Understanding French vocabulary

By recognizing and distinguishing the types of French words, learning French grammar will be much easier. You will build a foundation that will make understanding French grammar explanations much easier.

Learn to identify the nine parts of French speech, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and more, and their purpose and function in a French sentence.

The nine parts of speech in French explained

Part of speech

Example

 

Nom

Refers to a person, place, thing, event or concept

pomme, chien, voiture

Pronoms

Substitutes the noun or another part of speech for effective speech

Je, Il, Nous

Adjectifs

Describes a noun or pronoun in more detail

beau, effrayant, gentil

Adverbes

Describes a verb, adjective or other adverb more precisely

tous les jours, tous les ans, extrêmement

Prépositions

Expresses place, time, direction, relationship to another part of speech

en haut, en bas, après

Conjonctions

A conjunction is a word that connects words, phrases or parts of phrases

mais, ou, et, donc, or, ni, car

Interjections

Expressing emotions, moods or sensations.

Ahh!, Whoa!, Zut!

Articles (définis et indéfinis)

Accompanies nouns and determines precision.

le, la, les, un, une, des

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Parts of basic speech in French grammar

French

Explanation

Example sentence

Nom

Noun: Refers to people or things

Malte est une magnifique destination.

Verbe

Verbs:Expresses an action or state.

Il voyage à Malte.

Adjectif

Adjective Describes the name in more detail

Le voyage à Malte était magnifique.

Pronoms

Pronoun: Replaces a noun

Il se rend à Malte.

Adverbe

Circumstance word: Describes a verb, adjective or other element.

Il a décidé de se rendre à Malte immédiatement

Conjonction

Linking word: Connects words or groups of words together

Il s'est rendu à Malte et a aimé cet endroit.

Préposition

Proportion word: Expresses the relationship in which people or objects are.

Elle est dans un vol pour Malte.

Interjection

Exclamation: Expresses a feeling or a request.

Regarde, il apprend le francais.

Types of pronouns

French

Explanation

Example words

Pronom possessif

Possession

le mien, la tienne, les siennes, le vôtre, la nôtre, les leurs…

Pronom démonstratif

Denotes and identifies a noun

Ca, Ce, Cela, Ceci...

Pronom personnel

Refers to a specific person

Je, me, moi,nous...

Pronoms relatifs

Reprise

auquel, dont, duquel, lequel, que, qui, quoi, où…

Pronoms interrogatifs

Question

qui, que, quoi, lequel…

Pronoms indéfinis

Imprecise identification

autrui, chacun, on, plusieurs, quelqu'un, quiconque, tous…