Adjective Position

French adjective positionFrench adjectives may be found before or after the nouns they modify, depending on various factors. Generally speaking, descriptive adjectives follow nouns, while limiting adjectives precede nouns.

   

Adverbial Pronouns / Pronominal Adverbs

French adverbial pronounsAs you might guess from their name, adverbial pronouns are caught between two worlds: they are pronouns in the sense that they replace nouns, and at the same time they are adverbs representing a place, a quantity, or the object of a proposition. French has two adverbial pronouns: en and y.

   

Agreement with Direct Objects

French agreement with direct objectsMost French verbs are conjugated with avoir as their auxiliary verb in compound tenses and moods, and therefore do not require agreement with their subjects. But avoir verbs do need agreement in a very specific construction: the past participle must agree with the direct object when it precedes the verb.

   

Compound Tenses and Moods: Word Order

French word orderCompound tenses and moods are verb forms which are conjugated with two parts: a helping / auxiliary verb and a past participle, as in J'ai dansé. The word order can get a little complicated when additional grammatical structures like object pronouns and negation are introduced.

   

Direct Objects

French direct objectsA direct object is a noun, whether person or thing, that someone or something acts upon or does something to. In both French and English, direct objects are often replaced with direct object pronouns (COD): me, te, le, la, nous, vous, les.

   

Double Pronoun Order

French double pronoun word orderSometimes one pronoun just isn't enough. A sentence might need both a direct and indirect object, or a reflexive pronoun as well as an adverbial. When this happens, word order becomes an issue: how do you know which pronoun to place first? It's actually pretty easy, once you learn the rules.

   

Imperative Mood

French imperativeIt's imperative to understand the imperative mood if you want to give orders, make requests, express desires, provide recommendations, offer advice, and prohibit actions.

   

Indirect Objects

French indirect objectsAn indirect object is a person that someone or something does something to indirectly. In both French and English, indirect objects are often replaced with indirect object pronouns.

   

   

Inversion

French inversionThe normal word order in French and English is subject + verb, as in vous êtes - you are. Both languages also have what is known as inversion, where the verb and subject pronoun switch places, resulting in êtes-vous - are you. In English, inversion is used only to ask questions, but in French it has several different purposes.