French sentence structure
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The sentence is delimited by the punctuation and constitutes at the same time a syntactic unit, a melodic unit and a unit of meaning. In the French language, verbal sentences (French: les phrases verbales) are the most common, they revolve around a conjugated verb.
Example:
Alors on vit un spectacle formidable. (Victor Hugo, les misérables, 1862)
Some sentences that do not include a conjugated verb, emphasize a noun or nominal group (French: le groupe nominal), an adjective (French: la phrase adjectivale) or an adverb (French: la phrase adverbiale).
Example:
Bouleversement de toute ma personne. (Marcel Proust, Sodome et Gomorrhe, 1921)
You study a sentence according to its structure (simple, composed or complex), its type (declarative, interrogative, exclamatory or imperative), its form (affirmative or negative) and its voice (active or passive).
Just like in English, a sentence always start with a capital letter and always ends with a single point (.) but it can also end with an exclamation point or a question mark. The sentence is composed of a set of words placed in a logical order to have a meaning and to express a fact or an action.
A sentence can be more or less complex. Therefore, you distinguish simple sentences, composed sentences and complex sentences.
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The simple sentence (French: la phrase simple) is called an independent proposition. It is not related to any other proposition. Among the simple sentences, we find the verbal sentence (French: la phrase verbale) and the nominal sentence (French: la phrase nominale).
The verbal sentences (French: la phrase verbale) are composed of a subject or a group of subjects, a conjugated verb and a complement.
Examples:
Subject | Verb | Complement | Translations |
---|---|---|---|
Nous | allons | à la plage | (We are going to the beach) |
Alina et moi | sommes | de grands amateurs | (Alina and I are big amateurs) |
Tom et Nana | sont | des personnages de dessin animés | (Tom and Nana are cartoons' avatars) |
The nominal sentences (French: la phrase nominale) does not have a conjugated verb.
Examples:
The complex sentences (French: les phrases complexes) are composed of several conjugated verbs. It consist of a main proposition and one ore more other subordinate clauses.
A complex sentence should at least have two verbs and therefore it can also have one, two or more complements depending on the numbers of verbs included.
Examples:
Proposition principale | Proposition subordonnée | Translations |
---|---|---|
Je ne sais pas | quand elle est arrivée | (I don't know when she arrived) |
Je suis rentrée | ainsi que mes amies | (I went back home and my friends as well) |
Il partira de la France | lorsqu'il aura son permis | (He will leave France once he gets his license driver) |
The composed phrases (French: les phrases composées) are similar to the complex sentence but use another independent proposition separated by a preposition or the comma (,).
Examples:
The French grammar has many form of phrases (French: les formes de phrase) and among them you find:
Forms | Examples | Translation |
---|---|---|
Forme négative | Je ne pourrais pas te donner ce que tu demandes | (I could not give you what you are asking for) |
Forme affirmative | Tes amies viennent te voir ce soir | (Your friends will come to see you tonight) |
The emphatic form (French: la forme emphatique) insist or draw attention to a word or a group of words in a sentence. The neutral form (French: la forme neutre) is when a sentence insists on no particular word, it is not emphatic.
You need to distinguish them.
Form | Examples | Translations |
---|---|---|
Forme emphatique | De l'argent, ce n'est pas ce qui manque La vue, elle est belle | (Money, it is not what is missing) (The view, it is beautiful) |
Forme neutre | L'argent n'est pas ce qui manque La vue est belle | (Money is not what is missing) (The view is beautiful) |
The impersonal form (French: la forme impersonnelle) is when the subject of the sentence is the 3rd personal pronoun (il) and represents nothing and nobody. Therefore, you cannot replace the personal pronoun with a word or group of words.
Examples:
The French grammar has 4 types of phrases:
Types | Examples | Translations |
---|---|---|
Declarative | Je ne veux pas aller à la plage. | (I don't want to go to the beach.) |
Imperative | Restez où vous êtes ! | (Don't move !) |
Exclamative | Quelle belle surprise ! | (What a beautiful surprise !) |
Interrogative | Quelle heure il est ? | (What time is it ?) |
Within a sentence, the coherent set of words that alone makes sense is called a proposition (French: une proposition). The phrase can include one or more propositions which has a verb.
Each proposition consists of several group of words.
Let's analyse this sentence
Je pense que mon frère a acheté une nouvelle voiture. (I think my brother bought a new car)
The French grammar has 4 types of propositions.
Proposition | Examples | Translations |
---|---|---|
Independent | Je vais aller faire les courses | (I am going to do shopping) |
Main | Je ne sais pas pourquoi elle est partie | (I don't know why he left) |
Subordinate conjunctiva | Elle est allée dormir puisqu'elle ne part plus | (She went to sleep as she is not going anymore) |
Relative subordinate | Comment s'appelle le garcon qui a les cheveux longs ? | (What is the name of the boy who has long hair) |
Incidental | Je crois que vous vous êtes trompés, dit-il | (I think you misunderstood, he says) |
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Training is my passion. I like interacting with people. I am passionate about reading, watching movies, and music. I love to explore new places and have keen interest in arts and literature.I love meeting new people because every person is a whole new world you can learn from. I am also a keen reader and an enthusiastic traveller.
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I am Kelly, i teach frenhc in Switzerland and online. I've experience since many years.
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Kelly is always on time, patient and friendly. She answers all my questions about the French language and culture. She is a good teacher and I recommend her. Kelly is always on time, is patient, and friendly. She answers all my questions about the French language and culture. She's a great teacher and I recommend her.
Kelly P.Thanks Jo. I am also very happy to have you as a student.
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Bonjour! Veux-tu apprendre français? ou l'améliorer?
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I have worked as a French teacher for more than ten years.
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I am French living in Lisbon in Portugal. I have lived in different countries such as England, the United States and India. It gave me some experience of learning a foreign language and teaching it.
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Hi, guys! My name is Lucia and I would like to invite you to learn Italian with me.
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4 - Finally I have also an extensive experience in teaching French at the primary and middle school level
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Francois is teaching our daughter in French at the moment. She is a total beginner and they started from scratch. Both work for one hour daily and agree on homework which is being checked in the next lesson. The lesson via Skype is working well with the exchange of material Skype as well. We can definitely see progress.
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1 The phrases in French | Get a comprehensive overview about all the phrases in French and study the topic online. |
2 The forms of phrases in French | Get a comprehensive overview about all the forms in French verbs and study the topic online. |
3 The types of phrases in French | Get an overview of the types of phrases in French |
4 The propositions in French | Get a comprehensive overview about all the propositions in French and study them online. |