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French grammar, A1 to B2

44 French grammar topics explained in plain English, grouped by CEFR level, with worked examples and free practice drills.

A1 · Beginner

  1. Present tense · conjugationHow verbs change with the subject (conjugation): regular -er / -ir / -re verbs, plus the common irregulars être, avoir, aller, faire, prendre, venir, vouloir, pouvoir, devoir, savoir.
  2. Articles · le · un · duDefinite (le/la/les) for specific or general; indefinite (un/une/des) for one of many; partitive (du/de la/de l'/des) for some/any of an uncountable.
  3. Countries and cities · en / au / àA city takes à with no article. A feminine country takes en. A masculine country takes au, a plural one aux. Coming from a place uses de, du or des.
  4. Everyday phrases · ça va, il fait beauSet phrases you can use before you know the grammar inside them: ça va, on y va, il fait beau, à la maison, au café, ce soir. Learn each one whole.
  5. Adjectives · agreement & positionMost adjectives go AFTER the noun and agree (m/f, sg/pl). BANGS adjectives go BEFORE: Beauty, Age, Number, Goodness, Size (beau, jeune/vieux, premier, bon, grand/petit).
  6. C'est / Il y aC'est = it is / this is. Il y a = there is / there are. The two stay separate.
  7. C'est or il estA person you already know takes il est or elle est plus an adjective. A general comment takes c'est. A profession or nationality after être has no article, unless you are introducing someone or adding an adjective.
  8. Avoir & possessivesJ'ai / tu as / il a … plus mon/ma/mes, ton/ta/tes, son/sa/ses, notre, votre, leur(s).
  9. Numbers, dates and the timeCardinal numbers through 100, the date with le, and the clock with il est. Age stays with avoir.
  10. Stressed pronouns · moi, toi, luimoi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles: the pronouns that stand without a verb, after avec / pour / chez (avec moi), after c'est (c'est lui) and for emphasis (Moi, je…).
  11. Negation · ne…pasWrap the verb with ne…pas. After negation, indefinite articles become de.
  12. Yes/No questionsThree ways to ask: est-ce que (neutral), inversion (formal), rising intonation (casual).
  13. Wh- questionsqui (who), que/quoi (what + verb), quel/quelle (which + noun, agrees), où (where), quand (when), comment (how), combien (how much), pourquoi (why).
  14. Futur proche · aller + infaller (in the present) + the dictionary form of the verb (infinitive). Used for near-future plans, like English 'going to'.

A2 · Elementary

  1. Quantity · beaucoup de / un peu deAfter a quantity expression, the article disappears: beaucoup DE pain (not 'beaucoup du pain'). Always 'de' (or d' before vowel), never du/de la.
  2. Modal verbs · vouloir / pouvoir / devoirvouloir / pouvoir / devoir + the dictionary form of the next verb (infinitive): vouloir = want to, pouvoir = can, devoir = must / have to.
  3. Reflexive verbs · se +Subject acts on itself: se laver, se lever, s'appeler. Reflexive pronoun (me/te/se/nous/vous/se) goes BEFORE the verb. m'/t'/s' before vowel.
  4. Impératif · commandsDrop the subject pronoun. -er verbs in tu form drop the -s. Reflexive verbs use stressed pronouns after the verb: lève-toi (not te lève).
  5. Passé récent · venir de + verbvenir (in the present) + de + the dictionary form of the verb = "have just done": Je viens de manger.
  6. En train de / sur le point deêtre en train de is in the middle of something. être sur le point de is just about to. Negation sits on être. Neither one is aller plus the infinitive (the dictionary form), or venir de.
  7. Object pronouns · me · le · lui · leurme/te/nous/vous for me, you, us. Direct: le/la/les. Indirect (à + person): lui/leur. They all go BEFORE the verb.
  8. Pronouns · y / eny replaces 'à + place/thing': J'y vais (I go there). en replaces 'de + thing' or a quantity: J'en veux (I want some). Both go BEFORE the verb.
  9. Conditionnel · je voudraisConditional present softens requests. The most common forms an A1 learner needs: je voudrais (I'd like), j'aimerais (I'd like), pourriez-vous (could you).
  10. Passé composéavoir/être + the past form of the verb (past participle: mangé, allé). Most verbs take avoir; a small group of coming-and-going verbs take être and agree like an adjective.
  11. Time expressions · depuis / pendant / dansdepuis plus the present is still going on. il y a plus the passé composé is how long ago. pendant, en and pour measure a length. dans is in the future.
  12. ImparfaitPast tense for descriptions, habits, ongoing actions, background. Stem from nous form of présent + endings -ais / -ais / -ait / -ions / -iez / -aient. être is the only irregular: j'étais.
  13. Futur simple · je parleraiThe one-word future: the dictionary form + -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont (je parlerai). A few verbs have their own stem: ser-, aur-, ir-, fer-.
  14. Comparison · plus / moins / aussiComparative: plus/moins/aussi + adj/adv + que. Superlative: le plus / le moins. Special: bon → meilleur (adj), bien → mieux (adv).
  15. Adverbs in -mentMost adverbs add -ment to the feminine adjective. A few are irregular, and the short ones sit in a fixed place.
  16. Negation · jamais / rien / personne / plusBeyond ne…pas: ne…jamais (never), ne…rien (nothing), ne…personne (no one), ne…plus (no more / no longer), ne…pas encore (not yet).
  17. Relative · qui / que / oùqui = the SUBJECT of the sub-clause (the person who…). que = the OBJECT (the book that I…). où = a place or a time. Use to join two sentences.
  18. Reported speech · presentWhen the reporting verb is in the present, a statement takes que, a yes/no question takes si, a question word stays, and an order takes de plus the infinitive (the dictionary form). No question mark, and no est-ce que.

B1 · Intermediate

  1. Subjonctif · il faut que tu viennesA special verb form used after que when the first part expresses a need, a wish or a feeling: il faut que, je veux que, je suis content que.
  2. Accord du participeWith avoir, the past form (the participle) agrees with a direct object (the noun the verb acts on) that comes before the verb, and stays unchanged when the object follows. With a reflexive verb it agrees only when the pronoun is that object.
  3. Relatifs · dont / lequeldont stands for de plus a thing, including whose. ce qui and ce que point at a whole idea. lequel agrees, and contracts with à and de.
  4. Two object pronounsTwo object pronouns keep a fixed order: me, te, nous, vous, then le, la, les, then lui, leur, then y, then en. In a positive command the verb comes first, then le, la, les, then moi, toi, lui, nous, vous, leur, then y, then en.
  5. Plus-que-parfaitThe helper verb (the auxiliary) goes into the imparfait, and the past form (the participle) follows the same avoir / être choice and the same agreement as the passé composé. It is an action before another past action.
  6. The passiveêtre plus the past form (the participle), which agrees with the subject. The person who does it comes after par. A passé composé with être, such as elle est née, is not a passive.
  7. Gérondif · en + -anten plus the -ant form, built from the nous stem. It means while, by, or if, and its subject is the subject of the main verb. It is not avant de, and not the en of en France.
  8. Verb + à / de / pourA closed list: some verbs take à before an infinitive (the dictionary form), some take de, and the modal verbs take nothing. pour plus an infinitive keeps the same subject. pour que changes the subject and takes the subjunctive (the special verb form after que).
  9. Cause, result and contrastA closed set of connectors. parce que takes the ordinary verb. bien que takes the subjunctive (the special verb form after que). donc and alors give the result. mais, pourtant and cependant mark a contrast.
  10. Si-clauses · if + present / pastReal: si + present, then the future (S'il pleut, je resterai). Imagined: si + imparfait, then the conditional (Si j'étais riche, je voyagerais).
  11. Reported speech · pastWhen the reporting verb is in the past, the present becomes the imparfait, the passé composé becomes the plus-que-parfait, and the future becomes the conditional. demain becomes le lendemain, hier becomes la veille.
  12. Conditionnel passéA past regret or a past hypothesis: the conditional of avoir or être, plus the past form (the participle). After the si of a condition (if), use the plus-que-parfait, never the conditional.