French word order in sentences

Do you ever get this feeling when speaking French? You have all the words you need to make the perfect sentence, but they just don’t fit together. This is what happens when you’re not comfortable with the word order and need to learn about the specifics of the correct French sentence structures.

It may seem confusing at first, but bear with me for a moment and I trust that you’ll find it to be quite simple. Except for a few tricky exceptions, the structures are always the same and are often very similar to English. With all the tips and tricks from this article and a bit of practice, it will come naturally in no time!

In this guide, we’ll explain everything you need to know about the French sentence structure, from basic sentences for beginners to impressive complex statements for sophisticated talkers.

Table of Contents

1. Ordering Words in French
2. Simple Sentences with Subject, Verb, and Object
3. How to Build Complex Sentences
4. Asking Questions
5. Negative Sentences
6. Practical Cases
7. Le Mot De La Fin

1. Ordering Words in French

Rule #1: French is SVO

Like many other languages throughout the world, French is what we call an SVO language. This means that the default word order is: Subject – Verb – Object.

• {Je mange une pomme.} (“I eat an apple.”)

Rule #2: Don’t Skip the Subject

And unlike similarly rooted languages, such as Spanish or Italian, we don’t usually drop the subject of the sentence, even when it’s a pronoun.

• I speak French.
• (Yo) hablo Frances. (Spanish)
• (Io) parlo Francese. (Italian)
• Je parle Français.

Rule #3: Rules are Meant to be Broken

These are mainly the French word order rules of simple declarative sentences, but as soon as we enter imperative, interrogative, or negative sentences territory, it gets a bit wilder. I mean…it’s French we’re talking about.

And one more thing: Master Yoda is allowed to use OSV sentences and still sound cool, but it’s forbidden to the rest of us.

Le Français je parle. (“French I speak.”)

2. Simple Sentences with Subject, Verb, and Object

In the following sections, we’ll work with the most common type of sentences: declaratives.

A declarative sentence is used to make a statement. It declares or states something, and ends with a period. We can’t use declarative sentences to ask questions or give orders.

Let’s get back to our basic declarative sentence: Je parle Français. (“I speak French.”)

In this sentence, I’m stating that I speak French.

Like we mentioned before, there are mainly two things you need to know about declarative sentences and their basic word order in French:

1. The word order is Subject + Verb + Object.
2. We don’t drop the subject, even when it’s a pronoun.

To these basic rules, I would also add:

1. Verbs are conjugated. Their ending depends on the subject.

• Ils parlent Français. (“They speak French.”)
• Nous parlons Français. (“We speak French.”)

→ You can learn more about conjugation in our Complete Guide on French Conjugation. It’s freely available on FrenchPod101.com.

1. Objects must agree with the subject. Their ending also varies.

• Il est Américain. (“He is American.”)
• Elle est Américaine. (“She is American.”)

/! The main exception to the S+V+O rule is the imperative mood, where the structure becomes: V+O.

• Vous parlez Français. (“You speak French.”) → Parlez Français. (“Speak French.”)
• Nous mangeons des pommes. (“We eat apples.”) → Mangeons des pommes. (“Let’s eat apples.”)

Elle mange des pommes. (“She eats apples.”)

3. How to Build Complex Sentences

Now that we have the basics covered, it’s time to add more ingredients into the mix and spice it up with adverbs, adjectives, and pronouns to gradually make our sentence more exciting!

1 – Adding Adjectives:

Adjectives describe nouns to make them more interesting. Let’s see where to place them in a sentence.

According to French word order, adjectives usually go AFTER the noun they describe.

• Une pomme verte (“A green apple”)

However, some of the most common adjectives go BEFORE the noun.

• Une grosse pomme (“A big apple”)

Put in a sentence, it looks like this:

• Il mange une pomme verte. (“He’s eating a green apple.”)

→ Learn more about adjectives with our full guide and massive list of the Top 100 French Adjectives.

2 – Adding Adverbs:

Adverbs work together with and describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs to modify their meaning or make a sentence more precise.

When the adverb modifies a verb, it usually comes AFTER this verb. The word order is: S + V + Adv.

• Je parle lentement. (“I speak slowly.”)

Then, if we have an object, it would be: S + V + O + Adv.

• Je parle Français couramment. (“I speak French fluently.”)

When the adverb modifies an adverb or adjective, it usually comes AFTER the verb and BEFORE the adverb or adjective. The word order is: S + V + Adv + Adv.

• Je parle très lentement. (“I speak very slowly.”)

When we get to this level of complexity, things start becoming a bit more flexible.

For instance, both sentences are correct:

• Je parle Français couramment. (“I speak French fluently.”)
• Je parle couramment Français. (“I speak French fluently.”)

However, it comes with exceptions, such as the very common bien (“well”) which is placed BEFORE the object.

• Je parle bien Français. (“I speak French well.”)
• Je parle vraiment bien Français. (“I speak French very well.”)
• Je parle Français bien.

→ Everything you need to know about adverbs you’ll find in our Complete Guide on French Adverbs, with a list of the most common adverbs you should know.

Not too confused with the colors, are you?

3 – Adding Pronouns

Brace yourself, this is where French language word order gets tough. Understanding the word order of pronouns in French isn’t always a walk in the park, and we’ll really just scratch the surface here. 

Subject pronouns don’t move:

• Nicolas mange une pomme. (“Nicolas eats an apple.”)
• Il mange une pomme. (“He eats an apple.”)

Same thing for stressed pronouns:

• Il mange une pomme avec ses amis. (“He eats an apple with his friends.”)
• Il mange une pomme avec eux. (“He eats an apple with them.”)

However, direct and indirect pronouns are not as well-behaved.

• Nicolas donne une pomme. (“He gives an apple.”)
• Nicolas la donne. (“He gives it.”)

• Il donne une pomme à ses amis. (“He gives an apple to his friends.”)
• Il leur donne une pomme. (“He gives them an apple.”)
• Il la leur donne. (“He gives it to them.”)

→ For more information about pronouns, you can go through our Extensive Guide on French Pronouns, with lots of examples and grammar points.

And what happens when we put everything together?

• Je leur parle Français très lentement. (“I speak French with them very slowly.”)
• Il leur donne gentiment une pomme verte. (“He gently gives them a green apple.”)

4 – Adding Prepositions

Prepositions are words that usually precede a noun or pronoun and express a relationship to another element of the sentence. Prepositional phrases often answer questions such as:

• Where? Il mange une pomme dans la cuisine. (“He eats an apple in the kitchen.”)
• When? Il mange une pomme après le dîner. (“He eats an apple after dinner.”)
• How?
  • Il mange une pomme avec eux. (“He eats an apple with them.”)
  • Il mange une pomme sans se presser. (“He eats an apple without rushing.”)
  • Il mange une pomme avec soin. (“He eats an apple with care.”)

Prepositions can be placed BEFORE or AFTER the verb. In some cases, you can freely choose, and in other situations, only one option will make sense.

• Après le dîner, je mange une pomme. (“After dinner, I eat an apple.”)
• Je mange une pomme après le dîner. (“I eat an apple after dinner.”)

• Il mange une pomme sans se presser. (“He eats an apple without rushing.”)
• Sans se presser, il mange une pomme. (“Without rushing, he eats an apple.”)

In these two examples, both versions are correct.

But sometimes, you need to know the verb for the preposition to be relevant:

• Je rentre à la maison. (“I go back home.”)

You would not say “Home, I go back,” and it would sound equally awkward in French.

• Je donne une pomme à mon ami. (“I give an apple to my friend.”)

Similarly, it wouldn’t make sense to mention the recipient before the action is stated.

To combine prepositions, you can simply apply the same logic when choosing where to place them:

• Après le dîner, je rentre à la maison sans me presser. (“After dinner, I go back home without rushing.”)
• Sans me presser, je mange une pomme avec eux dans la cuisine. (“Without rushing, I eat an apple with them in the kitchen.”)

These are not the words I ordered!

4. Asking Questions

The word order in French questions isn’t always SVO.

Questions can take several different forms in French, depending on whether you’re talking or writing, as well as how formal you want to be.

Let’s go back to our apple-eating example: Tu manges une pomme.

Here’s how to say: “Do you eat an apple?”

1. Tu manges une pomme ? (SVO)

2. Est-ce que tu manges une pomme ? (Est-ce que + SVO)

3. Manges–tu une pomme ? (VSO)

Now I guess the last one is confusing: Why do we suddenly invert the subject and verb?

This form is used only in writing or in very formal speech. Among friends, with random strangers, or in most business settings, you would stick to one of the first two options. I’d say both are equally common.

Now, what if we add some interrogative pronouns and adverbs?

Let’s see how to use words like: Quand (“When”), Qui (“Who”), Comment (“How”), Où (“Where?”).

“Where do you eat?”

1. Tu manges où ?

2. Où est-ce que tu manges ?

3. Où manges–tu ?

“When do you eat?”

1. Tu manges quand ?

2. Quand est-ce que tu manges ?

3. Quand manges–tu ?

5.  Negative Sentences

Luckily, this is the last case, because I’m seriously running out of colors!

In this section, we’ll have a look at the word order in negative sentences.

Negative structures are placed around the verb and before the preposition or object.

• Je ne mange pas de pommes. (“I don’t eat an apple.”)
• Je ne mange pas dans la cuisine. (“I don’t eat in the kitchen.”)
• Je ne mange pas vite. (“I don’t eat fast.”)

The same thing goes for other negative structures:

• Je ne mange plus dans la cuisine. (“I don’t eat in the kitchen anymore.”)
• Je ne mange jamais dans la cuisine. (“I never eat in the kitchen.”)

That’s how I learned negative sentences!

6. Practical Cases

Now, it’s time to practice everything we’ve been learning today! We’ll take it slow and do it step-by-step. At any time, feel free to go back through the article if you’re having doubts. 

Try to come up with the French translations for these sentences. You can use a conjugation table if you’re not sure how to deal with parler (“to speak”).

1. “We speak.” – _________________

2. “We speak French.” – _________________

3. “We speak French slowly.” – _________________

4. “We speak French slowly with her.” – _________________

5. “We speak with her in the kitchen.” – _________________

6. “After dinner, we speak with her in the kitchen.” – _________________

7. “We never speak with her in the kitchen.” – _________________

8. “Do you speak with her in the kitchen?” – _________________

“Where do I put these verbs again?”

“Where do I put these verbs again?”

[SPOILER] And here are the translations:

1. “We speak.” – Nous parlons
2. “We speak French.” – Nous parlons Français.
3. “We speak French slowly.” – Nous parlons Français lentement.
4. “We speak French slowly with her.” – Nous parlons Français lentement avec elle.
5. “We speak with her in the kitchen.” – Nous parlons Français avec elle dans la cuisine.
6. “After dinner, we speak with her in the kitchen.” – Après dîner, nous parlons avec dans la cuisine.
7. “We never speak with her in the kitchen.” – Nous ne parlons jamais avec elle dans la cuisine.
8. “Do you speak with her in the kitchen?” – Est-ce que tu parles avec elle dans la cuisine ?

7. Le Mot De La Fin

In this guide, you’ve learned a lot about French word order and the correct French sentence structures, from the basics to the most advanced parts such as French pronoun order.

Did we forget any important structure you would like to learn about? Do you feel ready to assemble ambitious sentences, using everything you’ve learned today?

As we’ve seen with the exercises, a good way to practice French word order is to start easy and slowly build up to complex sentences, one piece at a time.

Make sure to explore FrenchPod101.com, as we have plenty of free resources for you to practice your grammar and learn new words. Our vocabulary lists are also a great way to review the words and learn their pronunciation.
Remember that you can also use our Premium PLUS service, MyTeacher, to get personal one-on-one coaching. Practice talking about word order in French with your private teacher so they can give you personalized feedback and advice, and help you with the pronunciation.

About the Author: Born and bred in the rainy north of France, Cyril Danon has been bouncing off various jobs before he left everything behind to wander around the wonders of the World. Now, after quenching his wanderlust for the last few years, he’s eager to share his passion for languages.

Placement for Dual-Verb Sentences, Pronouns, and Negatives

The order of words in a French sentence can be confusing, especially if you have, as we do, dual-verb constructions, object and adverbial pronouns, and negative structures. Here, we’re going to take a look at all of these and suggest the best positioning of words so that you don’t end up with French sentences that make no sense.

Dual-Verb Constructions

Dual-verb constructions consist of a conjugated semi-auxiliary verb, such as pouvoir and devoir (called modal verbs in English), vouloir, aller, espérer, and promettre, followed by a second verb in the infinitive. The two verbs may or may not be joined by a preposition. 

Dual-verb constructions have a slightly different word order than compound verbs tenses. Word order is important because, if you get it wrong, the sentence will read like nonsense in French.

Object and Reflexive Pronouns

Object and reflexive pronouns are usually placed between the two verbs and after the preposition
(if any) that follows the conjugated verb. Adverbial pronouns are always placed in this position.

• Je dois me les brosser. > I need to brush them.
• Je vais te le donner. > I’m going to give it to you.
• Nous espérons y aller. > We hope to go there.
• Je promets de le manger. > I promise to eat it.
• Il continuera à t’en parler. > He’ll continue to talk to you about it.

Sometimes the object pronoun should precede the first verb. In order to determine this, think about which verb is being modified. Why? Because in French, the object pronoun must go in front of the verb it modifies. The wrong place may give you a grammatically incorrect sentence or may even change the meaning of the sentence. Consider the examples in this chart.

Correct Pronoun Placement

X	Il aide à nous travailler.	X	He’s helping work us.
	Il nous aide à travailler.		He’s helping us work.
X	Elle invite à me venir.	X	She’s inviting to come me.
	Elle m’invite à venir.		She’s inviting me to come.
X	Je promets de te manger.	X	I promise to eat you.
	Je te promets de manger.		I promise you that I’ll eat.
	Je promets de le manger.		I promise that I’ll eat it.
	Je te promets de le manger.		I promise you that I’ll eat it.

Negative Constructions

Negative structures surround the conjugated verb and precede the preposition (if any).

Correct Negative Structure Placement

Je ne vais pas étudier.	I’m not going to study.
Nous n’espérons jamais voyager.	We never hope to travel.
Je ne promets que de travailler.	I only promise to work.
Il ne continue pas à lire.	He’s not continuing to read.

Pronouns Plus Negative Construction

In a sentence with both pronouns and a negative structure, the order is:

ne + object pronoun (if applicable) + conjugated verb + part two of negative structure + preposition (if any) + object pronoun(s) + adverbial pronoun(s) + infinitive

Correct Placement of Pronouns and Negative Structures

Je ne vais jamais te le donner.	I’m never going to give it to you.
Nous n’espérons pas y aller.	We don’t hope to go there.
Il ne continue pas à y travailler.	He isn’t continuing to work there.
Je ne promets pas de le manger.	I don’t promise to eat it.
Je ne te promets pas de le manger.	I don’t promise you that I’ll eat it.
Je ne te promets pas d’y aller.	I don’t promise you that I’ll go there.

Speaking French is more than just learning vocabulary words from flash cards. Words are just atoms, the building blocks of a language. They have to be put into context and strung together to form a sentence that is imparted with meaning.

Your French classes will teach you a lot about how to conjugate a verb, have your nouns and adjectives agree and what words and phrases will help you find the bathroom. What they might not teach you (but should) is sentence structure.

How are sentences put together in French? Does one use the dative, nominative, accusative and interrogative cases the same way as in English?

Setting aside that pesky grammatical gender agreement required to speak French properly, where and how do adjectives and adverbial phrases fit in a properly constructed sentence?

As an overview of these topics, Superprof presents this chart, one that you might consider printing and clipping and carrying with you to your French lessons or your French tutoring sessions.

Type of Sentence	Form	Sample	Translation
Simple Declarative	S+V+O	La professeur aime ses éleves.	The teacher loves her students.
Negation	S+’ne’+V+’pas’+O	Je ne veux pas aller au cinéma.	I don’t want to go to the cinema.
Interrogative sentences	1. Preface sentence with ‘est-ce-que’ 2. Reverse: V+S+O (formal)	Est-ce-que tu as fait tes devoirs? Pourrez-vous me dire ou est la bibliothèque?	Have you done your homework? Could you tell me where the library is?
Imperative sentence	V+O	Ouvre(z) la porte!	Open the door!
Simple declarative with adjective	S+V+Adj (adj must ‘agree’ with subject!)	La fille est belle. Le chien est beau.	The girl is pretty. The dog is pretty.
Adverbial pronoun	S+’y’+V	On y va!	Let’s go!
Relative clauses	‘que’ for objects ‘qui’ for people	Le livre que tu m’as donné… L’homme qui chante…	The book you gave me… The man who is singing…

Now, let’s examine each of these constructions in-depth…

But before you dive in, we’ve added a French playlist to enhance your reading experience while learning about French sentence structure. The playlist features a variety of French music, ranging from classic chansons to modern pop hits. Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced French learner, immersing yourself in the language through music can be a great way to improve your listening skills and vocabulary. So sit back, relax, and let the music transport you to the streets of Paris as you dive into the fascinating world of the French language.

French Sentence Structure: Understanding the Basics

French is a beautiful language, but it can be challenging to master its sentence structure, especially if you are a beginner. However, understanding the rules for forming proper sentences is essential for effective communication in French. In this article, we’ll explore the basics of French sentence structure and provide some useful tips to help you improve your French language skills.

Basic French Sentences and Word Order

In French, as in English, a sentence consists of a subject, verb, and object. The basic word order in French sentences is subject-verb-object (SVO). For example, «Je mange une pomme» means «I am eating an apple.» The subject «je» (I) comes first, followed by the verb «mange» (am eating), and then the object «une pomme» (an apple).

French Sentence Starters and Construction

To construct sentences in French, it’s essential to have a good grasp of sentence starters and construction. Some common sentence starters in French include «Je suis» (I am), «Il y a» (There is), «C’est» (It is), and «Il faut» (It’s necessary).

When constructing sentences, it’s important to pay attention to gender and number agreement. For example, if you want to say «I like the cat,» you would say «J’aime le chat» (not «J’aime la chat»). Similarly, if you want to say «I like the cats,» you would say «J’aime les chats» (not «J’aime le chats»).

French Time Phrases and Directional Words

Time phrases and directional words are also essential components of French sentence structure. Some common time phrases in French include «aujourd’hui» (today), «demain» (tomorrow), and «hier» (yesterday). Directional words such as «à droite» (to the right) and «à gauche» (to the left) are also important for giving directions.

Other Important French Sentence Structure Elements

French also has several conjunctions that are important for linking ideas and constructing more complex sentences. Some common French conjunctions include «et» (and), «mais» (but), and «ou» (or).

Si clauses are another important element of French sentence structure. These clauses are used to express hypothetical situations and typically begin with «si» (if). For example, «Si j’avais de l’argent, j’achèterais une voiture» means «If I had money, I would buy a car.»

With french sentence structure, remember to pay attention to gender and number agreement, use common sentence starters, and include directional words and time phrases to enhance your French language skills. In addition, understanding the grammar rules of French sentence structure is essential for effective communication in the language.

The Simple Declarative Sentence

The most common type of sentence in English and in French is the declarative sentence; a simple expression stating a fact:

As in English, the declarative form in French is the core around which more complicated sentences can be built.

Basic French sentences with nouns

When you learn a language, you start with basic sentences with the most common word order.

In French, this is SVO — Subject + Verb + Object. As for most Romance languages — and, indeed, English — the subject (who is doing the action?) generally comes at the beginning of the sentence.

There follows the verb, and then the direct object (what is he/she doing?). The sentences above are all examples of the SVO construct.

We now expand on that basic sentence structure by adding an indirect object (for/to/with whom is he doing it?):

Subject + Verb + Direct Object + Indirect Object

In each of these examples, the subject is doing something with the direct object for, to or with the indirect object.

Until now, we’ve only shown simple sentences using action verbs: somebody or something doing something. What about sentences that use a compound verb?

In English, these ‘helper’ verbs are to be, to have and to do. In French, only the first two, être and avoir, are used in compound structures with being être used less frequently.

Nevertheless, the structure remains the same: the verb that indicates what is happening stays in second place:

The only time a direct object might come after an indirect object is if there is additional information attached to it, such as a relative clause:

Naturally, you could structure the sentence in such a way that the direct object comes before the indirect:

However, that makes the sentence meaning ambiguous: He promised the candies to his sister, but who exactly did he give them to?

French being an exceedingly precise language, it is always best to follow the proper sentence structure in order to convey your intended meaning.

It might take a bit of practice, but your language skills will be all the richer for it!

Word order with pronouns

As in many other languages, French words are put into a different order if some or all of them are pronouns.

Let’s take the sentence:

Subject pronouns stay at the beginning of the sentence:

Sometimes, in French, it is much more convenient to describe an object in a sentence by using a pronoun.

Consider the sentence above: She shows her drawing to her mum. How can that sentence be made less cumbersome?

Elle lui montre son dessin.	‘lui’ takes the place of ‘maman’ even though, generally, ‘lui’ represents a male.
Elle le montre à sa maman.	‘le’ takes the place of the picture. In this sentence, the gender matches; dessin is masculine.
Elle le lui montre.	here, you have a combination of the two representations above, with ‘le’ meaning ‘dessin’ and ‘lui’ in for ‘maman’.

Let us now suppose you are that dear mum, telling a jealous mother about how your daughter creates artwork for you. You would say:

Because of its first-person singular designation, “me” ranks higher than “le” — a mere article. Therefore, you would place ‘me’ before ‘le’ in such sentences.

Object pronouns come BEFORE the verb but AFTER the subject. In what order they come depends on the pronoun:

Subject + ‘me’, ‘te’, ‘se’, ‘nous’, ‘vous’ + ‘le’, ‘la’, ‘les’ + ‘lui’, ‘leur’ + (adverbial pronoun “y”) + ‘en’ + Verb.

Examples:

Elle nous les montre. She shows them to us. Note that ‘montre’ agrees with ‘elle’ — third person singular.

You might also phrase it as a question:

Elle vous les montre? Does she show them to you? Either way, the order listed above remains.

‘En’ is an indefinite plural pronoun that, in this sentence’s case, represents the drawings. ‘en’ is always placed just before the verb:

Elle montre des dessins à sa maman. -> Elle lui en montre. She shows some drawings to her mum. > She shows her them.

Learn more about French grammar rules.

Negative Sentences

The French negative words are: ne…pas and ne…point (the latter is archaic or regional).

“Ne” comes immediately after the subject.
“Pas” comes immediately after the verb.

Negation is pretty straightforward in French, however you should be aware of using ‘any’ properly.

The equivalent of the English “no” or “not…any” is “ne…aucun”:

Marie ne montre aucun dessin à sa mère. Marie doesn’t show any drawing to her mother.

Or: Marie shows no drawings to her mother.

Adding Adjectives, Adverbial Phrases

Adverbs and adverbial phrases

The adverbial phrase or complément circonstanciel can come at the beginning, the end or the middle of the sentence. They are emphasised if they are put at the beginning or the end; it is more colloquial to only put single-word adverbs in the middle.

Such phrases may denote a time:

Or a place:

However, if you are using a complément circonstanciel construction to denote a place where an activity has happened, you cannot put that location in the middle of the sentence:

You’ll note that, as we do not know who the ‘lui’ in question is, it might represent a male or a female — hence both pronouns.  

Adverbial pronouns

The adverbial pronoun “y” (directional) comes after most other pronouns but before the plural pronoun “en”. It is generally used to denote a progressive action, or one that is about to take place. However, ‘y’ can only be used if the listener knows what the speaker is talking about:

If the listener knows where Marie is headed, the speaker could say: Marie y va — Marie is going.

Another example:

Contrast that with the much simpler: Nous y allons. We’re going — the usage is contingent on it being known where we are going!

Caution! You should never say:

Marie y va à l’école or Nous y allons au bois — it suggests the listener both knows and doesn’t know the destination.

Find French lessons that may interest you here.

Adjectives and their placement in the sentence.

Unlike in English, Adjectives are generally placed right after the noun:

Whereas an English speaker would say: ‘the red balloon’, in French, the proper order is: ‘le ballon rouge’. Here are some more examples:

• The hungry lion = le lion affamé.
• The sleepy child = l’enfant somnolent(e).
• The playful cat = le chat (la chatte) ludique.
• A good book = un bon livre.

Do you know of the BAGS group? It denotes constructions wherein the adjective comes before the noun:

Adjectives used with verbs expressing a state come after the verb:

Note that adjectives should always agree with the noun they are qualifying in gender and number.

Dependent and relative clauses

Most dependent or relative clauses come right after the main clause, at the end of the sentence.

Relative clauses

Relative clauses are introduced by the relative pronoun “que” if the noun is an object and «qui» if the noun is human.

These clauses are usually placed at the end of the sentence and come right after the noun they are qualifying — meaning that these nouns are sometimes moved from their usual place in the sentence.

An exception is if the qualifying noun is the subject, then the relative clause is moved forward. If it is very long it can be put between commas.

Conjunctive clauses

Conjunctive phrases are clauses that are the object of a verb. The verb in question generally deals with thoughts and emotions and the expression of them. They are either infinitive clauses or are introduced with the conjunction “que”.

Check for French lessons for beginners here on Superprof.

The French Interrogative Sentence

French has several ways to build an interrogative. Here are some tips to improve your French dialogue:

Est-ce-que

Putting “est-ce-que” at the beginning of a sentence is the easiest way to formulate a question in French. You can use the usual word order following it.

It is considered inelegant to preface your questions in this manner. During your French lessons, your teacher might insist you use reversal instead.

Reversing subject and predicate

The more elegant phrasing is to reverse the subject and predicate, putting the verb at the beginning of the sentence and hyphenating the subject-verb group:

If the subject of the sentence is not the person you are addressing, it stays at the beginning of the sentence, and an additional subject “il” is added:

Question words

For questions that cannot be answered by yes or no, French uses question words. They come at the beginning of the sentence, and are followed by the inverted subject-verb group (also more idiomatically, they can also come at the end of a basic sentence).

Check for French conversation classes London here on Superprof.

Here is a list of French words for asking questions:

• Qui: who. Qui es-tu? Who are you?
• Que: what. Que fais-tu? What are you doing?
• Quoi: in rare cases, replaces “que”: Quoi faire?
• Où: where. Où vas-tu? Where are you going?
• Comment: how. Comment vas-tu? How are you?
• Pourquoi: why. Pourquoi manges-tu ces frites? Why are you eating those chips?
• Combien: how much. Combien coûte cette baguette? How much does this baguette cost?
• Quel/quelle/quels/quelles: which. Should agree with the noun it is qualifying: Quels cinémas jouent-ils le nouveau Star Wars? (Which cinema is showing the new Star Wars?) “Quel” can be combined with adverbial prepositions: Dans quel château Edmond Dantès était-il emprisonné? (In what castle was Edmond Dantès imprisoned?) Après quelle date peut-on manger des huîtres? (After what date can you eat oysters?)

Indirect questions

Indirect questions are questions that are related rather than asked. They are introduced by the usual question words:

Ils se demandent quels cinémas montrent le nouveau Star Wars. They are asking themselves which cinemas are showing the new Star Wars film. 
Elle demande comment il va. She asks how he’s doing.

My Superprof tutor taught me the correct word order during our French lessons online!

The French Conditional Sentence

The language of Voltaire uses the pair of French words “si… alors” to express a condition over two clauses, though in some French phrases, “alors” is left off. It is considered more colloquial.

Si tu veux apprendre la langue, alors il faut bien apprendre ton vocabulaire français.
If you want to learn the language, so you will have to learn your French vocabulary.

“Si tu ne m’aimes pas je t’aime, et si je t’aime prends gare à toi!”
If you don’t love me, I love you; and if I love you: take care! (from the opera “Carmen”, by Bizet)

Check for French lessons for kids here on Superprof.

Don’t forget to do the grammar exercises in your French grammar textbooks and from your online French course to help you learn all about French sentence structure, learn French expressions and how to conjugate French verbs.

Find French classes Edinburgh on Superprof.

Порядок слов во французском предложении  – это фундаментальная тема для понимания. Ведь от Вашего умения правильно выстраивать слова в предложении зависит грамотность и возможность быть понятым в чужой стране.

Тем, кто только начинает изучать французский язык, может показаться, что это очень трудно, а сам французский язык слишком сложный. На самом деле, это совсем не так, поэтому не стоит расстраиваться на первых порах. Во всем мире сложилось мнение, что именно русский язык самый сложный, а, так как вы являетесь его носителем, то овладеть французским языком вам будет под силу.

Структура французского предложения

Обратите внимание на то, что во французском языке прямой порядок слов в предложении, и его схема такова:

Подлежащее + сказуемое + прямое дополнение + косвенное дополнение + обстоятельство

Le sujet + le prédicat + le complément d’objet direct + le complément d’objet indirect + le complément circumstantiel

Иногда какие-то члены могут в предложении отсутствовать, но порядок слов остается тем же: если нет какого-либо члена предложения, далее идет тот, который должен быть по схеме. Что касается определения, то оно может стоять где угодно, дополняя тот или иной член предложения.

• J’écris des lettres à mes amis chaque semaine. – Я пишу письма моим друзьям каждую неделю.
• Elle voit le chat dans la maison le soir. – Она видит кошку в доме вечером.
• Nous lisons les livres d’histoire le matin. – Мы читаем книги по истории по утрам.
• J’achète des joujous pour mes enfants. – Я покупаю игрушки для своих детей.
• Je regarde la télé avec ma femme. – Я смотрю телевизор с моей женой.
• Je ne comprends pas cette proposition. – Я не понимаю это предложение.
• Ils se rencontrent chaque jour. – Они встречаются каждый день.

Подлежащее во французском предложении всегда должно стоять перед сказуемым, и никак по-другому.

Иногда подлежащее и сказуемое могут быть разбиты другой частью речи. Например:

• Nous vivons ensemble. – Мы живем вместе.
• Je veux être avec toi. – Я хочу быть с тобой.
• Michel et Marie sont venus chez nous. – Мишель и Мари пришли к нам.
• Je vais au magasin. – Я иду в магазин.
• Vous chantez bien. – Вы поете хорошо.

В русском языке допускается вольный порядок слов с переменой интонации. Во французском предложении это недопустимо.

Существительное, которое является прямым дополнением, должно стоять сразу после сказуемого.

К примеру:

• Je vois un garçon. – Я вижу мальчика.
• Nous préparons le dî – Мы готовим ужин.
• J’aime ma mère. – Я люблю мою маму.
• Michel lave la vaisselle. – Мишель моет посуду.
• Elle dessine une image. – Она рисует картинку.

Существительное, которое выражено косвенным дополнением, также должно стоять в предложении после сказуемого:

• Michel parle à sa femme. – Мишель говорит со своей женой.
• J’ai préparé cela pour toi. – Я приготовила это для тебя.
• Elle s’adresse au chef. – Она обращается к шефу.
• Nous écrivons à nos cousins. – Мы пишем своим двоюродным братьям.
• Je parle à mon mari. – Я говорю со своим мужем.

Если в предложении присутствуют и прямое и косвенное дополнения, то после сказуемого следует прямое, а за ним косвенное дополнение.

• André lit un livre d’histoire. – Андре читает книгу по истории.
• J’écris un message à mon ami. – Я пишу сообщение моему другу.
• Il aime les tartines avec du beurre. – Он любит бутерброды с маслом.
• Les fruits dans la vase sont sur la table. – Фрукты в вазе на столе.
• J’ai envoyé le livre à Michel. – Я послал книгу Мишелю.

Если в предложении имеется обстоятельство, то оно находится либо в начале предложения, либо в его конце, если оно в предложении одно. Если более одного, то обстоятельства распределяются по смыслу, в начале либо в конце. К примеру:

• Aujourd’hui je veux parler de la géographie. – Сегодня я хочу поговорить о географии.
• Je visite ma grand-mère souvent. – Я навещаю свою бабушку часто.
• Heureusement, nous avons réussi. – К счастью, мы успели.
• Il a décidé cela définitivement. – Он решил это окончательно.
• Tout à coup elle s’est tue. – Вдруг она замолчала.

Во французском предложении часто употребляется безличный оборот Il est для указания времени:

• Il est trois heures. – Три часа.
• Il est tô – Рано.
• Il est tard. – Поздно.
• Il est trois heures après midi. – Три часа пополудни.
• Il est cinq heures et demie. – Полшестого.

Другой безличный оборот Il y a употребляется для указания наличия чего-либо. Этот оборот выражен в предложении обстоятельством, и расположен либо в начале, либо в конце. К примеру:

• Il y a une serviette sur la table. – Скатерть (есть) на столе.
• Sur la table il y a une serviette. – На столе есть скатерть.

Члены французского предложения

Во французском языке те же члены предложения, что и в русском языке:

Le sujet – подлежащее. В предложении может быть выражено существительным, местоимением и другими частями речи.

Le prédicat – сказуемое. Как и в русском, чаще всего это глагол.

Le complément d’objet direct – прямое дополнение. Как и в русском языке, это дополнение без предлога.

Le complément d’objet indirect – косвенное дополнение. Дополнение с предлогом.

Le complément circumstantiel – обстоятельство. Бывает выражено различными частями речи и отвечает на вопросы: где? куда? откуда? как? когда?

Le complément attributif – определение. В предложении может быть выражено прилагательным, причастием, числительным и т.д.

Как вы можете убедиться, ничего сложного, много сходств с русским языком.

Типы предложений во французском языке

Во французском языке есть утвердительное, вопросительное и отрицательное предложение.

С утвердительным предложением все ясно:

• La salle à manger est pleine de hô – Столовая полна гостей.
• Nous aimons passer le temps avec nos amis. – Мы любим проводить время с нашими друзьями.
• J’écris un article. – Я пишу статью.
• Vous cherchez la réponse correcte. – Вы ищете правильный ответ.
• Le garçon est très intélligent. – Мальчик очень умный.

Отрицательное предложение формируется путем добавления отрицательных частиц ne и pas с двух сторон глагола:

• Michel ne travaille pas à l’usine. – Мишель не работает на заводе.
• Leur réponse n’est pas correcte. – Их ответ неправильный.
• Nous ne savons pas quoi faire avec cela. – Мы не знаем, что с этим делать.
• Il n’est pas poli avec nous. – Он не вежлив с нами.
• Le livre n’est pas intéressant. – Книга не интересная.

Если глагол-сказуемое начинается с гласной буквы, то у первой частицы «ne» опускается е и она пишется с глаголом через апостроф:

• Je n’observe rien. – Я не замечаю ничего.
• Elle n’entend pas nos voix. – Она не слышит наши голоса.
• Nous n’avons pas d’argent. – У нас нет денег.
• Marie n’arrive pas demain. – Мари не приезжает завтра.
• L’enfant n’irrite pas les hôtes. – Ребенок не раздражает гостей.

В разговорной французской речи очень часто можно встретить случаи опускания частицы «ne» и остается только «pas»:

• Ils travaillent pas. – Они не работают.
• Elle arrive pas demain. – Она не приезжает завтра.
• Nous chantons pas bien. – Мы не поем хорошо.
• Je sais pas. – Я не знаю.
• Je choisis pas cela. – Я не выбираю это.

Для усиления смысла предложения вместо отрицательной частицы «pas» иногда используются слова jamais – никогда, personne – никто, никого, rien – ничего:

• Je ne vois personne. – Я никого не вижу.
• Michel ne plaisante jamais. – Мишель никогда не шутит.
• Je ne sais rien à propos de cette affaire. – Я ничего не знаю по поводу этого дела.

Вопросительные предложения образуются путем инверсии или с помощью оборота Est-ce que:

• Dois-je faire cela? – Должен ли я это сделать?
• Est-ce que je dois faire cela ? – Я должен это сделать?

Вопросы на французском языке можно образовать с помощью следующих вопросительных слов:

• Que ? – Что?
• Quoi ? – Что?
• Quand ? – Когда?
• Où ? – Где? Куда?
• Pourquoi ? – Почему? Зачем?
• Combien ? – Сколько?
• Comment ? – Как?
• Quel ? / Quelle ? / Quels ? / Quelles ? – Какой? Какая? Какие?

Французский язык не только красив, но и интересен. Порядок слов во французском предложении всегда строго определен. Составляйте как можно больше предложений по-французски, и вы очень быстро освоите эту тему.

Lesson 14

Vocabulary

Note. As you already know, the silent letter s at the end of the word très becomes pronounceable before the words starting in a vowel or the silent h (see lesson 5). However, this does not apply to those words with the initial letter h that are marked in our self-study course with an asterisk (*), for example: très *haut [trɛo] — very high. Large French dictionaries use the same designation — *h. Just remember that you don’t need to write the asterisk.

Grammar

Pronouns il, elle

Read the following sentences paying attention to the word order of the French phrases:

As you can see, French simple narrative sentences have the same direct word order as in English:

subject + predicate + other members of the sentence

Noun-subjects may be replaced by the masculine pronoun il or the feminine pronoun elle. The French pronouns il and elle do not have their own stress and so they merge with the verb like syllables in a word.

Do not forget that French words have genders. You need to use il and elle where you would use “it” in English. Compare:

Répétez la leçon (f) ! Elle est très compliquée. — Repeat the lesson! It is very complicated.

Apportez le livre (m) ! Il est sur la table. — Bring the book! It is on the table.

Always memorize new words with their genders.

Pronoun ça

The pronoun ça (it; this, that) differs from the ce that you know. Ce is a demonstrative pronoun indicating the object you are talking about (e.g. this object). Ça is more of standalone this and that and often used in colloquial speech as a subject while being a part of fixed expressions where it loses its meaning. Compare:

Question expressed by intonation

Read aloud two English phrases:

All is good? — All is good.

You can easily notice that the question is pronounced with a strong rise in pitch on the last syllable, and the answer on the contrary, with a fall, which can be visualized in the following form:

The French translations of these phrases have exactly the same intonation:

In this case the question does not contain special question words. However, if such words are present in the question phrase, the intonation of the question is very close to that of the narrative phrase: there is also a lowering of the tone on the last syllable, but not as strong as in the affirmation. Compare:

Comment	ça	va ?	(How are you?) —	Ça va bien. (I’m good.)

Preposition à

In French, like in English, relations between words are expressed through prepositions. Compare the French phrases with their translations:

Bonjour à Françoise. — Say hello to Frances.

Bonjour à Madame Dubois. — Say hello to Mrs. Dubois.

These examples show that the preposition à used in French the same way as the English preposition to, showing direction (but it has other meanings too).

Exercise 1. Translate into French:

Exercise 2. Look at the pictures and answer Oui… (Yes…) or Non… (No…).

Example: La table est sale ? — Oui, elle est sale.

Mastering the language subtleties

I. The expression à la prochaine ! — see you soon! is used only in colloquial speech. Prochain means “next”.

II. The question Comment ça va ? (How are you?) is usually answered that everything is fine (Ça va bien). As in English, when you say How are you? you will get I’m fine. It’s a greeting, and not an invitation to talk about your issues.
P.S. Comment ça va ? can be reduced to Ça va ?

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