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French Grammar
Here you will find a brief introduction to French Grammar, just to have an idea of what you will have to face if you decide to study this language.Verbs
The Present & Infinitive
In French, the simple present is a widely-used tense:Je lis de la philosophie.
The phrase "en train de" is used to express that you are about of doing something:
Je ne peux venir. Je suis en train de peindre ma maison.
The simple present also expresses actions connected to the near future:
Je pars demain à la guerre.
The infinitive is a non-tense mode, as it is not conjugated. If it is used with another verb, the first marks the tense and the second is in the infinitive form.
The Past
There are two kind of past tenses: the "passé composé" is used when the action has been carried out completely.
Elle a donné un coup de pied dans le ballon. Le camion a heurté l'arbre. Il a mangé une groseille.
The second form, or past simple (passé simple), is used in formal writing.
Le Français fit ce que qu'en toute occasion font les français, il se mit à rire.
Future & Conditional
The future can be substituted by the construction "aller" plus a verb:
Ils vont appeller nos parents.
The conditional, which more than a tense can be defined a mood, expresses hypothesis and possibility:
Si vous nettoyez votre chambre, votre colocataire serait plus gentil avec vous.
Pronouns
Subject Pronouns:
Singular: Je, tu, elle/il/on
Plural: nous, vous, elles/ ils
Impersonal Subjects:
An impersonal subject is mainly used with expressions of weather and time, when the subjects describes the way things are-i.e. the universe at the present moment. When an impersonal subject is sed, the verb is always in the third person.
Time: Il is the impersonal subject of time expressions. Quelle heure est-il? Il est 4 heures.
Weather: Il is used for weather expressions. Il pleut.
Adverbs
Adjectives modify nouns. The adverb is the catch all term that is used to refer to phrases or words that modify everything else. Following is an adverb modifying an adjective: Ils sont trop sophistiqués.
Alternately, the adverb can modify an entire sentence: Heureusement, malgré que je suis pauvre, j'ai de la nourriture, de l'eau, et un abri.
More than anything else, by modifying a verb, adverbs tell us how something is done. Such adverbs are called ‘manner adverbs’: Ils s'embrassent passionnément.
Negations
"Ne" is the particle which is used to express negation. When something is in the negative form, usually the verb is followed by "pas".
Je ne veux pas être un numéro.
"Ne" changes into "n'" before a vowel, while in compound tenses "pas" comes after the auxiliary.
La France a perdu une bataille! Mais la France n'a pas perdu la guerre! Appel du général de Gaulle France has lost a battle!
If "ne pas" is placed before an infinitive, it negates it.
L'enfer est de ne pas aimer.
In spoken French, the "ne" is usually omitted.
Je sais pas.
Articles
In French, nouns usually come with an article.
Indefinite Articles
"Un/une" is the indefinite article which comes before a single instance.
un oiseau a bird
un acteur an actor
une actrice an actress
une blatte a cockroach
Plural Indefinite Articles:
If you are referring to more than a single identity, use the indefinite article "des", but it is better to avoid it if you make general statements about a group, for which the definite article is used.
Je vois des blattes partout.
Definite Articles
The definite articles are "le, la, les".
This includes times when a group of nouns is referred to in its entirety. For example when blanket statements are made about all cockroaches, all humans, or all cars.
Les blattes vivent dans les murs et se reproduisent prodigieusement.
And when you refer to a noun in a general sense (i.e war in general and not a war in particular)
La guerre est horrible.
Adjectives
French adjectives reflect gender and number of the noun they describe.
Adjective Construction
To from feminine adjectives, the starting point is the masculine adjective, to which you should add an "e" in the end.
C'est un petit garçon. It is a small boy.
C'est une petite fille. It is a small girl.
However, there are exceptions in the formation of adjectives. Some of them have doubled final consonants, others are exactly the same of the masculine adjective (sameness), some undergo bizarre metamorphoses that make them little resemble their masculine counterparts (oddball adjectives).
Plural adjectives are formed by adding an "s" to the end of a masculine or feminine adjective.
Les lits bleus sont là-bas. (lit is masculine)
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Elle a donné un coup de pied dans le ballon. Le camion a heurté l'arbre. Il a mangé une groseille.
The second form, or past simple (passé simple), is used in formal writing.
Le Français fit ce que qu'en toute occasion font les français, il se mit à rire.
Future & Conditional
The future can be substituted by the construction "aller" plus a verb:Ils vont appeller nos parents.
The conditional, which more than a tense can be defined a mood, expresses hypothesis and possibility:
Si vous nettoyez votre chambre, votre colocataire serait plus gentil avec vous.
Pronouns
Subject Pronouns: Singular: Je, tu, elle/il/on Plural: nous, vous, elles/ ilsImpersonal Subjects:
An impersonal subject is mainly used with expressions of weather and time, when the subjects describes the way things are-i.e. the universe at the present moment. When an impersonal subject is sed, the verb is always in the third person.
Time: Il is the impersonal subject of time expressions. Quelle heure est-il? Il est 4 heures.
Weather: Il is used for weather expressions. Il pleut.
Adverbs
Adjectives modify nouns. The adverb is the catch all term that is used to refer to phrases or words that modify everything else. Following is an adverb modifying an adjective: Ils sont trop sophistiqués.Alternately, the adverb can modify an entire sentence: Heureusement, malgré que je suis pauvre, j'ai de la nourriture, de l'eau, et un abri.
More than anything else, by modifying a verb, adverbs tell us how something is done. Such adverbs are called ‘manner adverbs’: Ils s'embrassent passionnément.
Negations
"Ne" is the particle which is used to express negation. When something is in the negative form, usually the verb is followed by "pas".
Je ne veux pas être un numéro.
"Ne" changes into "n'" before a vowel, while in compound tenses "pas" comes after the auxiliary.
La France a perdu une bataille! Mais la France n'a pas perdu la guerre! Appel du général de Gaulle France has lost a battle!
If "ne pas" is placed before an infinitive, it negates it.
L'enfer est de ne pas aimer.
In spoken French, the "ne" is usually omitted.
Je sais pas.
Articles
In French, nouns usually come with an article.
Indefinite Articles
"Un/une" is the indefinite article which comes before a single instance.
un oiseau a bird
un acteur an actor
une actrice an actress
une blatte a cockroach
Plural Indefinite Articles:
If you are referring to more than a single identity, use the indefinite article "des", but it is better to avoid it if you make general statements about a group, for which the definite article is used.
Je vois des blattes partout.
Definite Articles
The definite articles are "le, la, les".
This includes times when a group of nouns is referred to in its entirety. For example when blanket statements are made about all cockroaches, all humans, or all cars.
Les blattes vivent dans les murs et se reproduisent prodigieusement.
And when you refer to a noun in a general sense (i.e war in general and not a war in particular)
La guerre est horrible.
Adjectives
French adjectives reflect gender and number of the noun they describe.
Adjective Construction
To from feminine adjectives, the starting point is the masculine adjective, to which you should add an "e" in the end.
C'est un petit garçon. It is a small boy.
C'est une petite fille. It is a small girl.
However, there are exceptions in the formation of adjectives. Some of them have doubled final consonants, others are exactly the same of the masculine adjective (sameness), some undergo bizarre metamorphoses that make them little resemble their masculine counterparts (oddball adjectives).
Plural adjectives are formed by adding an "s" to the end of a masculine or feminine adjective.
Les lits bleus sont là-bas. (lit is masculine)
top ^
top ^
Je ne veux pas être un numéro.
"Ne" changes into "n'" before a vowel, while in compound tenses "pas" comes after the auxiliary.
La France a perdu une bataille! Mais la France n'a pas perdu la guerre! Appel du général de Gaulle France has lost a battle!
If "ne pas" is placed before an infinitive, it negates it.
L'enfer est de ne pas aimer.
In spoken French, the "ne" is usually omitted.
Je sais pas.
Articles
In French, nouns usually come with an article.Indefinite Articles
"Un/une" is the indefinite article which comes before a single instance.
un oiseau a bird
un acteur an actor
une actrice an actress
une blatte a cockroach
Plural Indefinite Articles:
If you are referring to more than a single identity, use the indefinite article "des", but it is better to avoid it if you make general statements about a group, for which the definite article is used.
Je vois des blattes partout.
Definite Articles
The definite articles are "le, la, les". This includes times when a group of nouns is referred to in its entirety. For example when blanket statements are made about all cockroaches, all humans, or all cars.Les blattes vivent dans les murs et se reproduisent prodigieusement.
And when you refer to a noun in a general sense (i.e war in general and not a war in particular)
La guerre est horrible.
Adjectives
French adjectives reflect gender and number of the noun they describe.
Adjective Construction
To from feminine adjectives, the starting point is the masculine adjective, to which you should add an "e" in the end.
C'est un petit garçon. It is a small boy.
C'est une petite fille. It is a small girl.
However, there are exceptions in the formation of adjectives. Some of them have doubled final consonants, others are exactly the same of the masculine adjective (sameness), some undergo bizarre metamorphoses that make them little resemble their masculine counterparts (oddball adjectives).
Plural adjectives are formed by adding an "s" to the end of a masculine or feminine adjective.
Les lits bleus sont là-bas. (lit is masculine)
top ^
top ^
Adjective Construction
To from feminine adjectives, the starting point is the masculine adjective, to which you should add an "e" in the end.
C'est un petit garçon. It is a small boy.
C'est une petite fille. It is a small girl.
However, there are exceptions in the formation of adjectives. Some of them have doubled final consonants, others are exactly the same of the masculine adjective (sameness), some undergo bizarre metamorphoses that make them little resemble their masculine counterparts (oddball adjectives).
Plural adjectives are formed by adding an "s" to the end of a masculine or feminine adjective.
Les lits bleus sont là-bas. (lit is masculine)
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