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 |
Now you know the French Parts of speech in English
Here are the next steps
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… |