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Grammar Guide
Grammar is simply the rules about how a language works.
In the pages that follow you will find explanations about how the French
language works.
The following terms are used and it is a good idea to learn them:Noun – a naming word, e.g. table, book, dog, man (NOTE: a proper noun is a place
name, a person’s name, e.g. Paris, Switzerland, John)
Pronoun – a word which could be used instead of a noun e.g. “he” in place of “the
man”, “it” in place of “the table, “they” in place of “Paul and John.
Adjective – a describing word, e.g. big, red, old, French (NOTE: an adjective always
describes a noun)
Verb – a doing word, e.g. to play, to eat, to speak (NOTE: when the verb has the
word “to” in front of it, we say that the verb is “an infinitive”)
Adverb – a describing word explaining how we do something, e.g. quickly, easily,
happily (NOTE: an adverb always describes a verb)
Preposition – a word which tells you where something is e.g. in, under, above
GRAMMAR INDEX
Page 1 Nouns (masculine; feminine; nouns starting with a vowel/letter “h”; plural)
Page 2 Adjectives (endings; position in the sentence)
Page 3 Pronouns
Page 4 Verbs (present tense of verbs ending in “er”, “ir”, “re”; irregular verbs;
jouer and faire with sports and leisure activities; immediate future tense)
Page 9 My, your, his, her, its, our, your, their
Page 10 Adverbs
Page 11 Prepositions
French Grammar
NOUNS
1. In French nouns are split into 2 groups –
French people have decided that some nouns are masculine so they use le
for “the” and un for “a”, therefore le sac is “the” bag; un sac is “a bag”; and
« sac » is a masculine noun.
The other nouns are feminine so they use la for “the” and une for “a”,
therefore la chaise is “the chair”; une chaise is “a chair”; and « chaise » is a
feminine noun.
2. Sometimes the noun begins with a vowel sound, e.g. arbre (tree); in this
case the word for “the” is l’; l’arbre = the tree but since the word “arbre” is
thought of as masculine we would still use “un” for “a”.
In French the letter “h” is usually not pronounced so a word which starts with
“h” usually sounds as though it starts with a vowel and will then use l’ for “the”
e.g. l’hôtel
3. There is no way of knowing whether a noun is masculine or feminine – each
noun simply has to be learned with le/la/un/une in front of it.
PLURAL OF NOUNS
To make most nouns plural add “s” and change the word for “the” to les,
e.g. le sac = the bed, les sacs = the beds; la chaise = the chair, les chaises
= the chairs; l’arbre = the tree, les arbres = the trees.
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ADJECTIVES
Some examples of adjectives in French are grand = tall/big, rouge = red, petit =
small.
Adjectives work differently in French.
The first difference is that adjectives in French take endings (usually called
“agreements”) and the pattern of endings is as follows: If the adjective is describing a masculine noun e.g. le/un sac, use the adjective
without changing its spelling; therefore use grand, rouge, petit
If the adjective is describing a feminine noun e.g. la/une chaise, add “e” to the
adjective (don’t add the “e” if there is already one on the end of the adjective);
therefore use grande, rouge, petite
If the adjective is describing a masculine plural noun e.g. les sacs, add “s” to the
adjective; therefore use grands, rouges, petits
If the adjective is describing a feminine plural noun e.g. les chaises, add “es” to the
adjective (don’t add the “e” if there is already one on the end of the adjective);
therefore use grandes, rouges, petites
The second difference is where adjectives go in the sentence.
In English we say “a red bag” in French this becomes “un sac rouge” – this is the
rule for most adjectives, they come after the thing they are describing.
There are exceptions and the two most common are “grand” and “petit” – they
always go in front of the thing they are describing; therefore, “un grand sac”, “un
petit sac” but remember – they still take endings (une grande chaise)!
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PRONOUNS
The main pronouns in French are:je / j’ = I (je is only given a capital letter at the beginning of a sentence)
tu
= you (when talking to one person you know well)
il
= he
il
= it (when replacing a masculine word e.g. le sac would be replaced by il)
elle
= she
elle
= it (when replacing a feminine word e.g. la chaise would be replaced by elle)
nous = we
vous = you (for any number of people you don’t really know or for more than one
person you know)
ils
= they (for a masculine or mixed group e.g. les hommes (the men) would be
replaced by ils; les sacs would be replaced by ils; Paul et Marie would be
replaced by ils)
elles = they (for a feminine group e.g. les filles (the girls) would be replaced by
elles; les chaises would be replaced by elles)
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VERBS
1. In French a verb in the infinitive (“to”…) ends in one of three ways and the
most common way is “er”; therefore, jouer = to play, parler = to speak. The
other two ways are “ir” and “re” e.g. finir = to finish, vendre = to sell.
2. Verbs are used in different tenses to let us talk about things that happen at
different times. They are used in the present tense to allow us to talk about
things which are going on in our lives at present; they are used in the future
tense to allow us to talk about things which have yet to happen.
PRESENT TENSE of verbs ending in “er”.
Examples of commonly used verbs ending in “er” are :jouer – to play
regarder – to watch
écouter – to listen to
parler – to speak
arriver – to arrive
travailler – to work
To use a verb in the present tense you do the following
1. Remove “er” – “jouer” therefore becomes “jou”
2. Use the pronouns je, tu, il, elle, nous, vous, ils, elles
3. After each pronoun use “jou”
4. Add the following endings
With “je jou” add “e” → je joue = I play, am playing
With “tu jou” add “es” → tu joues = you play, are playing
With “il jou” add “e” → il joue = he/it plays, is playing
With “elle jou” add “e” → elle joue = she/it plays, is playing
With “nous jou” add “ons” → nous jouons = we play, are playing
With “vous jou” add “ez” → vous jouez = you play, are playing
With “ils jou” add “ent → ils jouent = they play, are playing
With “elles jou” add “ent” → elles jouent = they play, are playing
If you use someone’s name e.g. Marie, use the same part of the verb as you
use after “elle”→ Marie joue;
if you use a boy’s name (Joe), use the same part of the verb as “il”→Joe joue
if you are using the names of two people e.g. Marie and Paul, you use the
same part of the verb as “ils”→ Marie et Paul jouent;
“John and I” uses the same part of the verb as “nous”→ Jean et moi jouons
WATCH! If the verb starts with a vowel “je” will become j’. e.g. j’écoute
There are two “er” verbs to watch for –
“manger” (to eat)follows all the rules up above except for the “nous” part where you
have to add an extra letter → nous mangeons; “commencer” (to start) follows all the
rules up above except for the “nous” part where you have to alter the “c” → nous
commençons
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PRESENT TENSE of verbs ending in “ir”
Examples of commonly used verbs ending in “ir” are: finir – to finish
choisir – to choose
remplir – to fill
To use a verb in the present tense you do the following
1. Remove “ir” – “finir” therefore becomes “fin”
2. Use the pronouns je, tu, il, elle, nous, vous, ils, elles
3. After each pronoun use “fin”
4. Add the following endings
With “je fin” add “is” → je finis = I finish, am finishing
With “tu fin” add “is” → tu finis = you finish, are finishing
With “il fin” add “it” → il finit = he/it finishes, is finishing
With “elle fin” add “it” → elle finit = she/it finishes, is finishing
With “nous fin” add “issons” → nous finissons = we finish, are finishing
With “vous fin” add “issez” → vous finissez = you finish, are finishing
With “ils fin” add “issent → ils finissent = they finish, are finishing
With “elles jou” add “issent” → elles finissent = they finish, are finishing
PRESENT TENSE of verbs ending in “re”
Examples of commonly used verbs ending in “re” are: vendre – to sell
attendre – to wait for
To use a verb in the present tense you do the following
1. Remove “re” – “vendre” therefore becomes “vend”
2. Use the pronouns je, tu, il, elle, nous, vous, ils, elles
3. After each pronoun use “vend”
4. Add the following endings
With “je vend” add “s” → je vends = I sell, am selling
With “tu vend” add “s” → tu vends = you sell, are selling
With “il vend” add “nothing” → il vend = he/it sells, is selling
With “elle vend” add “nothing” → elle vend = she/it sells, is selling
With “nous vend” add “ons” → nous vendons = we sell, are selling
With “vous vend” add “ez” → vous vendez = you sell, are selling
With “ils vend” add “ent → ils vendent = they sell, are selling
With “elles vend” add “ent” → elles vendent = they sell, are selling
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PRESENT TENSE of IRREGULAR VERBS
Some verbs are known as irregular verbs; that simply means that they don’t follow
the usual pattern of endings which were shown up above.
The most common of these verbs are:aller – to go
avoir – to have
être – to be
faire – to make/do
sortir – to go out
lire – to read
The pattern for each of these verbs is as follows:aller - to go
avoir – to have
je vais – I go, am going
tu vas – you go, are going
il va – he/it goes, is going
elle va – she/it goes, is going
nous allons – we go, are going
vous allez – you go, are going
ils vont – they go, are going
elles vont – they go, are going
j’ai – I have, am having
tu as – you have, are having
il a – he/it has, is having
elle a – she/ it has, is having
nous avons – we have, are having
vous avez – you have, are having
ils ont – they have, are having
elles ont – they have, are having
être – to be
faire – to make/do
je suis - I am
tu es – you are
il est – he/it is
elle est – she/it is
nous sommes – we are
vous êtes – you are
ils sont – they are
elles sont – they are
je fais – I make/do, am making/doing
tu fais – you make/do, are making/doing
il fait – he/it makes/does, is making/doing
elle fait – she/it makes/does, is making/doing
nous faisons – we make/do, are making/doing
vous faites – you make/do, are making/doing
ils font – they make/do, are making/doing
elles font – they make/do, are making/doing
sortir – to go out
lire – to read
je sors – I go out, am going out
tu sors – you go out, are going out
il sort – he/it goes out, is going out
elle sort – she/ it goes out, is going out
nous sortons – we go out, are going out
vous sortez – you go out, are going out
ils sortent – they go out/are going out
elles sortent – they go out, are going out
je lis – I read,am reading
tu lis – you read, are reading
il lit – he reads, is reading
elle lit – she reads, is reading
nous lisons – we read, are reading
vous lisez – you read, are reading
ils lisent – they read, are reading
elles lisent – they read, are reading
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JOUER and FAIRE with sports and leisure activities
In French we actually say e.g. “I play at the football/at the computer” etc – this is
obviously different from English so you have to work with the word à which means at.
You then have to add on the word for the - le, la, l’, les.
The following rules then apply –
à + le changes to au
à + la stays the same
à + l’ stays the same
à + les changes to aux
therefore je joue à + le football → je joue au football
therefore je joue à + la pétanque → je joue à la pétanque
therefore je joue à + l’ ordinateur → je joue à l’ ordinateur
therefore je joue à + les échecs → je joue aux échecs
We also say in French “I do some of the judo/some of the swimming” etc – which
again is different from English so you have to work with the word de which means
some.
You then have to add on the word for the - le, la, l’, les.
The following rules then apply –
de + le changes to du
de + la stays the same
de + l’ stays the same
de + les changes to des
therefore je fais de + le judo
→ je fais du judo
therefore je fais de + la natation → je fais de + la natation
therefore je fais de + l’équitation → je fais de + l’équitation
therefore je fais de + les posters → je fais des posters
Watch – if you want to say I do not do…… or I don’t do…… you forget about the
rule above and you just use de i.e. I don’t do judo → je ne fais pas de judo
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IMMEDIATE FUTURE TENSE
This is the easiest version of the future tense and is made up as follows
1. Use the verb “aller” - to go
je vais, tu vas, il va, elle va, nous allons, vous allez, ils vont, elles vont
2. Follow the part of aller you want to use with an infinitive (the part of the verb
ending with “er”, “ir”, “re”) e.g. jouer, regarder
3. Therefore you get
je vais jouer
tu vas jouer
il va jouer
elle va jouer
nous allons jouer
vous allez jouer
ils vont jouer
elles vont jouer
I am going to play
you are going to play
he is going to play
she is going to play
we are going to play
you are going to play
they are going to play
they are going to play
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MY, YOUR, HIS, HER, ITS, OUR, YOUR, THEIR.
In French there is more than one word for my, your, his etc. The correct word for
my etc depends on whether the following word is masculine, feminine, or plural.
The rule works as follows
Followed by a
masculine word
Followed by a
feminine word
Followed by a
plural word
my
mon
ma
mes
your (used along with “tu”)
ton
ta
tes
his
son
sa
ses
her
son
sa
ses
its
son
sa
ses
our
notre
notre
nos
your(used along with vous)
votre
votre
vos
their
leur
leur
leurs
Examples
le sac = masculine so,
Marie has lost her bag = Marie a perdu son sac
Paul has lost his bag = Paul a perdu son sac
la chaise = feminine so,
It’s my chair = C’est ma chaise
It’s your chair = C’est ta chaise
Les livres = plural so,
My brothers are called Paul and John = Mes frères s’appellent Paul et John
My sisters are called Marie and Louise = Mes soeurs s’appellent Marie et Louise
The word for “my” is not affected by the people being male or female, the word for
“my” depends on whether the word coming after it is masculine, feminine or plural.
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ADVERBS
Since adverbs explain how we do something they usually come after the verb in
French. Common examples are: vite – quickly
souvent – often
toujours – always
rarement – rarely
aussi – also
quelquefois – sometimes
normalement – normally
Examples
Je fais toujours mes devoirs – I always do my homework
J’ai aussi un chat
- I also have a cat.
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PREPOSITIONS
Common prepositions are
dans – in
sous – under
sur – on (top of)
derrière – behind
devant – in front of
Examples
La fille est dans la salle de classe – The girl is in the class room
Derrière la table il y a une chaise - Behind the table there is a chair
Other prepositions we often use are
près de – near
en face de – opposite
à côté de – beside
With these three prepositions we have to remember what happens when we put a
word for the after de.
de + le changes to du
de + la stays the same
de + l’ stays the same
de + les changes to des
therefore près de + le cinéma
→ près du cinéma
therefore près de + la mairie
→ près de la mairie
therefore près de + l’école
→ près de l’école
therefore près de + les musées → près des musées
The preposition à means “at” or “to” but we have to remember what happens when
we put a word for the after à
à + le changes to au
à + la stays the same
à + l’ stays the same
à + les changes to aux
therefore je vais à + le cinéma
therefore je vais à + la mairie
therefore je vais à + l’ école
therefore je vais à + les musées
→ je vais au cinéma
→ je vais à la mairie
→ je vais à l’ école
→ je vais aux musées
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