elle/ɛl/
pronoun / noun · A1 · Frequency 56
pronounfeminine
Meanings
she; it
Used for a female person or for a feminine noun when referring to a thing.
she; her (stressed/disjunctive form)
Used for emphasis, contrast, or after prepositions, as in `a elle`.
Examples
Elle arrive au bureau avant ses collègues.
She arrives at the office before her colleagues.
Quand elle cuisine, la maison sent bon.
When she cooks, the house smells good.
Je compte sur elle pour garder le secret.
I am counting on her to keep the secret.
Collocations
- elle est partieshe left
- c'est elle qui décideshe is the one who decides
- parler d'elleto talk about her
Common mistakes
Je donne elle un livre.
Je lui donne un livre.
Elle cannot directly serve as the indirect object of donner; to mean “give her,” use the indirect object pronoun lui.
Related words
synonymaalternative form of elle (“she”)
Grammar note
Elle is used as a feminine singular subject pronoun; as a stressed/disjunctive pronoun it is used for emphasis, independently, or after prepositions.
nounmasculine
Meanings
The name of the Latin script letter L/l.
Used as the name of the Latin letter L.
she
Third-person singular feminine subject pronoun.
Examples
La lettre elle est la douzième lettre de l'alphabet latin.
The letter elle is the twelfth letter of the Latin alphabet.
Elle est partie ce matin pour aller au travail.
She left this morning to go to work.
Quand elle parle, tout le monde écoute attentivement.
When she speaks, everyone listens carefully.
Collocations
- la lettre ellethe letter L
Common mistakes
Elle est un pronom masculin.
Elle est un pronom féminin.
‘elle’ is a third-person singular feminine personal pronoun meaning ‘she’, not masculine.
Elle désigne toujours une personne.
Elle peut désigner la lettre L.
As the name of a letter, ‘elle’ refers to the Latin letter L.
Related words
synonymelle (pronom)third-person singular feminine personal pronoun
- antonymilthird-person singular masculine personal pronoun
nounfeminine
Meanings
The name of the Latin script letter L/l.
Used as the name of the Latin letter L.
she
Third-person singular feminine subject pronoun.
Examples
Dans cet exercice, les élèves doivent repérer les elles parmi les autres lettres.
In this exercise, the students must identify the letter L among the other letters.
Le professeur a demandé aux enfants de compter les elles dans le mot proposé.
The teacher asked the children to count the letter Ls in the given word.
La fiche distingue clairement les elles des i et des t.
The worksheet clearly distinguishes the letter L from i and t.