What are the French subject pronouns?

There are nine: je (I), tu (you, familiar singular), il (he, it), elle (she, it), on (we, people, someone), nous (we), vous (you, plural or polite), ils (they, masculine or mixed) and elles (they, all feminine).

Can you leave out the subject pronoun in French?

No. Unlike some languages, French needs the subject expressed in every clause, because most verb endings sound identical. Je parle, tu parles, il parle and ils parlent are all pronounced the same, so the pronoun is doing the work of telling you who's speaking.

What's the difference between il and lui?

Il is a subject pronoun and has to sit in front of a verb: il travaille. Lui is the stressed form, used alone, after a preposition, or for emphasis: avec lui, c'est lui, lui aussi. Lui is also the indirect object pronoun meaning to him or to her.

Do I use nous or on for we?

In speech, on, almost always: on part demain. Nous is the written and formal choice, and it's still the only option as an object or after a preposition, as in il nous attend and avec nous. Remember on takes a singular verb: on est, not on sommes.

How do I say it in French?

There's no single word. Use il or elle according to the gender of the noun you're replacing, use ce or ça when there's no specific noun (c'est vrai, ça dépend), and use impersonal il for weather and time: il pleut, il est tard.

French grammar · Beginner

French Subject Pronouns: The Nine Words That Start a Sentence

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

The French subject pronouns are je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils and elles. They tell you who is doing the verb and they cannot be left out, so every French clause needs either a noun subject or one of these nine words. Two of them have no simple English equivalent: on, which covers we and people in general, and elle, which also means it.

J'habite ici, elle travaille là-bas, et nous nous voyons le week-end.

I live here, she works over there, and we see each other at the weekend.

What it is

A subject pronoun replaces the noun doing the action, so instead of naming Marie again you say elle. French has nine of them, one more than English, because it distinguishes familiar tu from formal or plural vous and adds the all-purpose on. Each one commands its own verb ending, which is why they're the backbone of every conjugation table.

Marie est là. Elle attend depuis midi. — Marie's here. She's been waiting since noon.

How to spot it

The subject pronoun sits immediately before the verb in a statement, and it's the word the verb ending is agreeing with. If you can't find one, the sentence has a noun subject instead.

Je comprends maintenant. — I understand now.
Nous partons à six heures. — We're leaving at six.
Ils ne sont pas venus. — They didn't come.
On verra bien. — We'll see. / Time will tell.

Je shortens to j' before a vowel or a mute h: j'arrive, j'habite, j'ai. None of the others elide, so tu es and il est keep both words intact.

Subject Pronouns Quick Reference

The nine subject pronouns

Pronoun	Means	With être	Notes
je / j'	I	je suis	Elides before a vowel; not capitalised mid-sentence
tu	you (one person, familiar)	tu es	Family, friends, children, animals
il	he, it	il est	Also the dummy subject in il pleut
elle	she, it	elle est	For any feminine noun, not just people
on	we, people, someone	on est	Third-person singular verb, plural meaning
nous	we	nous sommes	Formal or written; speech prefers on
vous	you (plural or polite)	vous êtes	Plural verb even for one person
ils	they (masc. or mixed)	ils sont	Any masculine member makes the group ils
elles	they (all feminine)	elles sont	Every member must be feminine

Common Subject Pronouns Examples in French

The pronouns at work, singular first:

The Singular Pronouns

Je ne sais pas encore.: I don't know yet.
Tu as raison.: You're right.
Il arrive dans cinq minutes.: He's arriving in five minutes.
Elle a tout préparé.: She got everything ready.

Note the double life of il and elle: they mean he and she with people, and it with masculine and feminine nouns.

The Plural Pronouns

Nous avons réservé une table.: We've booked a table.
Vous connaissez la ville ?: Do you know the city?
Ils habitent au troisième étage.: They live on the third floor.
Elles reviennent lundi.: They're coming back on Monday.

Vous is both the plural you and the polite singular, so vous êtes prêt and vous êtes prêts differ only in the written agreement.

On, the Pronoun With No English Twin

On y va ?: Shall we go?
On m'a dit le contraire.: I was told the opposite.
Ici, on paie à la caisse.: Here you pay at the till.
Nous, on reste.: We're staying.

On takes the same verb form as il but can mean we, people in general, or an unnamed someone. In conversation it has almost entirely replaced nous as a subject.

Where the Pronoun Moves or Doubles

Parlez-vous français ?: Do you speak French?
Où habites-tu ?: Where do you live?
Mon frère, il est médecin.: My brother's a doctor.
Moi, je préfère le train.: I prefer the train.

Inversion puts the pronoun after the verb in formal questions. In speech, French often names the subject and then repeats it as a pronoun.

How the Subject Pronouns Work

Five rules cover the whole set, including the two places French differs sharply from English.

The Subject Can Never Be Dropped

French verb endings don't identify the subject clearly enough to stand alone, especially in speech where parle, parles and parlent sound identical. A pronoun or a noun subject is compulsory in every clause.

Il fait froid et il commence à neiger.

It's cold and it's starting to snow.

No subject, no sentence.

Each Pronoun Owns a Verb Ending

Conjugation is organised around these nine words, so learning a tense means learning six forms: je, tu, il, nous, vous, ils. Elle and on borrow the il form, and elles borrows the ils form.

Je finis, tu finis, il finit, nous finissons.

I finish, you finish, he finishes, we finish.

Six endings, nine pronouns.

Gender Follows the Noun, Not the Meaning

Il and elle replace masculine and feminine nouns of any kind, alive or not. There is no neuter pronoun to fall back on, so a bridge is il and a road is elle.

Le pont est fermé : il est en travaux.

The bridge is closed: it's being repaired.

le → il, la → elle.

A Mixed Plural Is Always Ils

Elles requires every member of the group to be feminine. One masculine noun anywhere in the group, and the pronoun becomes ils, which also affects any participle that agrees with it.

Ma sœur et son mari ? Ils sont déjà partis.

My sister and her husband? They've already left.

One masculine → ils.

These Forms Only Work in Front of a Verb

Subject pronouns can't stand alone, follow a preposition, or be emphasised. For all of that French switches to the stressed series moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles.

Qui vient ? Moi. Et lui aussi.

Who's coming? Me. And him too.

Alone or after a preposition → stressed form.

Common Mistakes with Subject Pronouns

Incorrect: Suis fatigué. — I'm tired.

Correct: Je suis fatigué. — I'm tired.

French cannot leave the subject unexpressed. The verb ending alone doesn't identify the person reliably, so a pronoun is compulsory even when the meaning is obvious.

Incorrect: Je ai deux frères. — I have two brothers.

Correct: J'ai deux frères. — I have two brothers.

Je elides to j' before a vowel or a mute h. This applies to every verb form starting with a vowel: j'arrive, j'écoute, j'habite, j'en ai.

Incorrect: La table est neuve. Il est en bois. — The table is new. It's made of wood.

Correct: La table est neuve. Elle est en bois. — The table is new. It's made of wood.

There is no neutral pronoun for objects. The pronoun copies the gender of the noun, and table is feminine, so it becomes elle.

Incorrect: Qui a téléphoné ? Je. — Who called? Me.

Correct: Qui a téléphoné ? Moi. — Who called? Me.

Subject pronouns only exist attached to a verb. Standing alone, French uses the stressed forms moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles.

Three Subjects That Don't Refer to Anybody

French fills the subject slot even when there's nothing to put in it, and how it does that is worth knowing early.

Impersonal il

Weather, time, distance and expressions like it's necessary all take il as an empty placeholder. It refers to nothing at all and never becomes elle.

Il pleut depuis ce matin.: It's been raining since this morning.
Il est huit heures et demie.: It's half past eight.
Il faut partir maintenant.: We have to leave now.
Il y a trop de bruit.: There's too much noise.

Il faut and il y a are among the most frequent verb forms in the language, and both are locked to this impersonal il.

C'est and ce sont for identifying things

To identify or define something, French uses ce rather than il or elle. Before a plural noun, ce sont is the careful form, though c'est is very common in speech.

C'est mon frère.: That's my brother.
Ce sont des amis de mes parents.: They're friends of my parents.
C'est difficile à expliquer.: It's hard to explain.
Ce n'est pas grave.: It doesn't matter.

The rough split is that c'est introduces a noun and il est introduces an adjective or a profession: c'est un professeur, but il est professeur.

Ça, and doubling the subject in speech

Ça stands for a situation rather than a named thing, and spoken French frequently names a subject and then repeats it as a pronoun for emphasis or clarity.

Ça m'énerve.: That annoys me.
Ça va aller.: It'll be fine.
Mes parents, ils arrivent demain.: My parents are arriving tomorrow.
Toi, tu ne changes pas.: You never change.

The doubled subject is standard casual French, not an error. In writing, though, one subject per clause is the norm.

Subject Pronouns FAQs

What are the French subject pronouns?: There are nine: je (I), tu (you, familiar singular), il (he, it), elle (she, it), on (we, people, someone), nous (we), vous (you, plural or polite), ils (they, masculine or mixed) and elles (they, all feminine).
Can you leave out the subject pronoun in French?: No. Unlike some languages, French needs the subject expressed in every clause, because most verb endings sound identical. Je parle, tu parles, il parle and ils parlent are all pronounced the same, so the pronoun is doing the work of telling you who's speaking.
What's the difference between il and lui?: Il is a subject pronoun and has to sit in front of a verb: il travaille. Lui is the stressed form, used alone, after a preposition, or for emphasis: avec lui, c'est lui, lui aussi. Lui is also the indirect object pronoun meaning to him or to her.
Do I use nous or on for we?: In speech, on, almost always: on part demain. Nous is the written and formal choice, and it's still the only option as an object or after a preposition, as in il nous attend and avec nous. Remember on takes a singular verb: on est, not on sommes.
How do I say it in French?: There's no single word. Use il or elle according to the gender of the noun you're replacing, use ce or ça when there's no specific noun (c'est vrai, ça dépend), and use impersonal il for weather and time: il pleut, il est tard.