Il means he or it (for a masculine noun)
Jean travaille dans le club. - Il travaille dans le club.
Jean works in the club. - He works in the club.
Le stylo est sur la table. - Il est sur la table.
The pen is on the table. - It is on the table.
Elle means she or it (for a feminine noun)
Ils means they (for masculine or mixed plural nouns)
Jean et Paul vont au cinéma. - Ils vont au cinéma.
Jean and Paul are going to the cinema. - They are going to the cinema.
Elles means they or them (when every one of the group are female or feminine nouns)
See also C'est vs il/elle est: Saying it is
Grammar note: Pronouns are general words that replace specific nouns in sentences. A verb has a subject (the person or thing doing the verb), and may have an object (the thing being done to). Subject pronouns are usually different to object pronouns, so you cannot use one to replace the other (in English it can be either, but French uses distinct words) .
Subject - Verb - Object
(sub) Jean (verb) kicks (obj) the ball > (subj pron) He (verb) kicks (obj pron) it
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Le stylo est sur la table. - Il est sur la table.
The pen is on the table. - It is on the table.
Les fleurs sont jolies. - Elles sont jolies.
The flowers are pretty. - They are pretty.
Jean et Paul vont au cinéma. - Ils vont au cinéma.
Jean and Paul are going to the cinema. - They are going to the cinema.
Jean travaille dans le club. - Il travaille dans le club.
Jean works in the club. - He works in the club.
La fleur est jolie. - Elle est jolie.
The flower is pretty. - It is pretty.

Q&A

Cécile
Kwiziq language super star
15/11/18
Hi Isata,
Can you be more specific?

Cécile
Kwiziq language super star
17/08/18
Chris
Kwiziq community member
17/08/18
You can't, except by context. It's similar in English:
The film was showing in the new theater. It was great!
How do you know what "it" refers to, the film or the theater.
Leslie
Kwiziq community member
12/10/18
Chris
Kwiziq community member
19/06/18
Yes, "c'est très bon" is perfectly OK but it is a more general statement. "Il est très bon" refers to a specific subject.
Have you read this lesson yet? C'est vs il/elle est: Saying it is
-- Chris (not a native speaker).

Cécile
Kwiziq language super star
19/06/18
Hi Jane,
Could you give some context to your query as 'il est très bon' is often used incorrectly for 'c'est très bon'?
Chris
Kwiziq community member
29/01/18
G
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29/01/18
Chris
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30/01/18
G
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30/01/18
David
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22/06/18
Rant
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16/09/18
Chris
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3/11/17
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3/11/17

Ron
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Kev
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Kev
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Ron
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Ron
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Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
10/02/17
Susan
Kwiziq community member
12/02/17

Laura
Kwiziq language super star
27/12/15
Bonjour Lea,
Lunettes is just like "eyeglasses" in English - they are both plural. The "s" at the end usually means that the word is plural, but there are exceptions.
There are many words like this in both languages. Sometimes they're both plural and sometimes the noun is plural in one language but not the other, such as les épinards = "spinach." This is just something you need to learn along with the new words.
https://www.french-test.com/revision/grammar/how-some-plural-nouns-in-english-are-singular-in-french-and-vice-versa
Lea
Kwiziq community member
27/12/15

Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
30/12/15
Mark
Kwiziq community member
30 December 2018
1 reply
In one question I am confused
Julia is watching a Tom Cruise movie, there are four answers:-
1.It is very good - Il est très bon - agreed
2.He is very good - Il est très bon - Only if you are referring to Tom Cruise
3.She is very good - Elle est très bonne - Julia might not like Tom Cruise so she might be very good in watching it............
4.I can't remember the last answer offhand but it does have an instance where it COULD be correct.
The point is that other than answer 1 the other options are ALL options and may all be correct in certain circumstances. The ONLY certain answer to this particular question is the first one, all others are possible but are liable to return a partially correct result depending upon the way in which the question is viewed. I submit that it may NOT be the best question for this exercise.
Alan
Kwiziq community member
30 December 2018
30/12/18
I think the question you are referring to is:
«Julie regarde un film de Tom Cruise. Il est très bon» means:
a) Julie is watching a Tom Cruise movie. It is very good
b) Julie is watching a Tom Cruise movie. He is very good
c) Julie is watching a Tom Cruise movie. She is very good
d) Julie is watching a Tom Cruise movie. They are very good
Only a) and b) are possible because "Il" means "he"/"it". It cannot mean "She" or "They".