French Grammar
in One Long Read
A colorful, compact grammar page for learners who want the complete beginner structure of French in one place: nouns, articles, adjectives, pronouns, verbs, tenses, questions, negation, prepositions and sentence building.
1. Presenting People and Things
French uses short presentation structures to introduce a person, show something, or say that something exists.
Here is / there is
Use voici and voilà to introduce someone or point to something.
It is / they are
Use c’est before a singular noun and ce sont before a plural noun.
There is / there are
Use il y a to say that something exists or is present.
2. Nouns: Gender and Plural
French nouns have gender and number. Learn the article together with the noun because it carries the grammar signal.
Masculine and feminine nouns
Many feminine nouns add -e. Some endings transform: -er → -ère, -ien → -ienne, -eur → -euse, -teur → -trice.
a male studentune étudiante
a female student+ e
a bakerune boulangère
a baker-er → -ère
a male dancerune danseuse
a female dancer-eur → -euse
a male directorune directrice
a female director-teur → -trice
Singular and plural nouns
The usual plural ending is -s. Some nouns take -x, some change to -aux, and nouns ending in -s, -x, -z do not change.
a fruitdes fruits
fruits / some fruits+ s
a cakedes gâteaux
cakes / some cakes-eau → -eaux
a job / workdes travaux
works / jobs-ail → -aux
a price / prizedes prix
prices / prizesno change
an eyedes yeux
eyesirregular
3. Articles and Determiners
Articles and determiners are small words before nouns. They show if you mean a thing, the thing, some of something, this, my, or a quantity.
Indefinite articles
Use these for a/an or some.
Definite articles
Use these for the or when speaking about something in general.
Partitive articles
Use these for an unknown amount, especially food and drink. English often uses no word here.
After negation: de
After many negative sentences, un, une, des, du, de la, de l’ become de.
Contracted articles
French contracts some combinations with à and de.
to the / at theau cinéma
to the cinema
to the / at theaux étudiants
to the students
from the / of thedu professeur
from the teacher / teacher’s
from the / of thedes enfants
from the children / children’s
Demonstrative adjectives
Use these for this, that, these, those.
Possessives and quantity
Use possessive adjectives to show possession. Use quantity words to say each, many, or none.
4. Adjectives
Adjectives describe nouns. In French, many adjectives change for masculine, feminine, singular and plural.
Adjective agreement
The adjective usually matches the noun. Feminine often adds -e. Plural often adds -s.
smallpetite
smallpetits / petites
small, plural
big / tallgrande
big / tallgrands / grandes
big / tall, plural
happyheureuse
happyheureux / heureuses
happy, plural
newnouvelle
newnouveaux / nouvelles
new, plural
Position of adjectives
Most adjectives come after the noun. Some very common adjectives often come before the noun.
5. Pronouns
Pronouns replace nouns and help avoid repetition. French pronouns have a strict place in the sentence.
Subject pronouns
Subject pronouns show who does the action.
Stress pronouns
Use them after prepositions or for emphasis.
Relative pronouns
Use qui, que, and où to connect information about a person, thing, place or time.
Demonstrative pronouns
Use these for the one / the ones.
Direct object pronouns
They replace the direct object: me = me, te = you, le/la/l’ = him/her/it, nous = us, vous = you, les = them, en = some/of it.
Indirect object pronouns
They often replace à + person: me = to me, te = to you, lui = to him/her, nous = to us, vous = to you, leur = to them, y = there.
Pronoun position
In a simple sentence, most object pronouns come before the conjugated verb. With an infinitive, they often come before the infinitive.
6. Verbs and Tenses
French verbs change with the subject and the time. Master the key forms first: present, near future, recent past, passé composé, imparfait and future.
Essential irregular verbs
Start with the most useful verbs.
-er verbs and reflexive verbs
Many common verbs follow the -er pattern. Reflexive verbs use me, te, se….
Common irregular verbs
Learn high-frequency verbs as families.
aller + infinitive / venir de + infinitive
Use aller + infinitive for the near future and venir de + infinitive for the recent past.
Passé composé with avoir
Most verbs use avoir + past participle.
Passé composé with être
Some movement verbs and reflexive verbs use être + past participle. The participle often agrees with the subject.
Imparfait
Use the imparfait for background, habits, descriptions and ongoing past situations.
Imparfait vs passé composé
Use imparfait for the scene and passé composé for completed events.
Future simple
The future simple often uses the infinitive base plus future endings.
7. Moods: Imperative, Conditional, Subjunctive
French uses special verb moods to give orders, be polite, imagine conditions or express necessity and emotion.
Imperative
Use the imperative to give instructions or advice.
Conditional present
Use the conditional for polite requests and imagined situations.
Subjunctive present
Use the subjunctive after certain expressions of wish, need, emotion or uncertainty.
8. Prepositions and Adverbs
Prepositions connect nouns to places and ideas. Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives or whole sentences.
Prepositions of place
Use à, au, à la, aux, de, du, de la, des, en with places and directions.
Verbs with à or de
Some verbs naturally take a preposition. Learn the verb together with its preposition.
Meaning and position of adverbs
Adverbs can express intensity, quantity, manner or evaluation.
Comparisons
Use plus… que, moins… que, aussi… que, meilleur and mieux.
9. Sentence Types and Complex Sentences
Use negation, questions and connectors to turn simple sentences into real communication.
Negation
Put ne before the verb and the second negative word after the verb.
Interrogation patterns
Use intonation, est-ce que, or inversion. Use question words to ask for details.
Indirect speech
Use dire que, demander si, and demander où/quand/comment to report what someone says or asks.
Cause, consequence, purpose, opposition
Use connectors to explain why, show results, say purpose or create contrast.
Condition with si
Use si to express a condition.
Simple sentence formula
Most beginner French sentences can start from a clear structure.