Sentence structure
French sentence structure is similar to English in many ways, following a Subject-Verb-Object pattern. However, some key differences affect word order, especially with pronouns and negation.
Basic word order
The default French sentence structure is Subject – Verb – Object (SVO):
- Marie mange une pomme. — Marie eats an apple.
- Je lis le journal. — I read the newspaper.
- Nous aimons la musique. — We love music.
Negation
Basic negation with ne...pas
French negation wraps around the verb with ne...pas:
| Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|
| Je comprends. | Je ne comprends pas. |
| Il parle français. | Il ne parle pas français. |
| Nous avons faim. | Nous **n'**avons pas faim. |
Ne becomes n' before a vowel.
Other negative expressions
| Expression | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ne...plus | no longer, no more | Je ne fume plus. (I don't smoke anymore.) |
| ne...jamais | never | Il ne travaille jamais. (He never works.) |
| ne...rien | nothing | Je ne vois rien. (I see nothing.) |
| ne...personne | nobody | Je ne connais personne. (I know nobody.) |
| ne...que | only | Je n'ai que 10 euros. (I only have 10 euros.) |
| ne...ni...ni | neither...nor | Il ne boit ni café ni thé. (He drinks neither coffee nor tea.) |
| ne...aucun(e) | not any, none | Je n'ai aucune idée. (I have no idea.) |
In spoken French
In casual spoken French, ne is often dropped:
- Je sais pas. — I don't know.
- C'est pas vrai. — It's not true.
This is very common but considered informal.
Object pronouns
Direct object pronouns
| Pronoun | Meaning |
|---|---|
| me (m') | me |
| te (t') | you (informal) |
| le (l') | him, it (m.) |
| la (l') | her, it (f.) |
| nous | us |
| vous | you (formal/plural) |
| les | them |
Indirect object pronouns
| Pronoun | Meaning |
|---|---|
| me (m') | to me |
| te (t') | to you |
| lui | to him/her |
| nous | to us |
| vous | to you |
| leur | to them |
Pronoun placement
Object pronouns come before the conjugated verb:
| With noun | With pronoun |
|---|---|
| Je vois Marie. | Je la vois. (I see her.) |
| Je parle à Pierre. | Je lui parle. (I speak to him.) |
| Je mange la pomme. | Je la mange. (I eat it.) |
With negation
Pronouns stay before the verb, inside the negation:
- Je ne la vois pas. — I don't see her.
- Il ne me parle pas. — He doesn't speak to me.
With two pronouns
When using both direct and indirect pronouns:
| Order | Example |
|---|---|
| me/te/nous/vous before le/la/les | Il me le donne. (He gives it to me.) |
| le/la/les before lui/leur | Je le lui donne. (I give it to him.) |
With infinitives
Pronouns go before the infinitive:
- Je vais la voir. — I'm going to see her.
- Il veut me parler. — He wants to speak to me.
Questions
Three ways to ask yes/no questions
1. Rising intonation (informal):
- Tu viens ? — Are you coming?
2. Est-ce que (standard):
- Est-ce que tu viens ? — Are you coming?
3. Inversion (formal):
- Viens-tu ? — Are you coming?
With inversion, add -t- between two vowels:
- Parle-t-il français ? — Does he speak French?
- A-t-elle faim ? — Is she hungry?
Question words
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Qui ? | Who? |
| Que ? / Quoi ? | What? |
| Où ? | Where? |
| Quand ? | When? |
| Pourquoi ? | Why? |
| Comment ? | How? |
| Combien ? | How much/many? |
| Quel(le)(s) ? | Which?/What? |
Examples:
- Où est la gare ? — Where is the station?
- Pourquoi tu pleures ? — Why are you crying?
- Qu'est-ce que tu fais ? — What are you doing?
Adjective placement (review)
Most adjectives come after the noun:
- une voiture rouge — a red car
- un film intéressant — an interesting film
BANGS adjectives (Beauty, Age, Numbers, Goodness, Size) come before:
- une belle femme — a beautiful woman
- un petit garçon — a small boy
Adverb placement
Adverbs usually follow the verb:
- Il parle bien français. — He speaks French well.
- Je travaille beaucoup. — I work a lot.
With compound tenses, short adverbs go between auxiliary and participle:
- J'ai bien mangé. — I ate well.
- Il a trop bu. — He drank too much.
Expressing "it"
Subject "it"
Use il or ce/c':
- Il pleut. — It's raining.
- C'est intéressant. — It's interesting.
Object "it"
Use le (m.) or la (f.) based on the noun's gender:
- Le livre ? Je le lis. — The book? I'm reading it.
- La pomme ? Je la mange. — The apple? I'm eating it.
"On" as "we"
In spoken French, on (literally "one") commonly replaces nous for "we":
- On va au cinéma. — We're going to the cinema.
- On mange à midi. — We eat at noon.
This is standard in informal speech. Nous sounds more formal.
Emphasis
Stressed pronouns
| Subject | Stressed |
|---|---|
| je | moi |
| tu | toi |
| il | lui |
| elle | elle |
| nous | nous |
| vous | vous |
| ils | eux |
| elles | elles |
Use for emphasis or after prepositions:
- Moi, je pense que... — I think that...
- C'est pour toi. — It's for you.
- Avec lui. — With him.