (ton frère et toi partez), and two third persons give ils or elles (Paul et Marie partent).

Is on singular or plural in French?

Grammatically singular: on va, on est, on a. The adjective or participle after it usually agrees with the people meant, so on est allés and on est fatigués are both normal. When on means people in general, keep everything masculine singular: on est mieux assis.

Why is it vous êtes venu and not vous êtes venus?

Because the polite vous addresses one person. The verb form is plural because the pronoun is, but the participle describes a single individual and stays singular: vous êtes venu, monsieur; vous êtes venue, madame.

Does the verb agree with la plupart or with the following noun?

With the following noun. La plupart des gens pensent is plural because gens is; la plupart du temps se passe bien is singular because temps is. The same rule covers beaucoup de, la moitié de, un tiers de, and une majorité de.

Why does French say c'est moi qui ai raison?

Because qui transmits the person of its antecedent to the verb, and the antecedent is moi. The verb therefore appears in the first person singular even though c'est looks like a third person clause. The same applies to c'est toi qui as and c'est nous qui avons.

French grammar · Intermediate

Agreement with Subjects in French: Finding the Subject and Counting It

Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

Every French verb takes its person and number from its subject, and the past participle of an être verb takes its gender and number from the same place. The rule is simple; identifying the subject is not, because compound subjects, quantity expressions, on, and the polite vous all count differently from what English would suggest.

Ma sœur et moi habitons dans le même immeuble.

My sister and I live in the same building.

What it is

French verbs carry more information about their subject than English verbs do, and in compound tenses with être the participle carries gender as well. That makes the identification of the subject a practical problem rather than a theoretical one: get it wrong and two words in the sentence come out wrong with it.

Toi et moi sommes déjà allés là-bas. — You and I have already been there. (toi et moi → nous)

How to spot it

Reduce the subject to a single pronoun before you conjugate. Ma sœur et moi becomes nous, ton frère et toi becomes vous, and Paul et Marie becomes ils. Conjugate for that pronoun.

Mon père et moi travaillons ensemble. — My father and I work together. (→ nous)
Lui et toi savez la vérité. — He and you know the truth. (→ vous)
La plupart des gens sont d'accord. — Most people agree. (→ ils)
Tout le monde est là. — Everybody's here. (→ il)

The order of persons in French matches the order in the pronoun table: moi outranks toi, and toi outranks lui.

Agreement with Subjects Quick Reference

Which pronoun the subject reduces to

Subject	Behaves like	Example
toi et moi	nous	Toi et moi partons. — You and I are leaving.
lui et toi	vous	Lui et toi savez tout. — He and you know everything.
Paul et Marie	ils	Paul et Marie arrivent. — Paul and Marie are arriving.
on	il, always singular	On y va. — Let's go.
tout le monde, chacun, personne	il, always singular	Tout le monde sait. — Everybody knows.
la plupart des gens	ils	La plupart des gens sont partis. — Most people have left.
vous de politesse	vous, but a singular participle	Vous êtes venu seul ? — Did you come alone?
la police, l'équipe, le personnel	elle or il, singular	La police est arrivée. — The police arrived.

Common Agreement with Subjects Examples in French

Subjects of every shape, with the verb they take:

Compound Subjects

Mon frère et moi habitons ensemble.: My brother and I live together.
Ta sœur et toi arrivez quand ?: When are you and your sister arriving?
Le chien et le chat dorment sur le canapé.: The dog and the cat are asleep on the sofa.
Marie, Paul et moi sommes du même avis.: Marie, Paul and I are of the same opinion.

French rarely uses a summarising pronoun the way Spanish or Italian might: mon frère et moi habitons, with no nous, is the normal form.

On, Tout le Monde, Chacun

On va au cinéma ce soir.: We're going to the cinema tonight.
Tout le monde a compris.: Everybody understood.
Chacun fait ce qu'il veut.: Everyone does as they please.
Personne ne le sait encore.: Nobody knows yet.

All four take a third person singular verb, however many people they actually refer to.

Quantities and Fractions

La plupart des étudiants travaillent le week-end.: Most students work at the weekend.
Un tiers des élèves ont réussi.: A third of the pupils passed.
La moitié du groupe est déjà partie.: Half the group has already left.
Beaucoup de monde est venu.: A lot of people came.

The verb follows the noun after de. Monde is singular, so beaucoup de monde est venu, while beaucoup de gens sont venus is plural.

Subjects Behind Qui

C'est moi qui paie.: I'm the one paying.
C'est vous qui avez raison.: You're the one who's right.
Ceux qui veulent venir sont les bienvenus.: Those who want to come are welcome.
Il y a des gens qui ne comprennent pas.: There are people who don't understand.

Qui is transparent: it hands its antecedent's person and number to the verb without changing them.

How Subject Agreement Is Decided

Five rules, ordered from the most mechanical to the most easily missed.

Reduce the Subject to One Pronoun

Whatever the subject looks like, it corresponds to exactly one of the six pronouns. Doing that substitution out loud settles the conjugation before you have to think about endings.

Ma mère, ma tante et moi partons en juin.

My mother, my aunt and I are leaving in June.

Anything + moi = nous.

The Earliest Person Wins

When a compound subject mixes persons, the first person beats the second, and the second beats the third. So toi et lui gives vous, and moi et eux gives nous.

Lui et moi nous connaissons depuis longtemps.

He and I have known each other for a long time.

1 > 2 > 3.

On Is Singular, Whatever It Means

On takes a third person singular verb even when it clearly means we or people in general. Adjectives and participles after it, however, often agree with the real referents in everyday usage.

On est allés au marché.

We went to the market.

Singular verb, plural sense.

Quantity Expressions Point Past Themselves

In la plupart de, beaucoup de, un tiers de, la moitié de, and une majorité de, it is the noun after de that decides. The quantifier is only a measurement.

La moitié des invités sont déjà là.

Half the guests are already here.

Count the noun after de.

Qui Is Not a Third Person

A relative clause introduced by qui takes its person from the antecedent, not from qui itself. This is what produces c'est moi qui ai, with a first person verb after a third person clause.

C'est toi qui as commencé.

You're the one who started it.

qui = whatever it refers back to.

Common Mistakes with Agreement with Subjects

Incorrect: Toi et moi partez demain. — You and I are leaving tomorrow.

Correct: Toi et moi partons demain. — You and I are leaving tomorrow.

Toi et moi reduces to nous, not vous, because the first person outranks the second. The verb takes the nous ending.

Incorrect: On sont prêts. — We're ready.

Correct: On est prêts. — We're ready.

On always takes a singular verb, even though it means we. Only the adjective may go plural, which is why on est prêts mixes a singular verb with a plural adjective.

Incorrect: Vous êtes venus tout seuls, monsieur ? — Did you come on your own, sir?

Correct: Vous êtes venu tout seul, monsieur ? — Did you come on your own, sir?

The polite vous refers to one person, so the participle and the adjective stay singular. Only the verb form is plural.

Incorrect: La police sont arrivées. — The police arrived.

Correct: La police est arrivée. — The police arrived.

La police is a feminine singular noun in French. The participle agrees with it in gender, giving arrivée, but stays singular.

Vous, On, and Collective Bodies

Three subjects where the grammatical number and the real-world number pull in different directions.

The polite vous

Vous addressed to one person takes a plural verb but a singular participle and adjective, because the verb reflects the pronoun while the adjective reflects the actual person.

Vous êtes venu seul, monsieur ?: Did you come alone, sir?
Vous êtes très gentille, madame.: You're very kind, madam.
Vous serez reçu à quinze heures.: You'll be seen at three.
Vous êtes tous invités.: You're all invited. (genuinely plural)

This is the one place in French where a plural verb sits next to a singular adjective, and it is entirely standard.

The verb after on is always singular. Adjectives and past participles, however, commonly agree with the people on stands for, which is accepted in everyday writing.

On est fatigués ce soir.: We're tired this evening.
On est allés au cinéma.: We went to the cinema.
On n'est jamais content.: You're never satisfied. (general sense)
On s'est bien amusés.: We had a great time.

When on means people in general, the adjective stays masculine singular: on est mieux chez soi.

Institutions and collective nouns

French keeps a collective noun singular, so the verb and any participle stay singular too. British English often does the opposite.

La police est arrivée en dix minutes.: The police arrived in ten minutes.
L'équipe a gagné son match.: The team won their match.
Le gouvernement a annoncé la décision.: The government has announced the decision.
Le personnel est en grève.: The staff are on strike.

If you need to stress the individuals, name them: les policiers sont arrivés, les employés sont en grève.

Agreement with Subjects FAQs

How do you conjugate a verb after a compound subject like ma sœur et moi?: Reduce it to a single pronoun. Anything plus moi gives nous (ma sœur et moi partons), anything plus toi but no moi gives vous (ton frère et toi partez), and two third persons give ils or elles (Paul et Marie partent).
Is on singular or plural in French?: Grammatically singular: on va, on est, on a. The adjective or participle after it usually agrees with the people meant, so on est allés and on est fatigués are both normal. When on means people in general, keep everything masculine singular: on est mieux assis.
Why is it vous êtes venu and not vous êtes venus?: Because the polite vous addresses one person. The verb form is plural because the pronoun is, but the participle describes a single individual and stays singular: vous êtes venu, monsieur; vous êtes venue, madame.
Does the verb agree with la plupart or with the following noun?: With the following noun. La plupart des gens pensent is plural because gens is; la plupart du temps se passe bien is singular because temps is. The same rule covers beaucoup de, la moitié de, un tiers de, and une majorité de.
Why does French say c'est moi qui ai raison?: Because qui transmits the person of its antecedent to the verb, and the antecedent is moi. The verb therefore appears in the first person singular even though c'est looks like a third person clause. The same applies to c'est toi qui as and c'est nous qui avons.