Grammatical Foundations
The building blocks of every French sentence
From words to sentences
Now that you know the sounds and basic expressions, it's time for the grammatical foundations. You'll see these elements in EVERY French text.
Focus especially on recognizing patterns. You don't need to produce everything perfectly yet - understanding is most important for reading your first story.
Chapter
4
Articles & Gender
The key to French sentence structure
In French, every noun has a gender (masculine or feminine). Articles must match this gender.
Definite articles (the)
Use these when talking about something specific:
le
(masculine singular)
→
le livre
= the book
Before consonant
la
(feminine singular)
→
la maison
= the house
Before consonant
l'
(singular before vowel)
→
l'ami, l'école
= the friend, the school
Before vowel/h
les
(all plurals)
→
les livres
= the books
All plurals
Indefinite articles (a/an)
Use these when talking about something in general:
un
(masculine)
→
un garçon
= a boy
Masculine singular
une
(feminine)
→
une fille
= a girl
Feminine singular
des
(plural)
→
des enfants
= children/some children
All plurals
Partitive articles (some/any)
UNLIKE DUTCH: French must express "some" - you can't leave it out! Dutch "Ik drink wijn" becomes "Je bois du vin":
Recognizing gender - Useful patterns
-e
Often feminine
Voorbeelden
table, chaise, voiture
Uitzonderingen/Tips
le livre, le musée, le lycée
-tion
Always feminine
Voorbeelden
nation, station, action
Uitzonderingen/Tips
Like -tion in English
-té
Always feminine
Voorbeelden
liberté, beauté, société
Uitzonderingen/Tips
Like -ty in English
-eur
Usually masculine
Voorbeelden
professeur, acteur
Uitzonderingen/Tips
la fleur, la couleur
-age
Usually masculine
Voorbeelden
garage, voyage, fromage
Uitzonderingen/Tips
la page, la plage
-ment
Always masculine
Voorbeelden
moment, appartement
Uitzonderingen/Tips
Like -ment in English
Examples in context
Le garçon mange la pizza
→
The boy eats the pizza
La femme lit un livre
→
The woman reads a book
Les enfants jouent dans le parc
→
The children play in the park
J'aime les croissants
→
I like croissants
Il boit de l'eau
→
He drinks water
Elle achète des fleurs
→
She buys flowers
Chapter
5
Avoir (To Have) & Possession
The second most important verb
After être, avoir is the most used verb. It expresses possession and is used in many expressions.
The conjugation of avoir
Important expressions with avoir
In French, you use avoir where English uses "to be":
Possessive adjectives
Must agree with the gender of what is possessed:
mon/ma/mes
→
my
mon livre, ma maison
= my book, my house
ton/ta/tes
→
your
ton ami, ta voiture
= your friend, your car
son/sa/ses
→
his/her
son chien, sa vie
= his/her dog, his/her life
notre/nos
→
our
notre famille, nos amis
= our family, our friends
votre/vos
→
your (pl.)
votre maison, vos enfants
= your house, your children
leur/leurs
→
their
leur voiture, leurs parents
= their car, their parents
mon amie
→
my friend (f)
Use mon/ton/son before vowel!
son histoire
→
his/her story
Before vowel sound
Possession with de (of)
le livre de Marc
→
Marc's book / the book of Marc
la maison d'Anne
→
Anne's house / the house of Anne
l'ami de mon frère
→
my brother's friend
la voiture du professeur
→
the professor's car
de + le = du
le chat de la voisine
→
the neighbor's cat
feminine neighbor
les jouets des enfants
→
the children's toys
de + les = des
Chapter
6
Numbers, Time & Days
Practical elements for every story
You'll encounter these words constantly. They provide context for when and how often things happen.
Numbers 1-20
1
=
un/une
(agrees with gender)
2
=
deux
(duh)
3
=
trois
(twah)
4
=
quatre
(kah-truh)
5
=
cinq
(sank)
6
=
six
(sees)
7
=
sept
(set)
8
=
huit
(weet)
9
=
neuf
(nuhf)
10
=
dix
(dees)
11
=
onze
(ohnz)
12
=
douze
(dooz)
13
=
treize
(trehz)
14
=
quatorze
(kah-torz)
15
=
quinze
(kanz)
16
=
seize
(sehz)
17
=
dix-sept
(dee-set)
18
=
dix-huit
(deez-weet)
19
=
dix-neuf
(deez-nuhf)
20
=
vingt
(van)
Tens & higher numbers
ATTENTION: French counts differently after 60!
30
=
trente
(bv. trente et un = 31)
40
=
quarante
(bv. quarante-deux = 42)
50
=
cinquante
(bv. cinquante-trois = 53)
60
=
soixante
(bv. soixante-huit = 68)
70
=
soixante-dix
(bv. soixante-dix-sept = 77)
80
=
quatre-vingts
(bv. quatre-vingt-un = 81)
90
=
quatre-vingt-dix
(bv. quatre-vingt-dix-neuf = 99)
100
=
cent
(bv. cent dix = 110)
1000
=
mille
(bv. deux mille = 2000)
first
=
premier/première
(bv. première fois = first time)
second
=
deuxième/second
(bv. deuxième étage = second floor)
Days of the week
Note: no capital letter in French!
lundi
→
Monday
(lun-dee)
mardi
→
Tuesday
(mar-dee)
mercredi
→
Wednesday
(mehr-kruh-dee)
jeudi
→
Thursday
(zhuh-dee)
vendredi
→
Friday
(vahn-druh-dee)
samedi
→
Saturday
(sam-dee)
dimanche
→
Sunday
(dee-mahnsh)
le lundi
→
on Mondays
(With article = every week)
lundi
→
Monday
(Without article = this/next)
Months & seasons
janvier
Nederlands
January
Seizoen
hiver
février
Nederlands
February
Seizoen
hiver
mars
Nederlands
March
Seizoen
printemps
avril
Nederlands
April
Seizoen
printemps
mai
Nederlands
May
Seizoen
printemps
juin
Nederlands
June
Seizoen
été
juillet
Nederlands
July
Seizoen
été
août
Nederlands
August
Seizoen
été
septembre
Nederlands
September
Seizoen
automne
octobre
Nederlands
October
Seizoen
automne
novembre
Nederlands
November
Seizoen
automne
décembre
Nederlands
December
Seizoen
hiver
Telling time
Quelle heure est-il?
→
What time is it?
Il est deux heures
=
It's two o'clock
Il est une heure
→
It's one o'clock
(Singular for 1 o'clock!)
Il est trois heures
→
It's three o'clock
(Plural for the rest)
et demie
→
half past
deux heures et demie
=
half past two
et quart
→
quarter past
trois heures et quart
=
quarter past three
moins le quart
→
quarter to
quatre heures moins le quart
=
quarter to four
du matin
→
in the morning
huit heures du matin
=
eight in the morning
de l'après-midi
→
in the afternoon
deux heures de l'après-midi
=
two in the afternoon
du soir
→
in the evening
huit heures du soir
=
eight in the evening
midi
→
noon
(Masculine: Il est midi)
minuit
→
midnight
(Masculine: Il est minuit)
Time expressions in stories
aujourd'hui
→
today
Aujourd'hui il fait beau
-
Today the weather is nice
hier
→
yesterday
Hier je suis allé au cinéma
-
Yesterday I went to the cinema
demain
→
tomorrow
Demain c'est dimanche
-
Tomorrow is Sunday
maintenant
→
now
Maintenant nous mangeons
-
Now we eat
après
→
after/later
À tout à l'heure
-
See you later
avant
→
before
Avant de manger
-
Before eating
toujours
→
always
Il est toujours en retard
-
He is always late
jamais
→
never
Je ne bois jamais de café
-
I never drink coffee
souvent
→
often
Je vais souvent à la mer
-
I often go to the sea
parfois
→
sometimes
Parfois il pleut
-
Sometimes it rains
déjà
→
already
J'ai déjà mangé
-
I have already eaten
encore
→
still/again
Pas encore
-
Not yet
bientôt
→
soon
À bientôt!
-
See you soon!