Basic French sentences that cover essential grammar, common expressions, question forms, and common errors for beginners.
Learning these basic French sentences is the first step to building confidence and starting simple conversations. This guide covers essential grammar, common expressions, question forms, and a few common mistakes to avoid.
Understanding basic sentence structure and grammar is key to forming simple sentences.
Pronouns and Verbs
- French sentences usually follow a Subject–Verb–Object order.
- Pronouns replace nouns (e.g., je = I, tu = you, il/elle = he/she).
- Verbs must be conjugated to match the subject.
Articles and Genders
- French nouns have genders: masculine or feminine.
- Use le (the) for masculine and la (the) for feminine; les for plural.
- Indefinite articles are un (a, masculine) and une (a, feminine).
Simple Negation
- Negate a sentence with ne … pas around the verb (e.g., Je ne parle pas = I do not speak).
- In spoken French, the ne is often dropped: Je parle pas.
Here are some basic sentences you’ll use every day.
Greetings
- Bonjour — Hello / Good morning
- Bonsoir — Good evening
- Salut — Hi / Bye (informal)
- Comment ça va ? — How are you?
- Ça va bien, merci. — I’m fine, thank you.
Introducing Yourself
- Je m’appelle ... — My name is ...
- J’ai ... ans. — I am ... years old.
- Je suis américain(e). — I am American.
- Enchanté(e) — Nice to meet you.
Je m’appelle ___.
How do you say “My name is ...” in French?
Je m’appelle ...
Je m’appelle ... is the standard way to introduce your name.
Basic Conversations
- Oui / Non — Yes / No
- S’il vous plaît — Please
- Merci — Thank you
- Excusez-moi — Excuse me
- Je ne comprends pas. — I don’t understand.
French has several ways to ask questions. Here are the simplest forms.
Est-ce que
- Est-ce que tu parles français ? — Do you speak French?
- Est-ce que vous êtes prêts ? — Are you ready?
Question Words
- Qui — Who
- Que / Qu’ — What
- Où — Where
- Quand — When
- Pourquoi — Why
- Comment — How
Inversion (Formal)
- Parlez-vous anglais ? — Do you speak English?
- Avez-vous un stylo ? — Do you have a pen?
What do you do to form a question by inversion?
Invert the subject pronoun and verb (e.g., Parlez-vous)
In formal French, invert the verb and subject (e.g., Parlez-vous anglais ?).
Avoid these errors as you build your sentence skills.
Gender and Articles
- Je suis un fille.
- Je suis une fille. (fille is feminine)
Verb Conjugation
- Je parle français. (correct)
- Je parlez français.
- Je parle français.
Negation
- Je ne comprends pas.
- Je comprends pas. (more natural in speech)
Word Order in Questions
- Tu est professeur ? (casual)
- Tu es professeur ?
- Est-ce que tu es professeur ?
What’s wrong with “Tu est professeur ?” in casual French?
The verb should be “es” (tu es)
The correct form is “Tu es professeur ?” for subject-verb agreement.
These basic French sentences cover:
- Essential grammar rules (pronouns, articles, negation)
- Common everyday expressions
- Simple question forms
- Common beginner mistakes
Practice these sentences out loud to build confidence and get comfortable with French structure.
Last updated: Thu Jun 12, 2025
