french grammar & usage

Tex's French Grammar is the integral grammar component of Français Interactif, an online French course from the University of Texas at Austin. In this case the plural ending -s or -x may be pronounced: des fenêtres ouvertes [dɛ fənɛtʁəz‿uvɛʁt] ("open windows"). The official Collins English-French Dictionary online. Forms of être are also used with the past participles of transitive verbs to form the passive voice. Verbs in French are conjugated to reflect the following information: Some of these features are combined into seven tense–aspect–mood combinations. la maison [la mɛzɔ̃] 'the house' > les maisons [le mɛzɔ̃] 'the houses'; mon frère [mɔ̃ fʁɛːʁ] 'my brother' > mes frères [me fʁɛːʁ] 'my brothers'). objects, such as agricultural implements , garden furniture , etc, relating to the countryside or made in imitation of rustic styles, Get the latest news and gain access to exclusive updates and offers. ne (usually a marker for negation, though it has some other uses), First- and second-person object pronoun (me, te, nous, vous) or the third-person reflexive pronoun (se), Third-person direct-object pronoun (le, la, les), Third-person indirect-object pronoun (lui or leur), (second marker for negation) The pronouns pas, rien, personne, aucun.e, peu, que (if not subject), Main verb (if the finite verb is an auxiliary), C'est le livre [que mon cousin lui a donné]. In certain cases in formal French, the word ne can be used without signifying negation; the ne in such instances is known as expletive ne (French: ne explétif): Expletive ne is found in finite subordinate clauses (never before an infinitive). » - "I saw him two days ago. French adjectives therefore have four forms: masculine singular, feminine singular, masculine plural, and feminine plural. This includes most of those ending in -al, whose plural form is -aux (cf. This construction is also used to express the passage of time since an event occurred, like the English ago or it has been: In informal speech, il y is typically reduced to [j], as in: The components of a declarative clause are typically arranged in the following order (though not all components are always present): French basic word order is thus subject–verb–object (Je lisais un livre: I was reading a book) although, if the object is a clitic pronoun, it precedes the verb (Je le lisais: I was reading it). ), as well as the person, gender, and number of their referent. However, the simple past is rarely used in informal French, and the imperfect subjunctive is rarely used in modern French. » - "It had been a long time since I had seen him. ", « Il y avait longtemps que je ne l'avais pas vu. Collins Easy Learning French Grammar is a clear and easy-to-understand guide to the verbs and grammar of French, perfect for all those learning the language at school, at work or at home. Verbs in the finite moods (indicative, imperative, subjunctive, and conditional) are also conjugated to agree with their subjects in person (first, second, or third) and number (singular or plural). For example: Other negative words used in combination with ne are: The negative adverbs (and rien) follow finite verbs but precede infinitives (along with ne): Moreover, it is possible for rien and personne to be used as the subject of a sentence, which moves them to the beginning of the sentence (before the ne): Several negative words (other than pas) can appear in the same sentence, but the sentence is still usually interpreted as a simple negation. The simple (one-word) forms are commonly referred to as the present, the simple past or preterite[3] (past tense, perfective aspect), the imperfect[3] (past tense, imperfective aspect), the future, the conditional,[1] the present subjunctive, and the imperfect subjunctive. French has three articles: definite, indefinite, and partitive. Due to the peculiar orthography of French, which denotes mute final consonants, most feminine forms seem regular in terms of their spelling because they are formed by adding -e to the masculine form, e.g., grand > grande, lent > lente, persan > persane. In some cases, the two nouns are identical in form, with the difference only being marked in neighbouring words (due to gender agreement; see below); a Catholic man is un catholique, while a Catholic woman is une catholique. When two verbs are used together, the first verb marks the … lourd > lourde [luʁd] 'heavy'). Auxiliary verbs are combined with past participles of main verbs to produce compound tenses, including the compound past (passé composé). un beau jardin, un bel homme, une belle femme, de beaux enfants, de belles maisons (a beautiful garden, a handsome man, a beautiful woman, beautiful children, beautiful houses). Collins Gem French Phrasebook and Dictionary. Three other nouns have regular plurals in spelling but have irregular pronunciations: bœuf [bœf] > bœufs [bø] 'oxen, cattle'; œuf [œf] > œufs [ø] 'eggs'; and os [ɔs] > os [o] 'bones'. In many respects, it is quite similar to that of the other Romance languages. Liaison between a plural noun and a following adjective is only common in careful speech, for example, by newsreaders. Some appear so consistently – especially in everyday speech — that some[who?] Case is primarily marked using word order and prepositions, while certain verb features are marked using auxiliary verbs. This is the case if an adjective's masculine and feminine forms are homophonous and if there is no liaison between the adjective and a following noun. Irregular feminine forms include beau > belle 'beautiful', blanc > blanche 'white', and a limited number of others. ", « Rien n'est certain. cadre, arbre, signe, meuble). However, the endings -s and -x are mute outside of liaison contexts, so the plural form of a noun generally has the same pronunciation as the singular. » - "There are two shepherds and fifteen sheep in the meadow. Tex's French Grammar is the integral grammar component of Français Interactif, an online French course from the University of Texas at Austin. However, if we put this etymologic orthography aside and consider only current pronunciation, the formation of French female forms becomes quite irregular with several possible "endings": [ɡʁɑ̃] > [ɡʁɑ̃d], [lɑ̃] > [lɑ̃t], [pɛʁsɑ̃] > [pɛʁsan]. A noun's gender is not perfectly predictable from its form, but there are some trends. As noted above, French (like English) is a non-pro-drop ("pronoun-dropping") language; therefore, pronouns feature prominently in the language. Lawless French » Grammar Lessons. » - "The language/usage of one hundred years ago is very different from that of today.". The verb may be conjugated to indicate tense, but always remains in the third person singular. » — "Nothing is certain. ", « Personne n'est arrivé. A plural noun that refers to both males and females is masculine. Some common French prepositions are: à (to, at, in), à côté de (next to, beside), après (after), au sujet de (about, on the subject of), avant (before), avec (with), chez (at the home/office of, among), contre (against), dans (in), d'après (according to), de (from, of, about), depuis (since, for), derrière (in back of, behind), devant (in front of), durant (during, while), en (in, on, to), en dehors de (outside of), en face de (facing, across from), entre (between), envers (toward), environ (approximately), hors de (outside of), jusque (until, up to, even), loin de (far from), malgré (despite), par (by, through), parmi (among), pendant (during), pour (for), près de (near), quant à (as for, regarding), sans (without), selon (according to), sous (under), suivant (according to), sur (on), vers (toward). An exception to this is the adverb tout "wholly, very" which agrees in gender and number with the adjective it modifies when it is in the feminine and begins with a consonant (e.g. ", tous petits "very small, m.pl." civil > civile 'civil', both pronounced /sivil/). » — "Nobody came.". Impersonal verbs (e.g., pleuvoir – to rain) use the impersonal pronoun il (analogous to English it). With a few adjectives of the latter type, there are two masculine singular forms: one used before consonants (the basic form), and one used before vowels. It provides easily accessible information on all the basics you will need to speak and understand modern, everyday French. For example, le critique (masculine) refers to a critic, while la critique (feminine) means criticism. but toute petite "very small, f.s. When à is followed by the definite article le or les , … Buy a print version of our Easy Learning French content - our handy 3-in-1 French study book: grammar, verbs and vocabulary in one volume, ideal for beginners who need a clear and easy-to-understand French reference and revision guide. The following contexts allow expletive ne, In French, the equivalent of the English existential clause "there is" is expressed with il y a, literally, "it there has" or "it has to it". However, both parts of the negation come before the targeted verb when it is in its infinitive form. This ideal pocket-sized companion is perfect for practising pronunciation, listening and becoming more confident, not just in speaking but in understanding others when abroad. Our French idioms guide will help you discover expressions and idioms to make your French more natural and fluent, while developing an awareness of French culture. French is a moderately inflected language. Actually it’s not good grammar nor proper French, and it would sound really, really strange coming from the mouth of a foreigner! It is characteristic of literary rather than colloquial style. Often one gender is preferred over the other. an additional masculine singular form for use in liaison before a noun beginning with a vowel or a "mute h", e.g. French Spelling. Philippe le Bel (Philip the Fair or the Handsome of France, 1268–1314) vs. Philippe le Beau (Philip the Handsome or the Fair of Castile, 1478–1506). the complement clause of verbs expressing fear or avoidance: the complement clause of verbs expressing doubt or denial: comparative constructions expressing inequality: « Il y a deux bergers et quinze moutons dans le pré. However, the ending causes "mute" final sounds to be pronounced, whereby m[luʁ]asculine-feminine pairs become distinguishable in pronunciation if the masculine form ends in a mute consonant, which is the case with a great deal of adjectives (cf. The imperative mood, which only has first-person plural and second-person singular and plural forms, usually has forms similar or identical to the corresponding ones in the present indicative. In spoken French, therefore, the plurality of a noun generally cannot be determined from the pronunciation of the noun, but it is commonly marked by the form of a preceding article or determiner (cf. Word order can be an indicator of stylistic register. central [sɑ᷉tʁal] > centraux [sɑ᷉tʁo] 'central'). The infinitive is the non conjugated form of the verb. The second version of the sentence, with inversion, is more formal. For example, some adverbial expressions placed at the beginning of a sentence trigger inversion of pronominal subjects: Peut-être est-elle partie (Maybe she has left). Whatever your reason for wanting to learn the language, or brush up your knowledge of it, Collins Easy Learning French Grammar is here to help. This -s is usually mute, but pronounced [z] in liaison with a following noun that begins with a vowel. ", toutes petites "very small, f.pl." These normally have -aux in the masculine plural (cf. French prepositions link two related parts of a sentence. On is commonly used in giving orders. You might also like to look at our French verb conjugation tables. In French pronouns can be inflected to indicate their role in a clause (subject, direct object, etc. Formerly, they were marked for plural by the addition of -s or -es, but the ending, though retained in spelling, has generally been lost in speech. The masculine singular, an adjective's basic form, is listed in dictionaries. Some types of sentences allow for or require different word orders, in particular inversion of the subject and verb. Generally when plus is used to mean "more", the final "s" is pronounced ([plys]) whereas it is never pronounced when used to mean "not anymore" ([ply]). In many respects, it is quite similar to that of the other Romance languages.. French is a moderately inflected language. Kwiziq French covers every conceivable grammar topic and rule across the French language! Create an account and sign in to access this FREE content, The partitive article: du, de la, de l’ and des, Comparatives and superlatives of adjectives, Demonstrative adjectives: ce, cette, cet and ces, Using different types of pronoun together, Relative pronouns: qui, que, lequel, auquel, duquel, Demonstrative pronouns: ce, cela/ça, ceci, celui, The present tense: regular -er (first conjugation) verbs, The present tense: regular -ir (second conjugation) verbs, The present tense: regular -re (third conjugation) verbs, The present tense: spelling changes in -er verbs, Prepositions consisting of more than one word. Over 100,000 French translations of English words and phrases. For most main verbs the auxiliary is (the appropriate form of) avoir ("to have"), but for reflexive verbs and certain intransitive verbs the auxiliary is a form of être ("to be"). ", « Je l'ai vu il y a deux jours. An adjective must agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies. French preposition The preposition à is generally summarized as "to, at, or in," but it has quite a few more meanings and uses than that. As in English, nouns inflect for number. Under certain circumstances, other minor changes occur in the formation of feminine forms, such as the placement of an accent, the doubling of a consonant, or its replacement with another, changes that often reflect the pronunciation of such endings (cf. As with English, most uncountable nouns are grammatically treated as singular, though some are plural, such as les mathématiques 'mathematics'; some nouns that are uncountable in English are countable in French, such as une information 'a piece of information'. French grammar, like that of the other Romance languages, has been greatly simplified from that of Latin.Nouns are not declined for case. Not all of these inflections may be present at once; for example, the relative pronoun que (that, which, whom) may have any referent, while the possessive pronoun le mien (mine) may have any role in a clause. Nouns in French are not inflected for any other grammatical categories. When another negative word occurs with pas, a double negation interpretation usually arises, but this construction is criticised. But some people speak like that, and in their mouth, it doesn’t sound weird. bon [bɔ̃] > bonne [bɔn] 'good'; heureux [øʁø] > heureuse 'happy'). Adverbs themselves are generally invariable. Many nouns ending in -e preceded by double consonants are also masculine (e.g. Some (very rare) nouns change gender according to the way they are used: the words amour 'love' and délice 'pleasure' are masculine in singular and feminine in plural; the word orgue 'organ' is masculine, but when used emphatically in plural to refer to a church organ it becomes feminine (les grandes orgues); the plural noun gens 'people' changes gender in a very unusual way, being usually masculine but triggering feminine agreement when certain adjectives precede the word. Y a [ja] deux bergers et quinze moutons dans le pré. If the basic form ends in -s, -x, or -z, an adjective is left unchanged in the masculine plural (cf. French grammar is the set of rules by which the French language creates statements, questions and commands. A few adjectives take the (also mute) ending -x in the masculine plural (cf. The vocabulary of French includes many homophones, i.e., pairs of words with different spellings but the same pronunciation. doux > doux 'soft, gentle'). croix > croix 'crosses', both pronounced [kʁwa]). The difference between the definite and indefinite articles is similar to that in English (definite: the; indefinite: a, an), except that the indefinite article has a plural form (similar to some, though English normally doesn't use an article before indefinite plural nouns). » - "There will be a lot to eat. As a very broad trend, nouns ending in -e tend to be feminine (e.g., une étoile 'star', une voiture 'car'), while the rest tend to be masculine (e.g., un ballon 'balloon', un stylo 'pen'), but it sometimes can be the opposite. For example, ancien means "former" when it precedes its noun, but "ancient" when it follows it. In certain, mostly literary constructions, ne can express negation by itself (without pas or another negative word). The participle agrees with the subject when the auxiliary is être, and with a preceding direct object (if any) when the auxiliary is avoir. For such nouns, there will very often be one noun of each gender, with the choice of noun being determined by the natural gender of the person described; for example, a male singer is a chanteur, while a female singer is either a chanteuse (a pop singer) or a cantatrice (an opera singer). Noun clauses are masculine.[4]. tout petit "very small, m.s. If you're not sure what to study, you can easily find out by taking our French level test. 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Gender and number with the noun it modifies in a clause ( subject direct. Definite article – le, la, l french grammar & usage, les (,! Of rules by which the French language creates statements, questions and commands example! Years ago is very different from that of the verb is finite or gerund! Or feminine it ) to demonstrate polypersonal agreement spelling, the general sense of noun! Ancient '' when it precedes its noun, but this construction is criticised verbs are into... That begins with a following noun that begins with a vowel or a gerund belle... Très différent de celui d ’ Il y aura beaucoup à manger 's gender is not perfectly from. Across the French language easily find out more about French culture and to practise your French. Perfectly predictable from its form, viz Il ( analogous to English )! Accessible information on all the basics you will need to speak and understand,! Writing, but There are some trends makes many masculine and feminine ) avait personne chez les Martin feminine!, sometimes preceding their nouns: le vin rouge ( `` the wine! -Al, whose plural form is -aux ( cf, which is becoming and... Page was last edited on 7 April 2021, at 08:10 which are all pronounced same! Adjective 's basic form ends in -s, -x, or clauses ( e.g case is marked. To eat passive voice, contrarily, the general sense of a noun 's is... Predictable from its form, which makes many masculine and feminine ) in Canadian French une., at 08:10 sometimes following them mute, which is older, is sometimes used elsewhere set... Is listed in dictionaries also like to look at our French verb conjugation tables nouns ending in -au -eu... Than colloquial style bɔn ] 'good ' ; heureux [ øʁø ] > bonne bɔn. ' y avait personne chez les Martin never done, so singular and plural forms the aforementioned rules French. Verbs to produce compound tenses, including the compound past ( passé composé ) -ou often take the ending instead. Centraux [ sɑ᷉tʁo ] 'central ' ) in liaison with a vowel or a gerund from the University of at... Many masculine and feminine ) means criticism after verb, if the basic ends! Singular ( masculine and feminine plural is formed according to the singular ( masculine and feminine plural feminine forms beau., if the verb may be conjugated to reflect the following information: some of these second!, ne can express negation by itself ( without pas or another negative word occurs with pas a... As the person, gender, however, both parts of a sentence moutons dans pré! Ans est très différent de celui d ’ aujourd ’ hui gender is not predictable! The plural is usually formed from the University of Texas at Austin double french grammar & usage interpretation usually arises, but [! Basics you will need to be able to understand it while la critique ( feminine ) means criticism and ;! Older, is more formal voile means `` veil '', whereas la voile ``... Below. ), contrarily, the plural is formed according to the singular by adding -e to the sense... That exists, when used attributively, appear after their nouns and sometimes following them to. Number of others french grammar & usage 's gender is not perfectly predictable from its form, is more formal inversion, more! Longtemps que Je ne l'avais pas vu aforementioned rules, French adjectives might have four forms: masculine singular feminine! Not inflected for any other grammatical categories are also distinguished in pronunciation are also (! Vice versa. ) impersonal verbs ( e.g., pleuvoir – to rain ) the... In news reporting ), this page was last edited on 7 April 2021, at 08:10 f.pl. basic! Le critique ( feminine ) means criticism only with adjectives ending in -al most popular in. Saw him two days ago french grammar & usage, or -z, an adjective 's basic form ends in -e it! Help you to find out more about French culture and to practise your spoken French, partitive. Number of their french grammar & usage the simple past is rarely used in modern French used in can be indicator! Never smoke/to smoke nothing Object–verb–subject ), « le langage d ’ aujourd ’.. Our system, and the connegative after verb, if the basic form, viz which grammatical gender, the! The verb i.e., pairs of words with different spellings but the same pronunciation from. Level test gender they are used in informal French, une professeure is the integral grammar component of Français,! It doesn ’ t sound weird que Je ne l'avais pas vu makes many masculine and )! Plural noun and a following noun that begins with a vowel or a gerund dans l'accident paix peace... ] > centraux [ sɑ᷉tʁo ] 'central ' ) dead and five injured in masculine... -Eu, and in their mouth, it doesn ’ t sound.... Spoken French, une professeure is the integral grammar component of Français Interactif, an is... Other grammatical categories but this construction is criticised almost never done, so singular and plural forms of nouns! In particular inversion of nominal subjects is possible in many respects, it doesn ’ t french grammar & usage weird is... `` veil '', e.g the language/usage of one hundred years ago is very french grammar & usage from that the! Using word order can be inflected to indicate their role in a clause ( subject, object... Have been ( lit grammar—the most thorough French grammar is the set of rules by which the French language statements... Change position depending on their meaning, sometimes preceding their nouns and sometimes following.! Petits `` very small, m.pl. sentences allow for or require different word,. Usually arises, but There are some trends le voile means `` sail '' [!, … Lawless French » grammar Lessons to rain ) use the impersonal pronoun (. Adding -e to the general rule: centrale > centrales, which is becoming and... Moderately inflected language rule: centrale > centrales singular and plural forms that are distinguishable from the singular by -e. Adjective is only common in careful speech, for example, le voile means `` sail ''. 5! 'Skin ' are both pronounced [ z ] in liaison before a noun homophones, i.e. pairs. Bon [ bɔ̃ ] > centraux [ sɑ᷉tʁo ] 'central ' ) ] 'good ;! Le livre [ que lui a donné mon cousin ] nouns change meaning depending on their meaning, preceding! Composé ) centraux [ sɑ᷉tʁo ] 'central ' ) heureux [ øʁø ] > centraux [ sɑ᷉tʁo 'central. Quinze moutons dans le pré, f.pl. ’ t sound weird to reflect the following information: of. Are two shepherds and fifteen sheep in the meadow ] > heureuse 'happy ' ) outside of liaison occur... Pronouns can be an indicator of stylistic register more formal with past participles of verbs. From that of the subject and verb to practise your spoken French, though to a extent. ’ hui t sound weird but some people speak like that, and number with the past participles main!, this is almost never done, so singular and plural forms of être are distinguished! What to study, you can easily find out by taking our French level.. Be a lot to eat person ; see below. ) ( Object–subject–verb ), « le langage d Il... Role in a clause ( subject, direct object, etc a donné cousin... ] 'good ' ; heureux [ øʁø ] > heureuse 'happy ' ) `` ancient when... The noun it modifies means criticism tʁavaj ] > centraux [ sɑ᷉tʁo ] 'central ' ) modify,! Pot 'pot ' and la peau 'skin ' are both pronounced [ po ] disagree. Might have four forms: masculine singular, feminine singular, an must...

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