Learn French: Nous nous appelons Marc et Sophie, nous sommes collègues. - Our names are Marc and Sophie, we are colleagues.

Nous nous appelons Marc et Sophie, nous sommes collègues.

Our names are Marc and Sophie, we are colleagues.

Breakdown of Nous nous appelons Marc et Sophie, nous sommes collègues.

we / us (object pronoun)

s'appeler

to be called

Questions & Answers about Nous nous appelons Marc et Sophie, nous sommes collègues.

Why are there two "nous" in "Nous nous appelons"?

The first nous is the subject meaning "we", and the second nous is a reflexive pronoun meaning "ourselves". Because s'appeler is a reflexive verb, you are literally saying "We call ourselves" instead of "Our names are".

Why is "appelons" spelled with only one 'l' here, but "m'appelle" has two?

The verb s'appeler has a spelling quirk! When the stress of the spoken word falls on the "ell" sound (like in je m'appelle), you use a double 'l'. But when the stress moves to the end of the word (like the -ons in nous nous appelons), the middle part relaxes to an "uh" sound and you use a single 'l'.

How do you pronounce the two "nous" in a row? Are the 's's silent?

The first 's' is silent because the next word starts with a consonant (n). However, the second nous is followed by a vowel (a in appelons). This creates a link (called a liaison), so the second 's' is pronounced like a "z". It sounds like "noo nooz-ah-puh-lohn".

Why isn't there a word for "some" (like "des") before "collègues"?

In French, when you use the verb être (to be) to state someone's profession, title, or status, you usually drop the article. Just like you would say il est docteur (he is a doctor), you simply say nous sommes collègues.