French grammar, step by step
A guided tour through French grammar with glossed examples that show how each piece of a sentence fits together.
Grammar Walkthrough
Discover how the language works through examples
French is a language of invisible endings and mandatory pronouns — master these two ideas and the grammar clicks into place.
The pronoun does the work
required pronounsThe endings look different written — -e, -es, -e — but they are all pronounced the same in French. So what is the only thing that tells a French speaker who is speaking?
French present-tense endings are largely silent: -e, -es, -e, and -ent are all pronounced identically for most verbs. Unlike Spanish, you cannot drop the subject pronoun — it is the only signal of who is acting.
Adding an object
word orderWhat comes after the verb? And is the subject pronoun ever missing?
French word order is Subject–Verb–Object, same as English. The subject pronoun is always present — French never drops it — so sentences always begin with the pronoun (or a noun).
Every noun has a gender
gender + articlesThe word for "the" changes between the first and second examples. What else changes with it?
Every French noun is masculine or feminine. The definite article is le (M) or la (F), and shortens to l' before a vowel sound. Learn the article with every new noun — it is part of the word.
Singular and plural
plural agreement| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine article | le | les |
| Feminine article | la | les |
| Noun ending | — | +s (silent) |
| Verb (3rd person) | -e | -ent (silent) |
From le livre to les livres — how many things changed? And what happens to the verb when "they" speak instead of "she"?
Plurals ripple through the article, noun, and verb — though many plural endings are silent in speech.
Tense lives in the verb
tense endingsThe future form keeps the full infinitive as its base. What is added on top?
French future tense is formed by adding endings directly onto the infinitive (-ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont). Unlike the present, where endings are silent, the future endings are pronounced. Tense shifts with no extra words.
Negation wraps the verb
negationCompare the first and second sentences word for word. Two words appeared. Where does each one sit relative to the verb?
French negation uses two words: ne before the verb and pas after it — sandwiching the verb. In casual spoken French, ne is often dropped, leaving just pas. Both must appear in formal and written French.
Describing things
adjective agreement| Form | Change | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine singular | — (base form) | intéressant |
| Feminine singular | +e | intéressante |
| Masculine plural | +s | intéressants |
| Feminine plural | +es | intéressantes |
The adjective comes after the noun each time. Its ending changes — what is it tracking?
French adjectives usually follow the noun and agree with it in gender and number.
Three ways to ask questions
interrogativesAll three examples ask the same question. Can you rank them from most casual to most formal? What changed in each?
French offers three question strategies. Rising intonation (Tu parles?) is the most casual. Est-ce que before a statement is neutral and very common. Subject-verb inversion (Parles-tu?) is formal or written — the verb and subject are flipped and joined by a hyphen.
Objects become pronouns
direct object pronounsWhere did "le livre" go? Its replacement moved to a new position. Can you see where it lands relative to the verb and negation?
Direct object pronouns (le / la / les — matching the gender and number of what they replace) move directly before the conjugated verb. With negation, they sit between ne and the verb: je ne le lis pas.
Partitive articles
some vs. the"Du" and "de la" look different from "le" and "la" — they're made of two words fused. What do they add that the definite article doesn't have?
The partitive article (du = de + le, de la, des = de + les) means "some" — an unspecified quantity. Where English says "I eat bread," French says "Je mange du pain." It is required with mass nouns and most food. After negation, all partitives become plain "de": "Je ne mange pas de pain."
Verbs that take infinitives
infinitive constructionsEach sentence contains two verbs. One is conjugated with a person ending; the other ends in -er, -ir, or -re. Which is which, and what does the second verb add?
Many French verbs (vouloir, pouvoir, devoir, savoir) take a second verb in its infinitive form directly after them — no extra word. "Aller + infinitive" is the most common way to express the near future in spoken French.
Actions that loop back
reflexive verbsA short word sits just before the verb in each sentence and changes with the subject: m', se, nous. What might it be doing?
Reflexive pronouns (me/m', te/t', se, nous, vous, se) show the action loops back to the subject. Many everyday actions are reflexive in French: waking up (se réveiller), getting dressed (s'habiller), introducing yourself (s'appeler).
The compound past
avoir + participle| Infinitive type | Participle | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verbs ending in -er | -é | parler → parlé |
| Verbs ending in -ir | -i | finir → fini |
| Verbs ending in -re | -u | vendre → vendu |
The verb is now two words. The first changes for person; the second always stays the same. What is the pattern for forming that second word?
Most verbs form the past with avoir + past participle. Only the auxiliary changes for person; the participle stays fixed.
Être as auxiliary
être + participleThis sentence uses "suis" (être) instead of "ai" (avoir). And the participle changes ending depending on the subject. What pattern does that remind you of from step 7?
About 17 verbs of motion and state-change (aller, venir, partir, arriver, naître, mourir…) use être as auxiliary. The past participle then agrees with the subject like an adjective — add -e for feminine, -s for plural. All reflexive verbs also use être.
The two past tenses
passé composé vs. imparfaitBoth sentences describe the past, but the verb endings are different. Which one sounds like a specific event that happened once? Which one sounds like an ongoing habit or state?
The imparfait (-ais, -ais, -ait…) describes ongoing states, habits, and background actions — it's the tense of description. The passé composé marks specific, completed events — it's the tense of narration. They often appear together: imparfait sets the scene, passé composé advances it.
The mood of possibility
subjunctive mood"Parles" in example 2 looks identical to the indicative — but it follows "que". What comes before the "que" that might be triggering a different mood? And in example 3, how does the verb form differ?
The subjunctive appears after expressions of desire, obligation, emotion, and doubt. For verbs ending in -er, it often looks identical to the indicative — the trigger word before "que" is the signal, not the verb ending itself.
The full picture
putting it togetherHow many grammar patterns from earlier steps can you identify in these sentences? Try naming each one.
French grammar is a small number of interlocking patterns applied consistently. When you can see them working together in complex sentences, you can read, build, and adapt freely.