A comprehensive overview of French grammar, including verb conjugations, sentence structure, articles, adjectives, pronouns, and key rules.
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Table of Contents
- Parts of Speech
A comprehensive overview of the main categories of French words, their roles, and how they function in sentence structure.
- Nouns
French nouns are words that name people, places, things, or ideas. They have gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural), and they determine article and adjective forms.
- Gender
Gender is a fundamental aspect of French grammar that classifies nouns as either masculine or feminine. Understanding gender is essential for correct article usage, adjective agreement, and overall sentence structure.
- Plurals
French plurals: how to form plural nouns and articles in French, including regular rules, common exceptions, and examples.
- Gender Agreement
Gender agreement in French is the grammatical rule that requires adjectives, articles, and some pronouns to match the gender (masculine or feminine) of the nouns they describe. French nouns are either masculine or feminine, and this inherent gender affects how other words in the sentence change their form.
- Noun-Adjective Agreement
Noun-adjective agreement in French ensures that adjectives match the gender and number of the nouns they describe. Understanding this rule is key to writing and speaking correctly.
- Articles
French articles are words that introduce nouns and indicate their gender, number, and definiteness or indefiniteness. This covers definite, indefinite, and partitive articles.
- Definite Articles
Definite articles in French express “the” for specific nouns (le, la, l’, les). They agree in gender and number, and are used before known or general items.
- Indefinite Articles
French indefinite articles and their usage for general, unspecified quantities or noun introductions.
- Partitive Articles
Partitive articles in French are used to express an unspecified quantity of something, often translating to "some" or "any" in English. They appear before mass nouns or uncountable items and adjust according to the gender and number of the noun.
- Pronouns
A comprehensive overview of French pronouns, including subject, object, reflexive, relative, demonstrative, and more, explaining their roles and usage.
- Subject Pronouns
Subject pronouns in French, including all forms, usage, and examples for beginner to intermediate learners.
- Direct Object Pronouns
Direct object pronouns in French are used to replace a direct object noun, avoiding repetition and making sentences more concise.
- Indirect Object Pronouns
Indirect object pronouns in French are used to replace a noun preceded by “à,” indicating to whom or for whom an action is done. This guide covers their forms, placement, and usage.
- Reflexive Pronouns
Reflexive pronouns in French are used when the subject performs an action on itself, appearing in the form "se + verb." Reflexive pronouns agree with the subject and are essential for correct conjugation in reflexive verbs (e.g., "se laver" – to wash oneself).
- Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns in French grammar, including forms, usage, and examples to express ownership without repeating nouns.
- Demonstrative Pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns in French are used to replace nouns and indicate specific people or things, showing proximity or distance (e.g., “ceci,” “cela,” “celui”). They help avoid repetition and clarify meaning.
- Relative Pronouns
French relative pronouns—qui, que, dont, où, lequel—connect clauses by referring to a noun and introducing additional information.
- Interrogative Pronouns
Interrogative pronouns in French are used to ask questions about people, things, or reasons. They include “qui,” “que,” “quoi,” “lequel,” and others, appearing in subject, object, or prepositional contexts.
- Adjectives
An overview of French adjectives, explaining their role in describing nouns, agreement in gender and number, placement, and common types.
- Descriptive Adjectives
Descriptive Adjectives is a comprehensive French grammar guide explaining how to use adjectives that describe qualities, including rules for agreement, placement, and common examples.
- Comparative Adjectives
A complete guide to understanding and using French comparative adjectives, including rules, examples, and common exceptions.
- Superlative Adjectives
French superlative adjectives are used to express the highest degree of a quality among three or more items, typically by using "le/la/les plus" (the most) or "le/la/les moins" (the least) before the adjective.
- Demonstrative Adjectives
Demonstrative adjectives in French (ce, cet, cette, ces) indicate specific nouns near the speaker, matching gender and number.
- Adverbs
A comprehensive overview of French adverbs, explaining their formation, types, placement in sentences, and role in modifying verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
- Frequency Adverbs
French frequency adverbs are words that indicate how often an action occurs. They typically appear before the main verb or after the auxiliary in compound tenses.
- Manner Adverbs
French manner adverbs guide, explaining how to describe actions using adverbs that express "how" something is done.
- Degree Adverbs
Degree adverbs in French, such as plus, très, and trop, modify the intensity of adjectives, other adverbs, or verbs.
- Place Adverbs
A comprehensive guide to French place adverbs, including examples and rules for describing location, direction, and movement.
- Time Adverbs
Time adverbs in French, including common expressions, placement rules, and examples, to help describe when actions take place.
- Prepositions
An overview of French prepositions, their role in connecting words, expressing relationships, and commonly used examples.
- Common Prepositions
Common French prepositions that indicate relationships between words, including examples and usage.
- Prepositions of Place
Prepositions of place in French, including common examples and usage to describe locations and spatial relationships.
- Prepositions of Time
French prepositions of time: understanding and using à, en, dans, pendant, depuis, and more to express when events occur.
- Conjunctions
A comprehensive overview of French conjunctions, including coordinating and subordinating types, their functions, and examples for combining clauses.
- Coordinating Conjunctions
French coordinating conjunctions are words that join two or more elements of equal grammatical rank (such as words, phrases, or clauses) without changing their function. They link ideas in a sentence to create compound structures.
- Subordinating Conjunctions
A comprehensive guide to French subordinating conjunctions, explaining their role in connecting clauses and providing essential examples.
- Interjections
French interjections are short, expressive words or phrases that convey emotions, reactions, or spontaneous feelings. They are not grammatically connected to other parts of the sentence and often mirror the function of interjections in English.
- Syntax and Sentences
French grammar rules that explain how sentence structure works, including subject, verb, object order, and building complete sentences.
- Basic Syntax Rules
French syntax rules governing sentence structure, word order, and agreement, providing a foundation for constructing clear and grammatically correct sentences.
- Sentence Structure
A comprehensive overview of French sentence structure, including word order, subject-verb agreement, question and negation formation, and common patterns.
- Declarative Sentences
Declarative sentences in French, including how they are formed, key components, negation, and common mistakes.
- Interrogative Sentences (Est-ce que, inversion, question words)
French interrogative sentences using est-ce que, inversion, and question words to ask questions clearly and correctly.
- Exclamatory Sentences
A comprehensive guide to forming and understanding exclamatory sentences in French, including sentence structures, common expressions, and usage tips.
- Negations
A comprehensive overview of French negations, explaining how to form negative sentences using structures like "ne ... pas," "ne ... jamais," "ne ... rien," and more.
- Simple Negations (ne…pas)
Simple negations in French using "ne...pas": forming basic negative statements, position of negation in sentences, and common usage.
- Other Negations (ne…plus, ne…jamais, etc.)
A comprehensive overview of French negation structures beyond “ne…pas,” including ne…plus, ne…jamais, ne…rien, ne…personne, and others, with examples.
- Relative Clauses
A comprehensive overview of French relative clauses (<les propositions relatives>), explaining how to connect clauses using relative pronouns like <qui>, <que>, <dont>, and <où>.
- Defining Clauses
Defining clauses in French are relative clauses that specify exactly which person or thing we are talking about. They are essential for providing necessary information to identify the noun.
- Non-defining Clauses
Non-defining clauses in French explain how to add extra information to a sentence using commas and relative pronouns without changing the main meaning.
- Verbs
A comprehensive overview of French verbs, including their role in grammar, types, and importance in building sentences and expressing actions, along with key concepts such as conjugation, subjects, and tenses.
- Verb Types
A comprehensive overview of French verb types, including regular and irregular verbs and their role in conjugation.
- Regular Verbs (-er, -ir, -re)
French regular verbs (-er, -ir, -re) follow standard conjugation patterns in all tenses, building on consistent stem + endings.
- Irregular Verbs
A comprehensive guide to French irregular verbs, including their patterns, key examples, and how they differ from regular conjugations.
- Pronominal/Reflexive Verbs
A comprehensive guide to French pronominal (reflexive) verbs, including what they are, how they work, examples, and common usage rules.
- Modal Auxiliaries (vouloir, pouvoir, devoir)
A comprehensive guide to the French modal auxiliary verbs vouloir, pouvoir, and devoir — their meanings, usage, and examples.
- Verb Conjugation
French verb conjugation is the process of changing verb forms to match the subject and tense, covering regular and irregular verbs across all moods.
- Present Tense
Present tense in French, known as le présent de l’indicatif, is used to describe current actions, general truths, and habitual activities. It also expresses near-future events and can be used for narration.
- Past Tenses
A comprehensive overview of French past tenses, including passé composé, imparfait, plus-que-parfait, and passé simple, explaining their usage and formation.
- Passé Composé
Passé composé is a French past tense used to express completed actions, using auxiliary verbs “avoir” or “être” and past participles.
- Imparfait
Imparfait is a French verb tense used to describe ongoing or habitual past actions, set the scene, or express what used to happen.
- Plus-que-parfait
Plus-que-parfait is a French past tense used to indicate actions that had already been completed before another past action. It is formed with the imperfect tense of the auxiliary verb (avoir or être) and the past participle.
- Passé Simple (literary)
Passé simple is a literary past tense used in French for completed actions in writing, especially in novels, history, and formal narratives.
- Future Tenses
A comprehensive overview of French future tenses, including simple future and near future (futur proche) forms, usage, and key verbs.
- Futur Proche
French grammar guide explaining the futur proche tense, its usage, formation with aller + infinitive, and examples for expressing near-future actions.
- Futur Simple
A comprehensive guide to the French futur simple tense, including its usage, formation, irregular verbs, time expressions, and common mistakes.
- Futur Antérieur
The French Futur Antérieur is a compound future tense used to express actions that will have been completed before another future action or point in time.
- Conditional Tenses
An overview of the French conditional tenses, explaining their use for expressing hypothetical situations, politeness, and future-in-the-past.
- Present Conditional
Present Conditional in French grammar, explaining how to form and use the conditional mood for expressing wishes, making polite requests, and hypothesizing.
- Past Conditional
French past conditional overview detailing formation with auxiliary verbs and past participle, usage for hypothetical past actions, regrets, and reported speech.
- Subjunctive Mood
Subjunctive Mood is a French verb form used to express doubt, desire, emotion, necessity, or uncertainty.
- Present Subjunctive
A thorough explanation of the French present subjunctive, including its formation, usage, and key examples.
- Past Subjunctive
Past subjunctive in French grammar: usage, formation with auxiliary and past participle, and common trigger expressions.
- Verbal Aspects
Verbal aspects in French, including how the language expresses the nature of actions through grammatical structures like tenses and moods.
- Perfect Tenses
A comprehensive explanation of the three French perfect tenses (passé composé, plus-que-parfait, passé antérieur), including structure, usage, and examples.
- Progressive Tenses (être en train de)
Progressive tenses in French using être en train de to express actions currently in progress.
- Infinitives
A comprehensive overview of French infinitives, covering their forms, types (-er, -ir, -re), usage in sentences, and role in verb conjugation and grammar.
- Uses and Structure
An overview of French infinitives, covering their uses, forms, and role in sentence construction.
- Imperative Mood
An overview of the French imperative mood, explaining how it is used to give commands, make requests, or offer advice in three forms: tu, nous, and vous.
- Affirmative Commands
Affirmative commands in French, including how to form them using the imperative mood, which pronouns are used, verb forms, and examples.
- Negative Commands
A comprehensive guide to forming negative commands in French using the imperative mood, including rules and examples.
- Special Topics
French Special Topics is a collection of advanced grammar, vocabulary, and usage lessons that cover less common but important aspects of the French language.
- Word Formation
A comprehensive overview of the rules and processes that create new French words from roots, prefixes, and suffixes.
- Suffixes
French suffixes are word endings that modify the meaning or grammatical function of a base word, used to form new words, indicate parts of speech, or express grammatical relationships.
- Prefixes
French prefixes are word parts added to the beginning of a root word to change its meaning. This page covers common prefixes, how they modify meaning, usage rules, and examples.
- Diminutives and Augmentatives
A comprehensive guide to understanding how special endings in French create diminutive and augmentative forms, expressing smallness or largeness.
- Plurals and Gender
A detailed overview of how French nouns change for number and gender, including rules, exceptions, and key patterns for forming plurals and identifying masculine and feminine forms.
- Gerunds and Participles (gérondif, participe présent, participe passé)
A comprehensive overview of French gerunds and participles, including definitions, formation rules, usage examples, and common irregular forms.
- Passive Voice
A comprehensive overview of the French passive voice, including its structure, usage, common pitfalls, and examples to understand how actions are expressed from the recipient’s point of view.
- Cleft Sentences (c’est/ce sont, il y a, etc.)
Cleft sentences in French, how to use structures like c’est, ce sont, il y a, and more to emphasize parts of a sentence.
- Agreement Rules (Past participle, adjectives, etc.)
Agreement rules in French grammar, covering how past participles, adjectives, and other elements agree in gender and number.
- Irregular Verbs
A complete overview of French irregular verbs, explaining what makes them irregular, why they’re important, and how to approach learning them.
- Être: to be
Être is the French verb meaning "to be." It is one of the most important and irregular verbs in French, used for description, identity, states of being, and forming compound tenses.
- Avoir: to have
Avoir is the French verb meaning "to have." It is used to indicate possession, form compound tenses, and appears in many idiomatic expressions. It is one of the most important and frequently used verbs in French.
- Aller: to go
"Aller" is the French verb meaning "to go." It is highly irregular and essential for expressing movement, destinations, and forming the near future tense.
- Faire: to do, to make
A comprehensive overview of the French verb “faire,” including its meanings, uses, key idioms, and main conjugations.
- Pouvoir: can, to be able
A comprehensive overview of the French verb pouvoir, including its meanings, usage, and role as an essential irregular verb for expressing ability and possibility.
- Vouloir: to want
French verb “vouloir” (to want) explained: meaning, usage, fixed expressions, and key irregular conjugations in present, passé composé, and imparfait.
- Savoir: to know (facts, how to)
Savoir is an irregular French verb that means "to know" facts, information, or how to do something. This article covers its usage, meaning, and examples.
- Connaître: to know (people, places)
Connaître is a French verb meaning "to know" in the sense of being familiar with people, places, or things. It is irregular in certain tenses and follows specific usage rules.
- Venir: to come
A comprehensive guide to the French verb “venir,” including its meaning, usage, irregular conjugations, compound forms, and common expressions.
- Voir: to see
Conjugation and usage of the irregular French verb "voir," meaning "to see," including tenses, examples, and common expressions.
- Dire: to say, to tell
Dire is a fundamental French verb meaning “to say” or “to tell.” It is irregular and used for reporting speech, giving information, and more.
- Mettre: to put
Mettre is a common French verb meaning "to put" or "to place." It’s irregular and used in many expressions.
- Prendre: to take
Prendre is an irregular French verb meaning “to take.” This guide covers its key meanings, usage, and complete conjugations across all tenses.
- Devoir: to have to, must
Devoir: French verb meaning "to have to" or "must," covering its origins, meanings, uses, and role in expressing obligation and duty.
- Tenir: to hold
Tenir is a French irregular verb meaning "to hold." This guide explains its meaning, usage, and how to conjugate it across all moods and tenses.
- Sortir: to go out, to leave
A comprehensive guide to the French verb "sortir," including its meanings, usage, examples, and irregular conjugations.
- Partir: to leave
A comprehensive overview of the French verb "partir," including its meaning, usage, conjugations, examples, and related grammar rules.
- Lire: to read
An overview of the French verb lire (to read), including its usage, meaning, and role as an irregular verb in French grammar.
- Écrire: to write
Écrire is a French irregular verb meaning "to write." It is used to describe the action of writing in various tenses and forms. This overview covers its conjugations across major moods, usage guidelines, and common expressions.
- Ouvrir: to open
Ouvrir is a French irregular verb meaning "to open," used for opening objects, starting events, or beginning processes.
- Offrir: to offer
Offrir is a French irregular verb meaning “to offer.” It is used to express giving something to someone as a gift, presenting, or offering. Offrir is conjugated like other -rir verbs (offrir, ouvrir, etc.) and follows a regular pattern for these verbs, but is irregular compared to standard -er verbs.
- Recevoir: to receive
A complete guide to the French verb recevoir, including its meaning, usage, example sentences, and full conjugation across all tenses.
- Boire: to drink
Boire: to drink in French, an irregular -re verb covering its meaning, usage, and role in various tenses and contexts.
- Croire: to believe
A comprehensive guide to the French verb 'croire,' including its meaning, usage, irregular conjugations across tenses, and example sentences.
- Vivre: to live
Vivre is a French irregular verb meaning "to live," covering concepts of existing, residing, or experiencing life.
- Suivre: to follow
A comprehensive overview of the French verb 'suivre,' including its meaning, usage, irregular conjugations, common expressions, and examples to help learners master this essential verb.
- Mourir: to die
A comprehensive guide to the French verb mourir, including its meaning, usage, French and English conjugations, examples, and role as an irregular verb.
- Dormir: to sleep
An overview of the French verb dormir, including its meaning, usage, and role as an irregular verb in the third group.
- Rire: to laugh
Rire: to laugh. A comprehensive guide to the French verb “rire,” including its meaning, usage, examples, and role as an irregular verb.
Last updated: Thu Jun 12, 2025
