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French subject pronouns line up with English "I, you, he, she, we, they", with three twists: two words for "you", a third-person pronoun on that English lacks, and a gendered "they".

Unlike English "I", je is written with a small letter, and it shrinks to j' before a vowel: j'habite à Marseille.

tu or vous?

• Tu: friends, family, children, close colleagues, and people your own age in casual settings.
• Vous: strangers, shop staff, older people, your boss, teachers - anyone you would not call by their first name.
• Vous is also the plural of tu, when you speak to more than one person.

When in doubt, start with vous and let the other person suggest tu (On se tutoie ?). Saying tu to a waiter in a Paris café sounds rude, not friendly.

il and elle mean "it" too

Because every noun has a gender, "it" is il or elle: Le métro ? Il est rapide. La baguette ? Elle est fraîche. English speakers sometimes reach for ça here, which fits some contexts but not this one.

on

On takes a third-person singular verb but is used constantly in speech as "we": On va au cinéma ? - Shall we go to the cinema? It also means "people" in general: En France, on mange tard. - In France, people eat late.

ils or elles?

Elles is for a group that is entirely feminine. As soon as one masculine person or noun is in the group, it is ils: Marie et Paul ? Ils sont à Lyon.