Elle and elles

Elles sont adorables, je veux jouer avec elles
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She, her, it / they, them

The French pronouns elle and elles are both two different types of pronouns. They always replace feminine nouns, but they have different purposes and translations.

Stressed pronouns

Elle is the third person singular feminine stressed pronoun, while elles is the third person plural feminine stressed pronoun. They can only replace people.

Par exemple…

J’ai acheté la poupée pour la fille.
J’ai acheté la poupée pour elle.
  I bought the doll for the girl.
I bought it for her.
J’ai acheté la poupée pour les écolières.
J’ai acheté la poupée pour elles.
  I bought the doll for the students.
I bought the doll for them.

Subject pronouns

Likewise, elle is the third person singular feminine subject pronoun, and elles is the third person plural feminine pronoun. Subject pronouns can replace both people and things.

Par exemple…

La fille veut jouer avec la poupée.
Elle veut jouer avec la poupée.
  The girl wants to play with the doll.
She wants to play with the doll.
Les écolières veulent jouer avec la poupée.
Elles veulent jouer avec la poupée.
  The students want to play with the doll.
They want to play with the doll.
La poupée est adorable.
Elle est adorable.
  The doll is adorable.
It is adorable.
Les poupées sont adorables.
Elles sont adorables.
  The dolls are adorable.
They are adorable.

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