Real Subject - Le sujet réel - French Grammar + Pronunciation Glossary

Subject pronouns usually replace nouns, as in "I bought a car. It's green." In the second sentence, "it" is replacing "car" from the first sentence, which makes "it" a real subject:

   Where's my book? It's on the table. / Où est mon livre ? Il est sur la table.

   I saw a movie - it was really funny. / J'ai vu un film - c'était très marrant.

When the pronoun "it" does not refer to or replace a person, place, or thing, it's a dummy subject / sujet apparent.

Subject pronouns other than "it" are always real.