Essential French Grammar Read online

  Qui translates both “ who” and “whom,” and may be used as subject or object, singular or plural, referring to persons:

  Qui est là?

  Qui avez-vous vu?

  Who is there?

  Whom did you see?

  Qui is also used after prepositions, when referring to persons. Note that à qui translates “whose” (possession) as well as “to whom.”

  De qui parlez-vous?

  Whom are you talking about?

  À qui avez-vous donné la clé?

  To whom did you give the key?

  À qui est cette maison?

  Whose house is this?

  The interrogative “what” is translated as qu‘est-ce qui when it is the subject of the sentence:

  Qu’est-ce qui se passe?

  What is going on?

  “What” is translated as que or qu‘est-ce que when it is an object:

  Que désirez-vous? OR Qu’est-ce que vous désirez?

  What do you wish?

  Qu‘est-ce que c’est?

  What is it?

  When asking for an explanation or a definition, “what is” is translated as qu‘est-ce que c’est que:

  Qu‘est-ce que c’est qu‘une république?

  What is a republic?

  Qu‘est-ce que c’est que ça?

  What is that?

  “What,” standing alone or when used as object of a preposition and not referring to persons, is quoi:

  De quoi parliez-vous?

  Quoi?

  What were you talking about?

  What?

  Useful Interrogative Phrases

  Combien coûte ceci ?

  How much does this cost?

  Comment va-t-on en ville?

  How does one go to town?

  Quand est-ce que l’autobus arrive?

  When does the bus arrive?

  Où est la gare?

  Where is the station?

  Pourquoi êtes-vous fâché?

  Why are you angry?

  Nouns and the Definite and Indefinite Articles

  Gender of French Nouns

  In French, all nouns are either masculine or feminine; there are no neuter nouns. Nouns denoting masculine persons or animals are of the masculine gender, and nouns denoting feminine persons or animals are of the feminine gender. However, this rule is no guide to the identification of the gender of the countless nouns which do not denote masculine or feminine persons or animals. The best way to learn the gender of these nouns is to memorize the definite article when you learn a new noun.

  The Definite Article

  In French, the definite article agrees in gender and number with the noun it accompanies. This is more complex than English in which one word, “the,” serves as the proper definite article for all nouns. The forms of the French definite article are:

  MASC.

  FEM.

  SING.

  le (1’)

  la (1’)

  PL.

  les

  les

  Observations on the definite article:

  Les is the only plural form of the definite article.

  L’ is used only with nouns which begin with a vowel or a silent h. For these nouns the indefinite article, discussed on p. 23, will serve as the guide to the identification of gender.

  Plurals of Nouns

  Regular Noun Plurals

  Most French nouns form their plural by adding -s to the singular form. (This -s is not pronounced.)

  SING.

  PL.

  la capitale

  les capitales

  (the capital)

  (the capitals)

  le mot

  les mots

  (the word)

  (the words)

  l‘arbre

  les arbres

  (the tree)

  (the trees)

  Exceptions

  Nouns whose singular ends in -s, -x, or -z remain unchanged in the plural. SING.

  PL.

  le bras

  les bras

  (the arm)

  (the arms)

  la voix

  les voix

  (the voice)

  (the voices)

  le nez

  les nez

  (the nose)

  (the noses)

  Nouns ending in -au or -eu in the singular form their plural by adding -x. SING.

  PL.

  le bureau

  les bureaux

  (the office)

  (the offices)

  le jeu

  les jeux

  (the game)

  (the games)

  Nouns whose singular ends in -al or -ail usually drop that ending and add instead -aux to form the plural. SING.

  PL.

  le cheval

  les chevaux

  (the horse)

  (the horses)

  le travail

  les travaux

  (the work)

  (the works)

  Note the following very irregular cases: SING.

  PL.

  l’œil

  les yeux

  (the eye)

  (the eyes)

  monsieur

  messieurs

  (sir, gentleman, Mr.)

  (sirs, gentlemen)

  madame

  mesdames

  (lady, madam, Mrs.)

  (ladies, madams)

  mademoiselle

  mesdemoiselles

  (young lady, miss)

  (young ladies, misses)

  The Indefinite Article

  In English, the indefinite article is either “a” or “an.” In French it is un before masculine nouns and une before feminine nouns.

  MASC. FEM.

  un restaurant

  une omelette

  (a restaurant)

  (an omelet)

  un train

  une cigarette

  (a train)

  (a cigarette)

  As mentioned on page 21, the indefinite article will serve as a guide to the identification of gender of all nouns which begin with a vowel or with a silent h.

  MASC.

  FEM.

  un homme

  une heure

  (a man)

  (an hour)

  un hôtel

  une église

  (an hotel)

  (a church)

  Adjectives

  Agreement of Adjectives with Nouns

  In French, adjectives agree in gender and in number with the nouns which they accompany. This is somewhat more complicated than in English where adjectives are invariable.

  A French masculine singular noun requires the masculine singular form of all adjectives, and feminine plural nouns require feminine plural adjectives. Therefore, French adjectives have four forms—masculine singular, feminine singular, masculine plural, and feminine plural.

  How to Form Feminine Singular Adjectives

  The feminine singular adjective is normally formed by adding -e to the masculine singular form, unless the masculine singular form already ends in a silent -e, in which case the feminine singular form is identical to it.

  In the examples, masculine adjectives are shown accompanying masculine nouns, and feminine adjectives agreeing with feminine nouns.

  MASC. SING.

  FEM. SING.

  un grand pays

  une grande nation

  (a great country)

  (a great nation)

  un livre vert

  une robe verte

  (a green book)

  (a green dress)

  un jeune homme

  une jeune fille

  (a young man)

  (a girl)

  un garçon triste

  une histoire triste

  (a sad boy)

  (a sad story)

  Common Exceptions

  Irregular Adjectives

  The irregular feminine forms of the following common adjectives should be memorized:

  MASC. SIN
G.

  FEM. SING.

  ENG. MEANING

  blanc

  blanche

  (white)

  bon

  bonne

  (good)

  doux

  douce

  (sweet)

  faux

  fausse

  (false)

  frais

  fraîche

  (fresh)

  sec

  sèche

  (dry)

  The following three adjectives, in addition to having irregular feminine forms, also have a secondary masculine form which is used before a masculine noun which begins with a vowel or a silent h. These adjectives are among the most common in the language and should be memorized.

  Plurals of Adjectives

  Most French adjectives form their plural similarly to the way in which noun plurals are formed, that is, by adding -s to the singular form.

  MASC. SING.

  MASC. PL.

  le grand boulevard

  les grands boulevards

  (the great boulevard)

  (the great boulevards)

  le chapeau vert

  les chapeaux verts

  (the green hat)

  (the green hats)

  FEM. SING.

  FEM. PL.

  la grande nation

  les grandes nations

  (the great nation)

  (the great nations)

  la robe verte

  les robes vertes

  (the green dress)

  (the green dresses)

  Common Exceptions

  If the masculine singular form ends in -s or -x, there is no change in the masculine plural. MASC. SING.

  MASC. PL.

  un chapeau gris

  deux chapeaux gris

  (a gray hat)

  (two gray hats)

  Il est vieux.

  Ils sont vieux.

  (He is old.)

  (They are old.)

  Adjectives ending in -eau form their masculine plural by adding -x. MASC. SING.

  MASC. PL.

  le beau jour

  les beaux jours

  (the beautiful day)

  (the beautiful days)

  un nouveau train

  deux nouveaux trains

  (a new train)

  (two new trains)

  Placement of Adjectives

  French descriptive adjectives normally follow the nouns they modify. Note that this is contrary to normal English usage.

  un restaurant français

  une langue difficile

  (a French restaurant)

  (a difficult language)

  les pays importants

  les robes bleues

  (the important countries)

  (the blue dresses)

  The following is a list of common French adjectives which normally precede the nouns they modify. As they are very frequently used, one should become familiar with all their forms and with their correct position in the sentence. You will note that we have already studied the various forms of most of them.2

  Examples:

  un beau village

  une longue histoire

  (a beautiful village)

  (a long story)

  une bonne amie

  le mauvais temps

  (a good friend (fem.))

  (the bad weather)

  les chères tantes

  mon meilleur ami

  (the dear aunts)

  (my best friend)

  les gentils garçons

  les nouveaux livres

  (the nice boys)

  (the new books)

  un grand parc

  le petit café

  (a large park)

  (the little café)

  les jeunes sœurs

  une vieille voiture

  (the young sisters)

  (an old car)

  une jolie robe

  (a pretty dress)

  Adverbs

  How to Form Adverbs in French

  In English, we often form adverbs by adding -ly to an adjective, as, for instance, in the case of clear, clearly; polite, politely. Adverbs are commonly formed in French in much the same way, except that the ending added to the adjective is -ment. This is added to the masculine singular form of the adjective, provided that that form ends in a vowel. If it does not end in a vowel, the -ment is added to the feminine singular adjective.

  MASC. SING. ADJ. ENG. MEANING FEM. SING. ADJ.3

  poli

  (polite)

  —

  facile

  (easy)

  —

  parfait

  (perfect)

  parfaite

  naturel

  (natural)

  naturelle

  malheureux

  (unhappy)

  malheureuse

  ADVERB

  ENG. MEANING

  poliment

  (politely)

  facilement

  (easily)

  parfaitement

  (perfectly)

  naturellement

  (naturally)

  malheureusement

  (unhappily)

  Adverbs in French are invariable, that is, they do not change endings to agree in gender and number with the subject of the sentence. Adverbs in French generally follow the verb they modify.

  Je suis vraiment enchanté d’être en France.

  I am really delighted to be in France.

  Je comprends parfaitement quand vous parlez lentement.

  I understand perfectly when you speak slowly.

  Verbs

  Comparison of English and French Verbs

  English verbs are rather simple to learn. They require very few changes of endings, and the ones which are required are relatively uniform. For example, the present tense of the verb “to sing” is: I sing; you sing; he, she, it sings; we sing; you (PL.) sing; they sing.

  French verbs are more complex. French verbs require more endings which vary according to the person and number of the subject. There are three main types of verbs or conjugations, and most verbs may be used correctly by following the model or sample verb for that conjugation. The three conjugations are:

  MODEL VERB

  IST CONJ.

  verbs whose infinitive4 ends in -er

  parler (to speak)

  2ND CONJ.

  verbs whose infinitive ends in -ir

  finir (to finish)

  3RD CONJ.

  verbs whose infinitive ends in -re

  vendre (to sell)

  The great majority of French verbs belong to the 1st conjugation and, with very few exceptions, the verbs in this conjugation are regular, that is, they take endings or are conjugated exactly the way the model verb parler is conjugated.

  The Present Tense

  Comparison of Present Tense in French and English

  Although we are usually not aware of it, in English we have three different ways of expressing an action in the present. We can say “I walk,” or (progressive) “I am walking,” or (emphatic) “I do walk.” There are slight shades of meaning which distinguish these forms. In French, however, there is only one way of expressing an action in the present, and this one way conveys all the meanings of the three English constructions.

  1st Conjugation Verbs (Infinitive ending -er)

  parler (to speak)

  je parle

  I speak, am speaking

  tu parles

  you (FAM. SING.) speak, are speaking

  il (elle) parle

  he (she) speaks, is speaking

  nous parlons

  we speak, are speaking

  vous parlez

  you speak, are speaking

  ils (elles) parlent

  they speak, are speaking

  Several points should be noted:

  The tu form is the familiar singular, used only to address close friends, close relatives (such as members of one’s family), children, and animals. A tourist
will probably have no occasion to use this form and should always use vous, which can refer to both singular and plural subjects, the same as the pronoun “you” in English.