French · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 3
Je m'appelle MarieMy name is Marie
Your first real sentence, with the most useful verb in French: être ("to be" — je suis, tu es, il est). For the name, you use s'appeler ("to call oneself"): je m'appelle Marie. And a key difference from Spanish: French REQUIRES the subject pronoun — you always say je suis, never "suis" on its own. Mike, the exchange student learning like you, arrives and muddles the forms of être; we fix it together.
Dialogue
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Je suis Camille— I'm Camille
- LucasBonjour ! Je m'appelle Lucas.Hello! My name is Lucas.
- CamilleBonjour, Lucas ! Je suis Camille.Hello, Lucas! I'm Camille.
- LucasQuoi ? Tu es Camille ?What? You are Camille?
- CamilleOui, je suis Camille. Et tu es Lucas !Yes, I'm Camille. And you're Lucas!
Dialogue
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Mike et le verbe être— Mike and the Verb être
- LucasBonjour ! Je m'appelle Lucas.Hello! My name is Lucas.
- MikeBonjour ! Je est Mike.Hello! I "is" Mike. (wrong: with je it is suis, not est)
- CamilleMike, « Je suis Mike » !Mike, "Je suis Mike"! (je takes suis; and French always keeps the je)
- MikeAh ! Je suis Mike. Merci !Ah! I'm Mike. Thank you!
Vocabulary
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- je
pronounI
- tu
pronounyou (informal)
- je m'appelle
phrasemy name is
- être
verbto be
- suis
verb(I) am
- est
verb(he/she/it) is
- nom (m)
nounname, surname
- prénom (m)
nounfirst name
- personne (f)
nounperson
- et
conjunctionand
- quoi
pronounwhat
Grammar
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être (to be) and s'appeler
Explanation
Two verbs carry almost everything at first. être = "to be" for identity, origin, profession: je suis, tu es, il/elle est, nous sommes, ils/elles sont. For the name, you use s'appeler ("to call oneself"): je m'appelle, tu t'appelles, il s'appelle. Note: "je m'appelle Marie" literally says "I call myself Marie", not "my name is". Both work: Je m'appelle Marie = Je suis Marie.
Examples
- Je m'appelle Marie.My name is Marie.
- Je suis Marie. (= Je m'appelle Marie)I'm Marie. (= My name is Marie)
- Tu es Lucas.You are Lucas.
- Marie est une personne. Elle est étudiante.Marie is a person. She is a student.
Grammar
i
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Subject pronouns (required)
Explanation
The subject pronouns are: je (I), tu (you), il/elle (he/she), nous (we), vous (you, polite or plural), ils/elles (they). Here is the key point, different from Spanish and Portuguese: in French the pronoun is REQUIRED. You never say "suis Lucas" on its own — it must be Je suis Lucas. The verb ending alone is not enough. That is why Mike slips: he keeps the "je" (good) but forgets to change the verb (it should be suis, not est).
Examples
- Je suis Lucas. (jamais « suis Lucas »)I'm Lucas. (never "suis Lucas")
- Tu es une personne.You are a person.
- Elle est Marie. Il est Lucas.She is Marie. He is Lucas.
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