French Special Topics is a collection of advanced grammar, vocabulary, and usage lessons that cover less common but important aspects of the French language.
A2
B1
Table of Contents
- 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.
Last updated: Thu Jun 12, 2025
