In this French grammar lesson you will learn about il/elle versus ils/elles.
In this lesson you will learn about:
- what the subject pronouns are in French
- what il means
- what elle means
- what ils means
- what elles means
- how il, elle, ils, and elles are used in sentences
- how you can immediately test your knowledge on il/elle versus ils/elles
- how il/elle versus ils/elles Anki files can be downloaded.
Please refer to the French A1 Curriculum to get a better overview of French grammar if you are curious about how il/elle versus ils/elles fits in French A1 grammar.
By the end of the lesson you will know all about il/elle versus ils/elles.
Table of Contents
Table of Subject Pronouns
| je | I |
| tu | you (singular informal) |
| il | he, it (masculine) |
| elle | she, it (feminine) |
| on | one, we (informal), people, they |
| nous | we (formal) |
| vous | you (singular formal and all plurals) |
| ils | they (masculine, or mixed masculine and feminine) |
| elles | they (feminine) |
Il means he or it (for a masculine noun)
Adam est timid. Il est timid.
Adam is shy. He is shy.
As Adam is a man, you have to use the subject pronoun il if you want to refer back to him.
Le livre est dans la maison. Il est dans la maison.
The book is in the house. It is in the house.
As you can see there is not a special word for “it” in French. The subject pronoun il can be used for “it” masculine nouns.
Elle means she or it (for a feminine noun)
Antoinette est calme. Elle est calme.
Antoinette is quiet. She is quiet.
As Antoinette is a woman, you have to use the subject pronoun elle if you want to refer back to her.
La chaise est grande. Elle est grande.
The chair is big. It is big
As you can see there is not a special word for “it” in French. The subject pronoun elle can be used for feminine nouns.
Ils means they (for masculine and mixed plural nouns)
Adam et Paul sont frères. Ils sont frères.
Adam and Paul are brothers. They are brothers.
The group is completly male, thus you have to use the subject pronoun ils to refer back to them.
Adam et Antoinette sont ici. Ils sont ici
Adam and Antoinette are here. They are here.
The group is mixed (one male and one female), so you have to use the subject pronoun ils to refer back to them.
Les livres sont en vente. Ils sont en vente.
The books are on sale. They are on sale.
The noun is masculine and plural. So, you have to use the subject pronoun ils to refer to them.
Please note that the pronunciation of il and ils is the same, as the -s in ils is not pronounced.
The context reveals which one is used.
Elles means they (for only feminine groups or nouns)
Antoinette et Esmée vont à l’école. Elles vont à l’école.
Antoinette and Esmée are going to school. They are going to school.
There are only women in this group, thus you have to use the subject pronoun elles to refer back to them.
Les chaises sont avec ma mère. Elles sont avec ma mère.
The chairs are with my mother. They are with my mother.
The noun is feminine and plural. So, you have to use the subject pronoun elles to refer to back to them.
Please note that the pronunciation of elle and elles is the same, as the -s in ils is not pronounced.
The context reveals which one is used.
Sentences Overview with Il/Elle versus Ils/Elles
The final section of this lesson on il/elle versus ils/elles is about seeing these subject pronouns in action.
This is valuable because you can improve your understanding il/elle versus ils/elles through examples.
This section contains all of the previous sentences, neatly organised in one place.
Adam est timid. Il est timid.
Adam is shy. He is shy.
Le livre est dans la maison. Il est dans la maison.
The book is in the house. It is in the house.
Antoinette est calme. Elle est calme.
Antoinette is quiet. She is quiet.
La chaise est grande. Elle est grande.
The chair is big. It is big
Adam et Paul sont frères. Ils sont frères.
Adam and Paul are brothers. They are brothers.
Adam et Antoinette sont ici. Ils sont ici.
Adam and Antoinette are here. They are here.
Les livres sont en vente. Ils sont en vente.
The books are on sale. They are on sale.
Antoinette et Esmée vont à l’école. Elles vont à l’école.
Antoinette and Esmée are going to school. They are going to school.
Les chaises sont avec ma mère. Elles sont avec ma mère.
The chairs are with my mother. They are with my mother.
Test Your Knowledge on Il/Elle versus Ils/Elles
It’s not enough just to read the article on this subject.
You should test your knowledge to see if you really understood everything, and to be able to repeat the material.
It is also for this reason that it is recommended to download the Anki Decks and do them.
At the end of every lesson you can do a small test.
You will see the sentences of the previous chapter. It is up to you to give the correct answer.
You will either need to fill in the blanks, choose the correct multiple choice option, or both.
Once you are done the correct answer will be shown.
You can redo the quiz as many times as you want. There’s no limit to it!
Anki File for Il/Elle versus Ils/Elles
It is important to do the Anki excercises for this lesson, so that you can remember what you just studied.
By downloading the Anki File for French A1 you can practice every French A1 lesson that is on Language Atlas.
At this moment the Anki File for this lesson doesn’t exist yet. However, in due time this will be available on Language Atlas.
If you don’t know why you should use Anki, or don’t know how to use Anki or merge Anki files please click here.
Anki can be downloaded from here.
