French Grammar Terms

Nouns

A noun (‘nom’ in French) is a word used to represent a person, place, thing, or idea.
Nouns can be either singular (one) or plural (more than one).
In French, nouns are either masculine or feminine. This determines the choice of articles (le, la, les), adjectives and pronouns that are used with them.
Example: le chat (the cat-masculine), la maison (the house-feminine).

A verb (‘verbe’ in French) expresses an action or state of being.
Verbs are governed by different tenses which indicate when the action happens. Core tenses in French include present (présent), past (passé composé, imparfait), and future (futur simple).
Verbs change form based on the subject they are linked to as well as the tense of the expression. This is known as conjugation.
Example: Je mange (I eat), tu as mangé (you have eaten), il mangera (he will eat).

An adjective (‘adjectif’ in French) describes, identifies or gives more information about a noun.
Adjectives in French usually come after the noun they qualify, contrary to English.
Just like nouns, adjectives agree with the nouns they describe in terms of gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural).
Example: un livre intéressant (an interesting book), des filles talentueuses (talented girls).

A preposition (‘préposition’ in French) is used before a noun, pronoun or infinitive to show time, place, direction, manner, cause, etc.
Contrary to some English prepositions, French prepositions cannot be ended with.
Example: Je vais à l’école (I go to school), nous sommes en vacances (we are on holiday).

A conjunction (‘conjonction’ in French) is used to link words, phrases or clauses in a sentence.
They can be coordinating (link equivalent elements), like ‘et’ (and), ‘mais’ (but), ‘ou’ (or); or subordinating (link a dependent clause to the main clause), like ‘que’ (that), ‘si’ (if), ‘quand’ (when).
Example: Tu peux venir avec moi ou avec lui (You can come with me or with him), Je pense que tu as raison (I think that you’re right).

An adverb (‘adverbe’ in French) modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
Adverbs provide extra information about the action, such as how, when, where, how much, or how often something is done.
They do not change according to gender or number.
Example: Il parle doucement (He speaks softly), elle se lève tôt (she gets up early).