Basic French Grammar

Articles (Les Articles)

French has three types of articles, and they must agree with the noun's gender:

Definite Articles (the)

• le (masculine): le livre (the book)
• la (feminine): la table (the table)
• les (plural): les chats (the cats)

Indefinite Articles (a/an)

• un (masculine): un stylo (a pen)
• une (feminine): une pomme (an apple)
• des (plural): des fleurs (flowers)

Noun Gender

Every French noun is either masculine or feminine. Some patterns:

Common Masculine Endings

• -age: le fromage (cheese)
• -eau: le bateau (boat)
• -ment: le moment (moment)

Common Feminine Endings

• -tion: la situation
• -té: la liberté (freedom)
• -ie: la boulangerie (bakery)

Adjective Agreement

Adjectives must agree with the noun they describe:

Examples:

1. "Le chat noir" (the black cat)

• Noir remains masculine for masculine noun

2. "La table noire" (the black table)

• Noir becomes noire for feminine noun

3. "Les chats noirs" (the black cats)

• Noir becomes noirs for masculine plural

Basic Sentence Structure

French follows Subject + Verb + Object pattern:

1. "Je mange une pomme" (I eat an apple)

• Subject (Je) + Verb (mange) + Object (une pomme)

2. "Elle lit un livre" (She reads a book)

• Subject (Elle) + Verb (lit) + Object (un livre)

Present Tense Regular Verbs

Three main groups of regular verbs:

-er Verbs (parler - to speak)

je parle (I speak) tu parles (you speak) il/elle parle (he/she speaks) nous parlons (we speak) vous parlez (you speak) ils/elles parlent (they speak)

-ir Verbs (finir - to finish)

je finis tu finis il/elle finit nous finissons vous finissez ils/elles finissent

Basic Negation

Add "ne" before and "pas" after the verb:

1. "Je ne parle pas anglais" (I don't speak English)

• Ne and pas surround the verb parle

2. "Elle n'aime pas le café" (She doesn't like coffee)

• N' used before vowel sounds

Possessive Adjectives

Must agree with the possessed noun:

Masculine Nouns

• mon livre (my book)
• ton livre (your book)
• son livre (his/her book)

Feminine Nouns

• ma table (my table)
• ta table (your table)
• sa table (his/her table)

Numbers and Gender

Unlike English, numbers can change form:

1. "Premier étage" (first floor) - masculine
2. "Première fois" (first time) - feminine
3. "Deuxième" (second) - same for both genders

Essential Tips

• Always consider noun gender when choosing articles
• Listen for word endings to help guess gender
• Remember adjectives change to match nouns
• Most verbs are regular and follow patterns
• Position of ne...pas surrounds conjugated verbs

This foundation helps build more complex structures.

Practice these basics with simple sentences first before moving to more complex grammar.