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Les phrases
A sentence is a group of words that form a complete unit of meaning. Sentences can be as short as a single word or as long as the Seine; the minimum criterion is that they contain a subject and verb.*
* I know you’re thinking, "But that means they need at least two words!" Don’t worry, I explain why that’s not true in #4, below.
Characteristics of sentences
- May be any length
- Must contain a subject and verb
- May include one or more other parts of speech
- Can be divided into two parts: subject and predicate
Parts of sentences
Subject | Sujet
- May be a name, noun, or pronoun
- May be singular or plural
- May be modified by an adjective or other determiner
- May be stated or implicit
Predicate | Prédicat
- Must include a verb
- Usually begins with the verb
- Contains everything that is not part of the subject
Par exemple…
| Aline est prĂȘte. | Aline is ready. | |
| Le restaurant italien s’ouvre Ă midi. | The Italian restaurant opens at noon. | |
| Lui et moi avons trois chats. | He and I have three cats. |
Types of sentences
There are four different kinds of sentences.
1) Statements | Phrases assertives / déclaratives
Statements, aka assertive sentences or declarative sentences, are the most common type of sentence. They make a statement, whether fact or opinion; can be affirmative or negative; and almost always end in a period.
Par exemple…
| Elle est mĂ©decin. | She’s a doctor. | |
| Nous n’aimons pas le chocolat. | We don’t like chocolat. | |
| Je pense que non. | I don’t think so. | |
| Tu dois arrĂȘter de courir. | You have to stop running. |
2) Exclamatives | Phrases exclamatives
Exclamative sentences are the excited siblings of statements: they express a strong feeling like joy, surprise, or anger, and usually end in an exclamation point.
Par exemple…
| Nous allons dĂ©mĂ©nager en France ! | We’re going to move to France! | |
| Ils ne sont pas encore prĂȘts ! | They’re not ready yet! | |
| J’espĂšre que non ! | I hope not! |
3) Interrogatives | Phrases interrogatives
Interrogative sentences, aka questions, ask for information, a service, or something tangible. They always end in a question mark.
Par exemple…
| Pouvez-vous m’aider ? | Can you help me? | |
| Ils sont dans la voiture ? | Are they in the car? |
Unlike statements and exclamatives, which usually begin with the subject, interrogatives often begin with a question word.
Par exemple…
| Quand allez-vous y déménager ? | When are you going to move there? | |
| Pourquoi n’aimes-tu pas mon idĂ©e ? | Why don’t you like my idea? |
When the question word is an interrogative pronoun, it is the subject.
Par exemple…
| Qui veut aller au ciné ? | Who wants to go to the movies? | |
| Qu’est-ce que tu fais ? | What are you doing? |
4) Commands | Phrases impératives
Commands are statements in the imperative, which means they don’t have an explicit subject: the subject is indicated by the grammatical person the verb is conjugated for. They may end in a period or exclamation point, depending on how urgent the command is.
Par exemple…
| Raconte-moi une histoire. | Tell me a story. | |
| Allons Ă la plage. | Let’s go to the beach. | |
| ArrĂȘtez ! | Stop! |
* As promised, the final example is a sentence consisting of a single word that includes both subject and verb: it’s the vous imperative.
In addition to word order and punctuation marks as explained above, types of sentences can sometimes also be distinguished by their rhythm.
Related lessons
En español
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