French pronouns and first sentences: je suis, tu es, il est
You are meeting friends and want to say who is here and who is at a place you point to. Build a short statement with a subject, the matching form of être (be), and ici (here) or là (there): je suis, tu es, il est, elle est. You will also use names, as in Leo est là, and briefly recognize the other subject pronouns without learning their verb forms yet.
From saying your name to locating people
Je m'appelle Leo means ‘My name is Leo’; keep it as a whole expression for introducing yourself. Je refers to the speaker, tu addresses one person on familiar terms, and vous can address one person politely. French distinguishes tu and vous where English uses you: follow the form people use with you or invite you to use. For today's statements, practise je and tu alongside il and elle; you do not need to conjugate with vous yet.
Je m'appelle Leo.
Four people words and two place words
Je is I; tu is you, for one person you address familiarly; il is he; elle is she. In this lesson, il and elle refer to people already identified. Être is the dictionary form be; the sentences below use suis, es and est.
Ici means here, at the speaker's location; là points to a place understood in the situation. In our examples, là means there, but it need not be far away and can even mean here in another context. Listen to the cards, then to the complete sentences below.
Keep the subject and choose its verb form
Use these pairs: je suis = I am; tu es = you are; il est = he is; elle est = she is. Then add ici (here) or là (there): Je suis ici means ‘I'm here’. Keep a subject in these complete statements, just as in ‘I am here’: suis ici on its own is not the model to copy.
The slots are not freely interchangeable: je goes with suis, tu with es, and both il and elle with est. There is no second form of est for elle. Listen and repeat each whole sentence, then change only the place word.
je / tu / il / elle suis / es / est ici / là
Je suis ici.
- informal
Tu es ici.
Il est là.
Elle est là.
A name or a pronoun before est
Leo est là means ‘Leo is there’, and Ana est là means ‘Ana is there’. A single person's name takes est in these statements. Once you have identified Leo, use Il est là; once you have identified Ana, use Elle est là. The name and the pronoun occupy the same subject position in these models: Leo est là or Il est là. Listen to each pair and notice what stays the same.
Leo est là.
Il est là.
Ana est là.
Elle est là.
Recognize the rest of the map
For recognition only: nous means we; vous addresses several people or one person politely; ils means they for a male or mixed group, and elles for an all-female group. On often means we in everyday speech, but can also refer to people in general, rather like English people or generic you. These are meanings to recognize, not extra verb forms to produce today. Return to the four practised pairs for your own sentences: je suis, tu es, il est, elle est.
Tell a friend where everyone is
Try these four statements before checking the examples: say that you are here; tell a friend beside you that they are here, using tu; point to Leo at another spot and say ‘He is there’; point to Ana at that spot and say ‘She is there’. The answers appear below in that order; listen after you have tried.
To finish, replace Il with Leo and Elle with Ana: the verb remains est. Keep the subject, choose suis with je, es with tu, or est with il, elle and one person's name, then add ici or là.
Je suis ici.
- informal
Tu es ici.
Il est là.
Elle est là.