Je m’appelle: introducing yourself

Saying your name: je m’appelle and je suis

The everyday way to give your name is je m’appelle + name – literally “I call myself”. The m’ is me shortened before a vowel, the same elision as in j’habite. The second way is je suis + name, shorter and a little more direct: Je suis Paul. Both are correct: je m’appelle is what opens a formal introduction, je suis is common on the phone or between young people. What French never does is add a verb in between: not je suis appelle, and not je m’appelle est Paul – the name follows the verb directly.

Bonjour, je m’appelle Camille Roux.Hello, my name is Camille Roux.

Asking for a name: Comment tu t’appelles ?

To a friend, a child or a fellow student you ask Comment tu t’appelles ?; in relaxed speech the question word often moves to the end: Tu t’appelles comment ?. To an adult you do not know, or to several people, it is Comment vous vous appelez ? – yes, vous twice: the first is the subject, the second is the reflexive part of the verb. After giving your own name, hand the question back with et toi ? or et vous ?. A name has two parts: the prénom (first name: Camille) and the nom, also called nom de famille (surname: Roux). Forms ask for both, so learn which is which.

– Comment vous vous appelez, monsieur ? – Louis Bernard. Louis est mon prénom, Bernard est mon nom.– What is your name, sir? – Louis Bernard. Louis is my first name, Bernard is my surname.

Enchanté, enchantée – and saying what you are

When you are introduced, you say enchanté – “delighted”. It agrees with the SPEAKER: a man writes enchanté, a woman enchantée. The extra e changes nothing in the sound, so the difference exists only on paper. The same agreement works for what you are: je suis étudiant (a man) / je suis étudiante (a woman), and here the t is silent in the masculine but sounds in the feminine, as you saw with grand / grande. Professeur keeps one form for both in everyday use: elle est professeur. Notice: no article after je suis before a profession – je suis étudiant, not je suis un étudiant.

– Je suis étudiante, et vous ? – Je suis professeur. Enchanté !– I am a student, and you? – I am a teacher. Pleased to meet you!

The eight pronouns: je, tu, il, elle, nous, vous, ils, elles

French verbs almost always come with their subject pronoun, because many forms sound alike. Je becomes j’ before a vowel or a silent h (j’habite), but stays je before m’appelle. Tu is one person you are close to; vous is one person you address politely AND any group of people. Il is “he” and also “it” for a masculine noun, elle is “she” or “it” for a feminine one. In the plural, ils covers men and every mixed group – ten women and one man are ils; elles is only for a group made entirely of women or feminine nouns.