PERSONAL PRONOUNS-M.P.FG102
Salut chers amis (Hello dear friends)!
I believe without a doubt that you've been learning a great deal from our episodes of French Grammar for Beginners on Ma Petite France.
Last week, we concluded our lesson on the French Liaison and i believe that everything explained is well understood. Fine!
I strongly advice that you go through it again from time to time until you are sure you can explain it even in your sleep! lol.
This time, we'll be staring a new series on French subject pronouns otherwise known as personal pronouns.
Pronouns are words that replace nouns in a sentence and the subject of a sentence is the one who does the action in a sentence. With the knowledge of these two parts we can have a clear idea of what "subject pronouns" are i.e. subject pronouns are words that depict the doer of an action in a sentence and they are usually placed at the beginning of the sentence in a simple sentence construction.
The French subject pronouns have three persons both in the singular and plural forms. Don't worry, i'll take it slowly, so just relax and try to keep up as we go through this lesson together...fine, lets roll!
Je = I (1st person singular)
Tu = You (2nd person singular)
Il = He/ Elle = She (3rd person singular)
Nous = We (1st person plural)
Vous = You (2nd person plural)
Ils/ Elles = they (3rd person plural)
If you look closely, you would notice there are two versions of "you" in French and you probably might be wondering why. You see, when learning a new language, it is often good to also understand the culture that surrounds the language.
In French, "Tu" and "Vous" meaning "You" are used in different contexts.
"Tu" is used in an informal setting for your mates, someone you are familiar with, your family members including your parents and for someone you're older than (let's say little children). "Vous" on the other hand is used in a formal setting mostly to show respect. It can be used for a stranger (someone you are meeting for the first time) and it can also be used for a group of people.
For those of us that speak Yoruba Language (one of the native languages in Nigeria), we can liken "tu" and "vous" to "ìwọ" and "ẹ̀yin" respectively. Although not totally the same as you may have noticed in the above explanation.
I hope you've been able to understand the French subject pronouns. In our next lesson, we will learn how to use the subject pronouns with verbs. Until then, don't quit learning French, it is a beautiful language.
You can always ask more questions for clarity in the comment section. Till next time.
