Subject pronouns and -er verbs

A noun refers to a person, place, or thing. 

A pronoun takes the place of a noun.

A subject pronoun takes the place of a noun subject of the sentence. 

A subject pronoun is the subject of the verb that follows it.

          example:

          I like to sing. - J'aime chanter.    Je/J' is the subject pronoun of aime.

Subject pronouns are written in this order:

                             je                nous

                             tu                vous

                             il                 ils

                             elle              elles

                             on

What do they mean?  Memorize the rap song below:

                   Je means I, and tu means you,

                   And what do you know, vous does, too.

                   Il means he, and elle means she,

                   And what do you know, nous means we.

                   Ils and elles with an 's' mean they,

                   We use them every single day.

                   On can mean one, many, or a few,

                   And now our song is finally through.

Note:  Tu (you, informal, singular)

                   someone your age or younger

                   one family member

                   a pet

          Vous (you, informal, plural) several friends, etc.

                   (you, formal, singular) one adult

                   (you, formal, plural) several adults

The first conjugation (la première conjugaison) is the -er verbs.  

The -er verbs all have the same endings after you take off the -er. 

                             chanter - to sing

                   je chante                nous chantons

                   tu chantes              vous chantez

                   il chante                 ils chantent

                   elle chante             elles chantent

                   on chante

Note:

                   je chante:     I sing

                                      I do sing

                                      I am singing

                                      I'm singing

Note: Infinitives that end in -ger:

         Only the nous form is special:  nager (to swim) - nous nageons

                                                voyager (to travel) - nous voyageons

Negation:

To make a verb negative, put ne (n') … pas around the verb.

          examples:

          I don't like to sing.  - Je n'aime pas chanter.

          He's not singing.    - Il ne chante pas.

          He doesn't sing.      - Il ne chante pas.  

Now translate the following:

1.       We are singing in French. (en français)

2.       We don’t travel. (voyager).

3.       He likes to dance. (aimer) (danser)

4.       They (f.) like to work.  (aimer) (travailler)

5.       They (m.) don't like to work.

6.       You (informal, s.) dance. (danser)

7.       You (formal, pl.) are studying. (étudier)

8.       I am listening. (écouter)

9.       You (informal, pl.) are not looking at the chalkboard.. (regarder)(le tableau)

10.     You (formal, s.) do play well. (jouer) (bien)

Les réponses:

1.    Nous chantons en français.

2.    Nous ne voyageons pas.

3.    Il aime danser.

4.    Elles aiment travailler.

5.    Ils n'aiment pas travailler.

6.    Tu danses.

7.    Vous étudiez.

8.    J'écoute.

9.    Vous ne regardez pas le tableau.

10.   Vous jouez bien.

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