Tu addresses one person you know well; vous addresses one person politely or several people. With vous, the verb is always plural, even for one person: Madame, vous avez l’heure ? Les enfants, vous venez ?
Summary
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A0.
| Point | Rule | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Set phrases | s’il te plaît for a friend, s’il vous plaît for politeness | S’il vous plaît, madame. | Please, madam. | |
| Tu | one person you know well: friend, family, child | Tu viens, Marie ? | Are you coming, Marie? | |
| Vous (polite) | one person you do not know or respect: stranger, customer, boss | Vous habitez ici, madame ? | Do you live here, madam? | |
| Vous (plural) | several people, friends or strangers | Les enfants, vous venez ? | Children, are you coming? | |
| Verb | vous takes the plural form, even for one person | Vous parlez anglais ? | Do you speak English? | |
| Agreement | the adjective follows the person: singular for one, plural for several | Madame Roux, vous êtes fatiguée ? | Mrs Roux, are you tired? | |
| Switching to tu | tutoyer and vouvoyer: to say tu or vous to someone | On se tutoie ? | Shall we use tu? | |
| QuébecCanada | tu comes sooner: colleague, shop assistant, customer | Tu veux un sac ? | Do you want a bag? | |
| Trap | an adult stranger gets vous, never tu | Madame, vous avez l’heure ? | Madam, do you have the time? | |
| Trap | vous: vous parlez, never vous parle | Vous avez faim, monsieur ? | Are you hungry, sir? |
Overview
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A1.
- French has two ways to say “you” to one person: tu and vous. Tu es prêt ? / Vous êtes prêt ?Are you ready? / Are you ready? (polite)
- Vous is also used for several people; tu has no plural. Léa, tu viens ? / Léa et Paul, vous venez ?Léa, are you coming? / Léa and Paul, are you coming?
- The other subject pronouns: see Subject Pronouns.
Form: tu and vous
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A1.
| Function | tu | vous | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | tu | vous | |
| Verb (parler) | tu parles | vous parlez | |
| Object | te / t’ | vous | |
| Possessive | ton / ta / tes | votre / vos | |
| Stressed pronoun | toi | vous |
- With vous, the verb has the plural form: êtes, avez, parlez. Vous êtes français, monsieur ? / Vous avez un frère, madame ?Are you French, sir? / Do you have a brother, madam?
- The forms of être and avoir: see Être and avoir.
- Object pronouns, possessives and stressed pronouns: see Object Pronouns, Possessives and Stressed Pronouns.
Use: who says tu, who says vous
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A0.
| Use | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Courtesy phrases with tu | S’il te plaît, Léa. / Comment vas-tu ? | Please, Léa. / How are you? | |
| Courtesy phrases with vous | S’il vous plaît, madame. / Comment allez-vous ? | Please, madam. / How are you? | |
| tu: a friend, a classmate, a relative, a child | Tu viens, Marie ? / Tu as faim, Léo ? | Are you coming, Marie? / Are you hungry, Léo? | |
| vous: an adult stranger, an older person, a customer, a boss | Vous habitez ici, madame ? / Vous parlez anglais ? | Do you live here, madam? / Do you speak English? | |
| vous: several people, friends or strangers | Les enfants, vous venez ? / Léa, Paul, vous avez faim ? | Children, are you coming? / Léa, Paul, are you hungry? | |
| tutoyer and vouvoyer: to say tu or vous to someone | On se tutoie ? / Ils se vouvoient. | Shall we use tu? / They address each other as vous. |
- You keep the same form through the whole conversation. Madame, vous avez faim ? Vous voulez un café ?Madam, are you hungry? Would you like a coffee?
- With the polite vous, the adjective stays singular and agrees with the person. Madame Roux, vous êtes fatiguée ? / Les enfants, vous êtes fatigués ?Mrs Roux, are you tired? / Children, are you tired?
- Agreement of adjectives: see Adjectives.
- In the imperative, viens or venez: see Imperative: parle, parlons, parlez.
- Canada: In Québec, people switch to tu sooner: a shop assistant, a waiter or a colleague often says it to someone they do not know. Tu veux un sac ? / Tu cherches quelque chose ?Do you want a bag? / Are you looking for something?
Typical errors
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A0.
| Wrong | Right | Rule | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| S’il te plaît, madame. | S’il vous plaît, madame. | to a woman you do not know, say s’il vous plaît | |
| Madame, tu as l’heure ? | Madame, vous avez l’heure ? | you say vous to an adult you do not know | |
| Les enfants, tu viens ? | Les enfants, vous venez ? | English “you” is also plural, but French needs vous for several people: vous venez | |
| Madame Roux, vous êtes fatigués ? | Madame Roux, vous êtes fatiguée ? | for one person, the adjective stays singular |