French Curriculum
French Grammar Rules
Browse the full curriculum below. Each rule includes an intuitive mental model, common pitfalls to avoid, and examples. Where a public story demonstrates the rule, you can read and listen to that passage in context.
Level A0 Mastery
12 core concepts
Accent aigu: é
É normally represents the close-mid vowel /e/, as in café, été, and parlé. Unaccented e has several pronunciations or can be silent; the accent is part of the spelling, not a volume mark.
Indefinite articles: un, une, des
un is a masculine thing, une is a feminine thing, des is some / plural. They often mark a first mention.
Present of avoir
avoir is irregular: j'ai, tu as, il/elle a, nous avons, vous avez, ils/elles ont. It means have, and later it helps build the past.
c'est and ce sont
c'est introduces a person or thing: C'est Marie. C'est un livre. Use ce sont for plurals: Ce sont mes amis.
Elision: j'ai, l'ami
Je, le, la, ne, and de usually lose their final vowel before a vowel sound or a mute h: j'aime, l'hôtel, n'est. The apostrophe marks the missing vowel. An aspirated h blocks elision, as in le héros.
Present of être
être is irregular: je suis, tu es, il/elle est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils/elles sont. Use it to say who or what someone is.
il y a
il y a does not change for singular or plural: Il y a un café. Il y a des livres.
Negation: ne … pas
To negate, put ne before the verb and pas after it: Je ne suis pas français. Spoken French often drops ne and keeps pas.
Noun gender: masculine and feminine
French nouns are masculine or feminine. The article shows it: un/le livre (m), une/la table (f). Gender is not the same as the person's sex.
Present: regular -er
Most verbs drop -er and add -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent: je parle, tu parles, il parle, nous parlons. je/tu/il sound the same.
Subject pronouns: je, tu, il, elle
French names the person with je, tu, il, elle, nous, vous, ils, elles. The verb form changes with that pronoun.
tu vs vous
tu is one person you know well. vous is polite singular, or any plural you. The verb ending changes: tu parles, vous parlez.
Level A1 Mastery
16 core concepts
Adjective agreement and place
Adjectives take gender and number: un café chaud, une robe chaude, des cafés chauds. Most follow the noun; a few short ones (grand, petit, bon, nouveau) often come before.
Definite articles: le, la, l', les
Le is masculine singular, la is feminine singular, and les is plural. Le and la usually become l' before a vowel sound or a mute h: l'école, l'hôtel. An aspirated h blocks elision: le héros.
Demonstratives: ce, cet, cette, ces
ce + masculine, cet + masculine before a vowel, cette + feminine, ces + plural: ce livre, cet ami, cette table, ces livres.
Asking with est-ce que
The everyday yes/no question puts est-ce que before a normal sentence: Est-ce que tu parles français. Rising intonation alone also works: Tu parles français.
futur proche: aller + infinitive
aller in the present + infinitive marks a near future: Je vais manger. Nous allons partir.
il faut + infinitive
il faut + infinitive marks necessity, with no person on the verb: Il faut partir. Il ne faut pas fumer.
Tu / vous imperative
Affirmative tu commands for -er verbs drop the -s: Parle ! Vous keeps -ez: Parlez ! Common irregulars: va, fais, viens.
pouvoir, vouloir, devoir
pouvoir, vouloir, and devoir are irregular and take an infinitive: Je peux venir. Je veux manger. Je dois partir.
on as we / people
on means we, they, or people in general. The verb looks like il/elle: On parle français. On va au café.
parce que
parce que introduces a reason: Je reste parce que je suis fatigué. pour + infinitive marks a goal: Je reste pour manger.
Partitives: du, de la, des
du / de la / de l' / des mark an unspecified amount: Je veux du pain. Je bois de l'eau. After negation this often becomes de: Je ne veux pas de pain.
Noun plurals: -s
Most nouns add -s in writing: livre → livres. You hear the plural on the article (le → les), not on the -s.
Possessives: mon, ma, mes
Use mon/ton/son with masculine singular nouns and before feminine singular nouns beginning with a vowel sound or mute h: mon amie. Use ma/ta/sa before other feminine singular nouns and mes/tes/ses with plurals. The form agrees with the thing owned.
Place: à, au, en, dans, chez
Use à with most city names (à Paris), en with feminine countries or countries beginning with a vowel (en France, en Iran), au with masculine countries beginning with a consonant (au Canada), and aux with plural countries (aux États-Unis). Chez introduces a person or their place.
Present: aller, faire, venir
These high-frequency verbs are irregular: je vais, tu vas, il va; je fais; je viens. They carry motion and everyday actions.
Polite je voudrais
voudrais / aimerais is a polite want: Je voudrais un café. On pourrait avoir l'addition. It is softer than je veux.
Level A2 Mastery
14 core concepts
Direct object: le, la, les
Le, la, l', and les replace direct objects. In ordinary statements they precede the conjugated verb, or the infinitive they belong to: Je le vois; je vais le voir. Affirmative commands place them after the verb: regarde-le.
Indirect object: lui, leur
Lui and leur replace an indirect person object with verbs such as parler à, donner à, and écrire à. Not every à + person takes them: penser à elle keeps a stressed pronoun. In ordinary statements, lui and leur precede their verb.
Comparatives: plus … que
plus … que is more than, moins … que is less than, aussi … que is as … as. Irregulars: meilleur, mieux.
depuis vs il y a
depuis + duration with the present: J'habite ici depuis deux ans. il y a + duration marks how long ago: Je suis arrivé il y a deux ans.
Imparfait: description and habit
For most verbs, remove -ons from the present nous form and add -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. Être uses the irregular stem ét-. Use the imperfect for background and past habits.
Negation: rien, jamais, personne
Other negatives replace pas: ne … jamais (never), ne … rien (nothing), ne … personne (nobody). Je ne vois rien. Je ne parle jamais.
Passé composé with avoir
Most verbs form the passé composé with present avoir + a past participle. Regular patterns include parler → parlé, finir → fini, vendre → vendu. Many verbs have irregular participles: prendre → pris, faire → fait.
Passé composé with être
A small set of motion and change verbs use être: aller, venir, entrer, sortir, arriver, partir, naître, mourir, rester, tomber. The participle agrees: elle est allée.
Passé composé vs imparfait
Passé composé is a completed event: J'ai vu Marie. Imparfait is the scene around it: Il faisait beau. Both often appear in the same story.
Reflexive verbs: se lever
Pronominal verbs use me/te/se/nous/vous/se: je me lève. Their compound tenses use être. Agreement depends on the pronoun's function and object position: elle s'est lavée, but elle s'est lavé les mains.
Relatives: qui, que, où
qui is the subject of the extra clause: l'amie qui arrive. que is the object: le livre que je lis. où is place or time: la ville où j'habite.
si + present
For an open condition, use si + present with a present, future, or imperative result: Si tu viens, nous mangerons ensemble. French si has no accent; it can also mean yes when contradicting a negative question.
Passé récent: venir de
venir in the present + de + infinitive means just happened: Je viens de manger. Elle vient d'arriver.
y and en
y replaces à + place: J'y vais. en replaces de + thing/amount: J'en veux. Both sit before the verb.
Level B1 Mastery
10 core concepts
Futur simple: French future tense
For regular verbs, add -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont to the infinitive; drop the final -e of -re verbs. Common irregular stems include ser- (être), aur- (avoir), ir- (aller), and fer- (faire).
Conditionnel présent: French conditional
The present conditional combines the future stem with -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. Use it for imagined results, polite requests, and advice.
Si + imparfait: hypothetical conditions
For an imagined present or future situation, use si + imparfait for the condition and the present conditional for its result.
Plus-que-parfait: French past perfect
The plus-que-parfait marks an event completed before another past moment. Use the imperfect of avoir or être followed by the past participle, keeping the usual auxiliary choice and agreement rules.
Subjonctif présent: formation
For regular verbs, take the present ils stem without -ent and add -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent. Some verbs have two stems or irregular forms; être and avoir need separate learning.
Subjunctive after wishes and emotions
Expressions such as vouloir que and être content que take the subjunctive when introducing another clause. With the same subject, a suitable infinitive construction is often simpler.
French double object pronoun order
Before a verb, pronouns follow this order: me/te/se/nous/vous, then le/la/les, then lui/leur, then y, then en. With an infinitive, place its pronouns before that infinitive. Affirmative commands use a different order.
Dont: French relative pronoun
Use dont to connect a noun to a clause whose verb or expression requires de, or to express possession. Dont already includes the de relationship.
Celui, celle, ceux, celles: demonstrative pronouns
Celui, celle, ceux, and celles replace a noun and agree with its gender and number. Specify which one with -ci/-là, de + a noun, or a relative clause.
Gérondif: en + present participle
En + present participle expresses how or while someone does something. Normally both actions have the same subject. Form the participle from the present nous stem + -ant; être, avoir, and savoir give étant, ayant, and sachant.
Level B2 Mastery
10 core concepts
Conditionnel passé: would have
Form the past conditional with avoir or être in the present conditional and a past participle. It can describe an unrealized past result or a regret; auxiliary choice and agreement follow the usual compound-tense rules.
Si + plus-que-parfait: past hypotheticals
For an unreal past condition and its past result, use si + plus-que-parfait, then the past conditional.
Subjonctif passé: French past subjunctive
The past subjunctive uses avoir or être in the present subjunctive plus a past participle. Use it when a subjunctive-triggering expression refers to an already completed action.
Futur antérieur: French future perfect
Use the future of avoir or être plus a past participle for something that will be finished before a future moment. French can use this tense after quand or dès que for a future event.
French passive voice: être + past participle
In the passive, the person or thing receiving an action becomes the subject. Conjugate être for the tense and agree the past participle with that subject. Par often introduces the agent.
French reported speech in the past
When reporting speech from a past viewpoint, present commonly shifts to imparfait, passé composé to plus-que-parfait, and future to conditional. Adjust pronouns and time expressions to the reporting context.
Ce qui vs ce que: French relative clauses
Use ce qui or ce que for “what” or “the thing that” when there is no specific noun antecedent. Ce qui is the subject of the following verb; ce que is its direct object.
Bien que, pour que, avant que + subjunctive
Bien que, pour que, and avant que introduce clauses in the subjunctive. They express concession, purpose, and an event still pending relative to another event. With a shared subject, pour + infinitive or avant de + infinitive is often simpler.
Faire + infinitive: having something done
Faire + infinitive means causing or arranging an action. Conjugate faire and leave the next verb in the infinitive. With a direct object, the person doing the action can be introduced by à or par.
Past participle agreement with avoir
With avoir, a past participle normally agrees with a direct object only when that object appears before it. A preceding indirect object does not trigger agreement. More complex infinitive constructions have additional rules.
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