Sentences

French sentences
Share / Tweet / Pin Me!

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

  1. May be any length
  2. Must contain a subject and verb
  3. May include one or more other parts of speech
  4. 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 prête.   Aline is ready.
Le restaurant italien s’ouvre à 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 médecin.   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 arrêter 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 déménager en France !   We’re going to move to France!
Ils ne sont pas encore prêts !   They’re not ready yet!
J’espère 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 idée ?   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 à la plage.   Let’s go to the beach.
Arrêtez !   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

Learn Spanish En español

 Share / Tweet / Pin Me!

Types of French sentences

Questions about French?

 Visit the Progress with Lawless French Q+A forum to get help from native French speakers and fellow learners.

More Lawless French

 Subscribe to my twice-weekly newsletter.

Support Lawless French

  This free website is created with love and a great deal of work.

If you love it, please consider making a one-time or monthly donation.

Your support is entirely optional but tremendously appreciated.

Leave a Reply