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FRENCH GRAMMAR
( İngilizce dilinde anlatılmış Fransızca dilbilgisi)
Les Articles : le, la, l’, les, un, une, des Articles

Definite Articles

In French, nouns (substantives m.) are either masculine (m.) or feminine (f.). Each
gender has its own article.

le jour m. the day

la nuit f. the night

Les is the plural article for both masculine and feminine nouns.

les hommes m. plural the men

les femmes f. plural the women

When the noun begins with a vowel or a silent 'h', the le or la simply becomes l'.

l'ombre m. the shade

l'abeille f. the bee
l'hôtel m. the hotel

Les Articles Indéfinis Indefinite Articles

un bâtiment m. a building
une maison f. a house
des choix m. some choices
des filles f. some girls/daughters

Le Genre Gender

Guessing the gender of people nouns is easy. If you're referring to a male, it's
masculine, otherwise it's feminine.

le gosse the kid (male)

la gosse the kid (female)
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Many people nouns have both masculine and femine forms.

le fermier farmer (male)

la fermière farmer (female)
le vendeur salesperson (male)
la vendeuse salesperson (female)

Some people nouns are always either masculine or feminine, regardless of whether
it refers to a guy or a girl.

la vedette star
le savant wise person
le pilote pilot
le professeur teacher (high school or university)

Guessing the gender of inanimate nouns can be a bit tricky. Consonant ending
nouns are usually masculine and e ending nouns are usually feminine but there are
tons of exceptions. There are some rather complicated rules that can be used.

The Prononciation
The French “R”
Contrary to the English r, the French r is pronounced by moving the tongue to the
back of the mouth.

revolution
bonjour
rendez-vous

Pronouncing r the french way, will help you be understood better and not only
greatly improve how you sound in French, it will help you be understood better.
Sometimes when I felt I was exagerating my French 'r', my teacher still thought it
sounded good however you can still overdue it.
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Vowel Sounds
ou vous - jour
oi toi - voiture
on / om bonbon - pompier
ai fraise - aimer
ei treize - peigner
ain train - demain
ein peinture - ceintre
in/im/ym invisible - important - sympa
un / um lundi - humble
en / em comment - embouteillages
an / am chanter - jambe
eu cheveux - heureux
eur chanteur - aspirateur
oeur coeur - soeur
oin plus ou moins - point
au jaune - dauphin
eau chateau - beau
ay pays - rayure
oy voyage - aboyer

Place your cursor over a French word to hear it pronounced aloud. Place your
cursor over the asterisks ** to see example sentences.

-Er Ending Verbs

Parler ( to speak) Écouter ( to listen)

je parle j' écoute
tu parles tu écoutes
il/elle parle il/elle écoute
nous parlons nous écoutons
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vous parlez vous écoutez

ils/elles parlent ils/elles écoutent

For the following verbs , the e remains in the nous form .

changer ** to change

manger ** to eat

nager ** to swim

partager ** to share
Nous mangeons.
We eat.

Nous partageons.
We share.

-Ir Ending Verbs

Verbs of this type
Choisir Finir(bitirmek)
accomplir ** to accomplish
( seçmek) je finis bâtir ** to build
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je choisis tu finis choisir ** to choose

tu choisis il/elle finit embellir ** to make beautiful
nous finissons envahir ** to invade
il/elle choisit
finir ** to finish
nous choisissons vous finissez
grandir ** to grow up
vous choisissez ils/elles finissent
obéir ** to obey
ils/elles choisissent punir ** to punish
Practice conjugating -ir regular verbs! remplir ** to fill
réunir ** to reunite
réussir ** to succeed
saisir ** to seize

-Re Ending Verbs

Verbs of this type
Entendre Vendre
attendre ** to wait
(duymak) (satmak)
défendre ** to defend
j' entends je vends descendre ** to descend
tu entends tu vends entendre ** to hear
il/ elle entend il/ elle vend étendre ** to stretch;
nous entendons nous vendons to spread
out
vous entendez vous vendez
fendre ** to split
ils/elles entendent ils/elles vendent
fondre ** to melt
Practice conjugating -re type verbs! pendre ** to hang
to lay an
pondre **
egg
perdre ** to lose
rendre ** to render
répandre ** to spread
répondre ** to answer
tendre ** to tighten
vendre ** to sell
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Out of this World Verbs

These verbs are the freaks of the French language.

Avoir ( to have) Être ( to be)

j' ai je suis

tu as tu es
avoir ** to have

il/elle a il/elle est

être ** to be
nous avons nous sommes

vous avez vous êtes

ils/elles ont ils/elles sont

aller faire

je vais je fais

tu vas tu fais aller ** to go

il/elle va il/elle fait

faire ** to do
nous allons nous faisons

vous allez vous faites

ils/elles vont ils/elles font

savoir ** to know
savoir valoir
valoir ** to be worth
je sais je vaux
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tu sais tu vaux

il/elle sait il/elle vaut

nous savons nous valons

vous savez vous valez

ils/elles savent ils/elles valent

mourir

je meurs
mourir ** to die
tu meurs
falloir
falloir ** to need
il/elle meurt
il faut
nous mourons

vous mourez

ils/elles meurent

Practice conjugating these verbs!

Pouvoir and vouloir

pouvoir vouloir

je peux je veux
pouvoir ** to be able

tu peux tu veux
pleuvoir ** to rain
il/elle peut il/elle veut
vouloir ** to want
nous pouvons nous voulons

vous pouvez vous voulez

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ils/elles peuvent ils/elles veulent

pleuvoir

il pleut

Dire

dire dire ** to say; to tell

interdire ** to prohibit
je dis

tu dis

il/elle dit

nous disons

vous dites

ils/elles disent

Venir and Tenir

Verbs of this type

venir
contenir ** to contain
je viens
to be
tu viens convenir **
convenient

il/elle vient maintenir ** to maintain

nous venons obtenir ** to obtain

vous venez to succeed

parvenir **
in...
ils/elles viennent
revenir ** to come back
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to hold; to
tenir **
insist

venir ** to come

Practice conjugating venir and tenir.

Verbs like apparaître

This class of verbs are conjugated similarily to the regular -ir verbs.

Verbs of this type

apparaître
apparaître ** to appear
j' apparais
to meet
connaître **
tu apparais someone

il/elle apparaît disparaître ** to disappear

haïr ** to hate
nous apparaissons
naître ** to be born
vous apparaissez
reconnaître ** to recognize
ils/elles apparaissent

Practice conjugating verbs like apparaître.

Practice conjugating all Out of this World Verbs.

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Passé Composé ( Past)

The passé composé is usually formed by following the present tense of avoir with
a past participle.

j'ai aimé I loved

tu as aimé you loved
il/elle a aimé he/she loved
nous avons aimé We loved
vous avez aimé You loved
ils/elles ont aimé They loved
There is a group of verbs for which the passé compose is formed with être as
opposed to avoir.

arriver arrivé to arrive passer passé to pass

aller allé to go partir parti to leave
descendre descendu to descend rester resté to remain
entrer entré to enter retourner retourné to return
monter monté to climb sortir sorti to exit
mourir mort to die tomber tombé to fall
naître né to be born venir venu to come
.. être is only used only when the verb is intransitive - that's to say it doesn't have a
direct object.

Elle est retournée à Paris.

She returned to Paris.

Elle a retourné le livre.

She returned the book.

Nous sommes montés au Sacré Cœur.

We climbed up to the Sacré Cœur (sacred heart.)

Nous avons monté le piano.

We brought up the piano.

Il a monté l'escalier.
He climbed the stairs.
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When être is used the past participle always agrees with the subject in the same
way as an adjective agrees with a noun. Verbs based on the above verbs such
as devenir and verbs with the re prefix such asrevenir, rentrer, remonter, also
use être when used intransitively.

Colette est devenue une écrivain extraordinaire.

Colette became a remarkable writer.

When avoir is used, the past participle agrees only with preceding direct objects
(see PDO agreement).

When the subject and object of a verb have a reflexive relationship - the subject
does something to itself (see pronominals (reflexives), the auxiliary verb is
always être.

Marie s'est réveillée à six heures.

Marie woke up at six o'clock.

Marie a réveillé les enfants à six heures.

Marie woke up the children at six o'clock.

Commands ( imperatif- emir kipi)

To order someone around, use the present tense tu, vous, or nous forms. If the form
ends in es, or as drop the final s.

tu parles Parle! speak

parler vous parlez Parlez! speak
nous parlons Parlons! let's speak
tu finis Finis! finish
finir vous finissez Finissez! finish
nous finissons Finissons! let's finish
tu vas Va! go
ir vous allez Allez! go
nous allons Allons! let's go

Chantez-moi une chanson! Sing me a song!

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Range ta chambre! Tidy up your room!

Va faire les courses! Go run the errands!

Ouvrons la fenêtre! Ça pu. Lets open the window. It stinks!

Orders using the following verbs, however, are formed with subjunctive forms.

être to be Sois savoir to know Sache

Soyez Sachez
Soyons Sachons

avoir to have Aie vouloir to want Veuille*

Ayez Veuillez*
Ayons

Sois sage! Be wise!

Aie de la pitie pour moi! Have mercy on me!

*The vouloir forms are used to politely ask someone to do something. They aren't
really orders.

Veuillez vous s’asseoir! Please sit down.

When the verb is reflexive, use a disjuctive pronoun rather than a regular reflexive
pronoun.

Réveillez-vous. Levez-vous. Taisez-vous.

Wake up. Get yourself up. Shut up.

When a pronoun like y or en follows one of the verbs that drops the final s, don't
drop the s.

Vas-y. Go on.

Parles-en. Speak about it.

Allons-y. Lets go on

Tell someone not to do something by negating the verb in the customary way.

Ne sois pas en retard! Don't be late.(formal)

Sois pas en retard! Don't be late. (informal)

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The Present & Infinitive

In English, we make heavy use of the present progressive when describing
activities that we are in the process of doing.

I am reading philosophy.

He is doing the dishes.

In French, the simple present (see present conjugations) will always be used. In
English you also could use the simple present but it sounds Shakespearean.

Je lis de la philosophie.

Il fait la vaisselle.

If you wish to emphasize that you are right in the middle of doing something in
French use the phrase 'en train de'.

Je ne peux venir. Je suis en train de peindre ma maison.

I cannot come. I am right in the middle of painting my house.

The simple present in French is also used to express actions that you are doing in
the near future. In English we would probably use the present progressive.

Je pars demain à la guerre.

I leave tomorrow for the war.

The French and English present are used in the same way to express habitual
actions and universal truths.

Les français aiment beaucoup le football.

Soccer is very popular in Europe.

Infinitive
The infinitive form is totally without tense. The infinitive is the non conjugated
form of the verb. When two verbs are used together, the first verb marks the tense
and the second will be in the infinitive form.

Elle aime chanter.

She loves to sing.
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Il commence à travailler.
He is beginning to work.

The Past ( le passé)- geçmiş zaman

The passé composé (see passé composé conjugations) is used to report activities
as they are completed.

Elle a donné un coup de pied dans le ballon. Le camion a heurté l'arbre. Il a

mangé une groseille.
She kicked the ball. The truck hit the tree. He ate a redcurrant.

Some activities occur in the background and are continuous. These activities are
expressed using the imperfect (see imperfect conjugations).

Pierre a plongé1 dans l'eau froide et a nagé1 jusqu'au bateau bien que la
mer etait 2 agitée et que les vagues martelaient 2 le rivage.
Pierre dove into the cold water and swam to the boat even though the sea was violent
and the waves pounded the shore.

1 passé composé
2 imperfect

The imperfect is used in expressing enduring qualities or characteristics. (This

makes sense of course because enduring qualities are ongoing.)

Le bateau était en bois blanc. C'était un bateau de pêche.

The boat was white and wooden. It was a fishing boat.

The imperfect is also used to paint the background, to describe ongoing actions
that take place continuously as actions are completed.

Les tomates mijotaient dans l'huile d'olive. Magalie sentait la chaleur du feu.
Rapidement, elle y a jeté le basilic et l'origan.
The tomatoes simmered in the olive oil. Magalie felt the heat of the fire. Quickly, she
threw in the basil and the oregano.

The passé simple (see passé simple conjugations) is used instead of the passé
composé in formal writing.

Le Français fit ce que qu'en toute occasion font les français, il se mit à rire.
The Frenchman did what on all occasions the French do, he begins to laugh.

Future & Conditional

French and English use their future tense (see future & conditional
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conjugations) in much the same way.

J'irai la semaine prochaine

I will go next week.

As already mentioned, the present tense is often used to express future actions.
Using the present tense gives the action more immediacy.

In French you can use aller plus a verb instead of the future.

Ils vont appeller nos parents.

They will call our relatives.

Je vais danser.
I will dance.

The Conditional
Technically the conditional (see future & conditional conjugations) is a mood,
not a tense. The mood that we've dealt with so far is the indicative which
describes reality. The present tense, all the verb forms of the past tense, and the
future are all reality describers.

The conditional expresses the hypothetic and the possible. In English it is

expressed using wouldand sometimes should or could.

Il vous appellerait s'il savait que vous l'aimez.

He would call you if he knew that you loved him.

Si vous nettoyez votre chambre, votre colocataire serait plus gentil avec vous.
If you cleaned your room, your roommate would be nicer to you.

Elle aurait fait son devoir, mais elle n'a pas de crayon.
She would have done her homework, but she doesn't have a pencil.

Huit jours avec de la fièvre! J'aurais encore eu le temps d'écrire un livre! -- Honoré
de Balzac sur son lit de mort
Eight days of fever! I would have had the time to write a book.

To express uncertainty:

Il semblerait que des extraterrestres leurs ont rendu visite.

It would seem that aliens have visited them.

Often the conditional is used to politely ask a question, make a suggestion, or

request something.
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Je voudrais du bon vin blanc. I would like some nice white wine.
Pourriez-vous lui parler à ma place? Could you talk to him for me?

Either the future or conditional is used to refer to future actions when talking
about the past.

Le candidat a dit qu'il aiderait les pauvres.

The candidate said he would help the poor.

Le candidat a dit qu'il aidera les pauvres!

The candidate said he will help the poor.

Pronominals (Reflexives)- Çift zamirli fiiler

When the subject does something to itself (when the subject and the object of
the verb are the same) you have reflexivity. The reflexive pronouns are used to
denote this.

Je me regarde dans le miroir, horrifié. Singular Plural

I look at myself in the mirror, horrified.
1st person me nous
Je me regarde: kendime bakıyorum

Je me lave: yıkanıyorum 2nd person te vous

Je me leve: kalkıyorum 3rd person se se

Je me promene: geziniyorum *me, te, and se become m' , t' and s' before
vowels and mute h (See Elision in the
Je me raşe: tıraş oluyorum pronunciation guide).

Je me peigne: taranıyorum

Je me couche: yatıyor

Je me reveille: uyanıyorum

Soudain, le moto s'arrête.

Suddenly, the motorcycle stops.

Les grecs s'habillaient avec des tuniques.

Mais ils faisaient du sport complètement
nus.
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The Greeks dressed themselves with tunics. But they played sports completely naked.

If the verb is followed by an object, if the object is a part of the subject, the
reflexive pronouns are normally used.

Il se rase la barbe.
He shaves his beard off.

Almost always, verbs that are used reflexively can also be used non-reflexively.

Le medecin a rasé mes cheveux avant d'effectuer la lobotomie.

The doctor shaved my hair before the lobotomy.

Elle se lave. Elle lave le bébé.

She wahes herself. She washes the baby.

Following are some verbs that are commonly used reflexively:

s'arrêter to stop oneself se lever to get up

se blesser to hurt oneself se peigner to comb one's hair

se brosser to brush oneself se raser to shave oneself

se coucher to go to bed se reposer to rest

se demander to wonder se réveiller to wake up

s'habiller to get dressed se trouver to be located

se laver to wash oneself se taire to be quiet

Gustave se trouve loin d'ici.

Gustave is far from here.

Je me suis réveillé à cause d'une cauchemar.*

I woke up because of a nightmare.
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Reciprocity
Reflexive pronouns are also used to express reciprocal exchanges:

Ils se parlent toute la nuit.

They talk with each other all night long.

Les morses mâles se battent parfois à mort pendant la saison d'accouplement.

Male walruses sometimes fight to the death during mating season.

A participant in a reciprocal exchange is often expressed as an object. In this

case, a reflexive pronoun is still used.

Je me bats avec le subjunctif.

I struggle with the subjunctive. Literally- I fight with the subjunctive.

*In the passé composé tense, a verb with a reflexive pronoun takes the
auxiliary être, and the associated participle must agree with the subject.

Relative Pronouns
Like Adjectives, relative clauses provide additional information about whatever
they are paired up with.

L'étoile qui a explosé est visible à l'oeil nu.

The star that exploded is visible to the naked eye..

The relative pronoun reflects the nature of the role that the modified noun (also
know as the antecedent) plays within the relative clause. If the antecedent acts
as the subject within the relative clause, qui is used.

Le monastère qui est perché dans les montagnes est un endroit de refuge.
The monastery that is in the mountains is a place of refuge.

Notice that the verb of the relative clause agrees with the antecedent (in this
case 'le monastère') when it acts as the subject.

Ce chevalier qui attaque des moulins à vent est un peu bizarre.

That knight that chases windmills is a little strange.

Le couteau qui a coupé la jambe de Jacques est limé.

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The knife that cut Jacques' leg is sharp.

Les dauphins qui ont sauvé ma vie reviennent me voir chaque annèe dans la baie.
The dolphins that saved my life come back each year to see me in the bay.

When the modified noun is the direct object of the relative clause, que is used.
When this is the case the subject of the relative clause is within the relative
clause.

L'enfant abandoné que nous avons trouvé s'appelle Eric.

The lost child that we found is called Eric.

La potion d'immortalité que vous recherchez est vendue dans cette boutique. Elle est
soldée à 99 francs.
The immortality potion that you are looking for is sold in that store. It is on sale for
99 francs.

Don't forget that elision takes place with que (before vowels or silent h it
becomes qu').

Irrelevant in deciding between que and qui, is whether the modified noun is a
person or non-person. (This is contrary to the interrogative pronoun qui which
can only stand for persons.)

Dont & Où
Dont

Dont can replace de qui and the duquels (duquel, desquels, de laquelle,
desquelles). Not only can it replace them, it should. Dont is used much more
often than de qui and the duquels.

Rien ne montre mieux le caractère d'un homme que ce dont il rit.

-- Goethe
Nothing better illustrates a man’s character than what he laughs at.

Il n'y a rien dont le corps souffre dont l'âme ne puisse profiter.

There is nothing the body suffers that does not benefit the soul.

When dont is set off by commas it normally means 'including'.

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Où

Où replaces any lequel family relative pronoun when the antecedent is a place
or time.

Le palais où le sultan vit n'est pas assez grand pour tout le harem.
The palace where the sultan lives isn't big enough for the entire harem.

Cette vie est un hôpital où chaque malade est possédé du désir de changer de lit. --
Charles Baudelaire
This life is a hospital where each sick man is possessed with the desire to switch
beds.

Je veux retourner une époque où la vie était plus simple.

I want to return to an age when life was simpler.

Il faisait une chaleur étouffante la nuit où Bruno a dansé.

It was suffocatingly hot the night that Bruno danced

Où can be preceeded by de, par or jusque.

Que can also be used as a relative pronoun when the antecedent represents a
time. It is used when the antecedent is preceeded by an indefinite article.

Adverbs
Adjectives modify nouns. The 'adverb' is the catch all term that is used to refer
to phrases or words that modify everything else.

Following is an adverb modifying an adjective:

Ils sont trop sophistiqués.

They are too sophisticated.

and an adverb modifing an entire sentence:

Heureusement, malgré que je soit pauvre, j'ai de la nourriture, de l'eau, et un abri.

Happily, athough I am poor, I do have food, water, and shelter.

More than anything else, by modifying a verb, adverbs tell us how (i.e. the
manner in which) something is done. Such adverbs are called ‘manner
adverbs‘

Ils s'embrassent passionnément.

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They kiss passionately.

Adverb Construction
Adverbs are typically built from adjectives. The standard, most common model
is constructed by appending ment to the end of the feminine adjective (Regular
Adverbs).

facile facilement easily

rapide rapidement rapidly

Thankfully, not all adverbs are built the same way for things would get a little
drab. Sometimes the ment is appended to the masculine adjective (Dropped E),
sometimes not ment but mment is appended to the adjective (Irregular Adverbs),
and sometimes the ment ending isn't used at all (Other Origins).

In English, we append ly as opposed to ment to an adjective to form a manner

adverb. English speakers really love doing this and invent new adverbs all the
time this way. French speakers have been more reserved about creating adverbs
this way and many English ly adverbs are expressed in French using a
prepositional phrase as opposed to an ment ending adverb.

Il a secoué son poing en colère.

He shook his fist angrily.

Falling within the 'adverb' category are words and phrases that negate
(Negations Tutorial), locate both in space (Place) and time(Time), as well as
certain expressions that qualify sentences and phrases. I know this is all exciting
but please try to contain your emotions.

Regular Adverbs
These are constructed by appending -ment to a feminine adjective.

Feminine Adjective Adverb

amère amèrement bitterly
attentive attentivement attentively
complète complètement completely
douce doucement gently
extrême extrêmement extremely
facile facilement easily
fraîche fraîchement freshly
finale finalement finally
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forte fortement strongly

franche franchement frankly
heureuse heureusement happily
longue longuement at length
parfaite parfaitement perfectly
rapide rapidement rapidly
sérieuse sérieusement seriously
sûr sûrement surely

Place
ailleurs elsewhere
dedans inside
dehors outside
derrière behind
dessous underneath, on the bottom
dessus over, on the top
ici here
là there
loin far away
partout everywhere
près nearby

Time
alors then, at the same time
aujourd'hui today
auparavant beforehand
aussitôt immediately
autrefois in the past
bientôt soon
déjà already
demain tomorrow
depuis since then
désormais henceforth
dorénavant henceforth
encore again; still; yet
enfin finally
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ensuite afterwards
entre-temps meanwhile
hier yesterday
jadis in the (distant) past
jamais ever
longtemps a long time
maintenant now
naguère in the recent past
parfois sometimes
quelquefois sometimes
soudain suddenly
souvent often
tantôt this afternoon
tard late
tôt early
toujours always; still

Placement
When an adverb modifies anything besides a verb (like an adjective, another
adverb, or noun phrases for example) it is placed in front of what it modifies .
Je suis vraiment diabolique.
I am truly evil.

Il a vécu dans la jungle bresilienne très longtemps.

He lived in the Brazilian jungle for a very long time.

Manner Adverbs
In simple sentences the adverb follows the verb.
Je parle étrangement.
I speak strangely.
A big No-No is placing the adverb before the verb - as is possible in English.
Doing this in French is outrageous and horribly wrong. (Okay, I might be
exaggerating somewhat)

But, in sentences that use the passé composé, usually adverbs immediately
follow the auxiliary verb (avoir or être).

J'ai complètement oublié de faire le travail.

I completely forgot to do my homework.
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