The Subject Pronouns
and the conjugation of the regular verbs in French.
The (Subject) pronouns
in English and French are:
| je |
I |
| tu |
you (familiar) see: tu and vous) |
| il |
he,it |
| elle |
she, it |
| on |
one (see note below) |
| nous |
we |
| vous |
you (formal) see: tu and vous |
| ils |
they (masculine/mixed |
| elles |
they (feminine) |
Note:
- For the two different forms for "you" in French see: tu
and vous)
- French has no word for "it."
Nouns are either masculine or feminine; therefore "it"
is either "il" or "elle"
- French has two words for "they."
When the company is all masculine it's "ils,"
when it's all "feminine"
it's "elles," and when the groups is
mixed it's "ils" again.
- the pronoun "on" is used
with il/elle form of the verb (3rd person singular).
In conversational French it usually mean "we."
When it refers to people in general, it can mean "they"
or "you" or "one."
There are four conjugations in French:
- 1. -er verbs like: parler,
chanter, étudier...
To conjugate (see below) an -er
verb, take the -er from the infinitive*
and you're left with the stem.
Then for each subject pronoun you must add a different
ending (memorize these!!!) which are:
-e, -es, -e, -ons,
ez, -ent
- 2. -ir verbs like: finir,
chosir, remplir...
To conjugate (see below) an -ir
verb, take the -ir from the infinitive and you're
left with the stem.
Then for each subject pronoun you must add a different
ending (memorize these!!!) which are:
-is, -is, -it, -issons,
-issez, -issent
- 3. -re verbs like: vendre,
rendre, attendre....
To conjugate (see below) an -re
verb, take the -re from the infinitive and you're
left with the stem.
Then for each subject pronoun you must add a different
ending (memorize these!!!) which are:
-s, -s, -nothing,
-ons, -ez, -ent.
- 4. Irregular
verbs (these must be memorized (follow link)
| parler (-er verb) |
finir ( -ir verb) |
vendre (-re verb) |
| stem: parl- |
stem: fin- |
stem: vend- |
| je parle |
je finis |
je vends |
| tu parles |
tu finis |
tu vends |
| il/elle/on parle |
il/elle/on finit |
il/elle/on vend |
| nous parlons |
nous finissons |
nous vendons |
| vous parlez |
vous finissez |
vous vendez |
| ils/elles parlent |
ils/elles finissent |
ils/elles vendent |
* In simple terms, an infinitive
in English is that form of the verb which had the word "to"
in front of it
(thus: to take, to
go, to find, to think....)