A1
Subject pronouns, and tu against vous
The French subject pronouns, why on has replaced nous in speech, and how to choose between tu and vous.
| je | I |
| tu | you, singular and familiar |
| il / elle | he / she |
| nous | we |
| vous | you, plural or formal |
| ils / elles | they |
Je parle français.
I speak French
I speak French.
tu or vous is not a style choice
Vous is used for a stranger, anyone older, anyone in authority, and anyone you have not been invited to address as tu. Tu is for family, friends, children and peers. Getting it wrong is not a grammatical error but a social one, and it is noticed.
Vous parlez anglais ?
you speak English
Do you speak English?
The safe default with an adult stranger is vous, and they will invite you to switch — on peut se tutoyer. French has a verb for that switch, which tells you how real the distinction is.
on has replaced nous in speech
On means one, and in conversation it means we. It takes the same verb form as il and elle, which makes it easier as well as more common.
On va au cinéma ?
one goes to-the cinema
Shall we go to the cinema?
On allons au cinéma.
On va au cinéma.
On takes the il/elle form of the verb however plural its meaning. Nous allons is correct, and on allons is not.
Nous survives in writing and formal speech. In ordinary conversation, hearing it is the exception.
ils covers a mixed group
A group of any size takes elles only if every member is feminine. One man in a group of ninety-nine women makes it ils. This rule is much discussed in French and has not, so far, changed.
je becomes j’
Before a vowel or silent h: j’ai, j’habite. Tu never elides — tu as, not t’as, in writing, though you will hear t’as constantly.