[Originally posted on 03/12/14 on the Duolingo French for English speakers forum by PERCE_NEIGE]
I tried to help on the forum, and I met several times this question. Here is my contribution to help Duolingo learners communauty.
The verb TO BE/ Le verbe ÊTRE (conjugaison)
Singular:
(I) Je suis. (You, singular) Tu es. (he) Il est. (she) elle. a special case: on est (ignore it if you’re a beginner)
Plural:
(You, plural) Vous êtes. (We) Nous sommes. (They, masculine) Ils sont. (They, feminine) Elles sont.
Pronouns are mandatory in French, so, if you want to say “we are” as you used “nous” you have to pick “sommes”, to say: “nous sommes) (Look in the table) SOMMES is always SOMMES and never written somme, or anything else.
What’s the difference between “sommes” and “sont”; Sommes is always and only used with “nous” and each time you want to say “we are” you have to use the expression “nous sommes”, don’t think, only memorize it. Sont is always and only used with “elles” or “ils” pronouns. So, each time you want to say “they are” you have to translate it either by “ils sont” or “elles sont”, only memorize it.
THE AUDIO DIFFERENCE
“Sont” and “Sommes” shouldn’t be confused when you hear them, they are very different, but you need to train your ear first.
ILS SONT: http://fr.forvo.com/word/ils_sont/#fr (listen several times the audio from Sl0uf, it’s the first one) The third one (from PERCE_NEIGE) is the one I recorded for you. http://translate.google.com/?hl=fr#fr/bg/ils%20sont (don’t look at the translation for “ils sont” it’s bad)
ELLES SONT: http://fr.forvo.com/word/elles_sont/#fr http://translate.google.com/?hl=fr#fr/en/elles%20sont (don’t look at the translation for “elles sont” it’s bad)
SONT-ILS? http://fr.forvo.com/word/sont-ils/#fr
SONT-ELLES? http://fr.forvo.com/word/sont-elles/#fr (I think the second one, mine is better, because the first user has a slight accent.)
SONT/SOMMES http://fr.forvo.com/word/sont%2C_sommes/#fr
SOMMES/SONT http://fr.forvo.com/word/sommes%2C_sont/#fr
ILS SONT/NOUS SOMMES http://fr.forvo.com/word/ils_sont._nous_sommes.
NOUS SOMMES/ILS SONT http://fr.forvo.com/word/nous_sommes._ils_sont./
NOUS SOMMES http://fr.forvo.com/word/nous_sommes/#fr
SOMMES-NOUS? http://fr.forvo.com/word/sommes-nous/#fr
I hope it can help you…
Selected comments on original post
I found a great source for learning french from grammar to correct pronunciation altogether with easy explanations.
I was about to say that this subject pops up every couple of days and act exasperated 😉 But your post is about offering help and not asking for it. Maybe if you changed the subject to better reflect that you’d get more upvotes… Just saying.
Yup, something like “French tip/advice”
The pronoun “on” is much more used in Quebec than it is in France, I think, as we do not really use “nous” as much. I’d argue that “on” makes it easier, because it regularizes another group of people into a conjugation that already corresponds to “elle” et “il”. Language economy and all! 🙂
It might help to clarify the “THEY” portion a little further. I know it may be obvious, but some people might not realize that two people connected with ‘and’ will also use “SONT”. Basically, anything plural third person (Les femmes, hommes, groups in general) normally fits this case.
When I first began learning French, the problem I had in this area was not between “nous sommes” and “ils sont” but “ils sont” and “ils ont” — couldn’t remember which one was for “they are” and which for “they have,” and the similar sounds didn’t help. Nothing seems to work on problems like this than simple practice and exposure, reading and hearing and repeating each together with proper context.
You helped me so much! Was getting very frustrated hopefully this helps me out now 🙂 thank you for your info 🙂
Thanks, I’m glad to have helped. If you have any ideas about a new grammar point, please tell me.
Duolinguists 