The most common negative construction is ne…pas, which essentially [...]]]> The concept of negatives in French isn’t much different from expressing negative concepts in English. The major difference in French is that certain negative phrases come in TWO parts that (usually) get placed on either side of the verb they’re referring to.

How to Use Ne…Pas

The most common negative construction is ne…pas, which essentially forms a “sandwich” around the verb and means the verb does NOT happen. For example:

I do want the book → I do NOT want the book

Je veux le livre → Je NE veux PAS le livre

Where to place Ne…Pas

Sometimes the order of ne…pas gets changed around a little in different sentence types.

In the imperative tense…

The negation goes together at the beginning of the sentence, not around the verb.

Écrire dans ton livre → NE PAS écrire dans ton livre

In compound verb tenses…

In compound (two-part) verb tenses, the negation goes around the first (conjugated) verb, not the past participle or infinitive verb.

In passé composé: J’ai fait mes devoirs → Je N’ai PAS fait mes devoirs (NOT J’ai ne fait pas…)

In futur proche: Je vais faire mes devoirs → Je NE vais PAS faire mes devoirs (NOT Je vais ne faire pas…)

Using Ne…Pas De

When you are negating a sentence that has either an indefinite article (un/une) or a partitive article (du/de la/des), the original article gets dropped and is replaced by de, no matter if the noun it’s referring to is feminine or masculine, singular or plural. The pas de basically translates to “not any”.

J’ai mangé une cerise → Je n’ai pas mangé de cerise (“I did not eat ANY cherries”)

J’aime les chansons américains → Je n’aime pas de chansons américains (“I do not like ANY American songs”)

Other French Negative Forms

There are several other French negative forms that follow the same construction as in ne…pas, but replacing pas with one of the negatives below.

Negative Adverbs

Negative Adjectives

Just like any other adjective in French, negative adjectives take the gender of the noun they’re modifiying.

For example, notice the difference between referring to UNE montre versus UN portable:

Je n’ai trouvé aucune montre versus Je n’ai trouvé aucun portable

Negatives as Pronouns

The negative constructions can be used as the subject, direct object, or indirect object of a sentence. The following negative phrases from above can also be used as pronouns:

Word Order as Subjects

When the negative pronoun is the subject of the sentence, both parts of the negative construction go together at the beginning of the sentence. For example:

Personne n‘est venu (“No one came”)

Rien n‘a été arrivé (“Nothing happened”)

Word Order in Compound Sentences

In most two-part verb phrases, the ne goes first, followed by both parts of the compound verb tense, followed by the second part of the negative form. For example:

Je ne veux aller nulle part (“I do not want to go anywhere”)

Je n‘ai dit personne (“I told no one”)

Je ne vais trouver aucun (“I am not going to find any”)

With rien, the second part of the negative goes right after the first part of the verb construction (the conjugated verb), creating a “sandwich”, just like the ne…pas word order discussed above. For example:

Je n‘ai rien dit (“I did not say anything”)

And that covers most of the major concepts in French negation!

Learning [...]]]> Since French doesn’t have helping verbs like English does, talking about the future means you have to use an entirely new verb conjugation, cleverly called le futur simple, or simple French future tense. Notice the difference in talking about the future in English versus in French:

An Overview of the French Future Tense

Learning the French future tense isn’t very hard, especially since the future tense doesn’t have irregular verb endings. It does have a couple dozen irregular root forms (see below), but every verb in the future tense follows the same ending pattern, depending on whether it’s singular or plural, and first, second or third person (just like all other French verb conjugations).

The French future “root” form of the verbs is also the same root forms used in the conditional tense, just with different endings. So you’ll only have to memorize one root form for each irregular verb, and then just adjust the ending according to whether it’s the future or conditional tense.

Regular Future Tense Verbs

The “normal” way to conjugate a verb into the future tense is just to add the endings straight onto the infinitive form of the verb. For example:

parler → je parle (present) → je parlerai (future)

dormir → il dors (present) → il dormira (future)

For verbs that end in -re in the infinitive form, drop the final e.

rendre → je rends (present) → je rendrai (future)

perdre → il perd (present) → il perdra (future)

Irregular Future Tense Verbs

There are about a dozen common irregular verb root forms, and a few others that are “partially” irregular (usually this means they change in the “boot”, and have regular conjugations in the nous and vous forms).

Spelling changes in future tense

There are a few other verbs that change spelling slightly to accommodate the future (and conditional tense) conjugations while keeping the pronunciation intact.

1) Doubling the final consonant

• Appeler → appeller+future ending and rappeler → rappeller + future ending
• Jeter → jetter + future ending and projeter → projetter + future ending

2) Certain verbs that end in -yer

Replace the y with an i instead.

• Essayer, envoyer, ennuyer, nettoyer, payer
• For example, nettoyer → “je nettoierai”

3) Changing the e to an accent grave è

For verb spellings that would make the second to last e not pronounced, the e gets an accent grave è to make it a substantial sound.

• Amener, promener, lever, acheter, emmene
• For example, promener → “je promènerai”

We will be calling the subjunctive a verb tense, since for our intents it behaves like other tenses, but it is technically a mood because its purpose is not to distinguish between past/present/future like [...]]]> There are few topics in learning French that English speakers struggle with more than the French subjunctive tense.

What does it mean to be subjunctive?

Basically, with subjunctive tense, you inherently (just by using this tense) imply some sort of duty or doubt or emotions or preferences on what “should” be done. You’re essentially saying something that’s not 100% solid fact.

Subjunctive Conjugations

Regular Verbs

Drop the -ent ending from the ils form of the present tense verb, and add on:

Notice that the normal French subjunctive ending pattern is similar to the conditional verb endings, except the third person plural ending is just -ent, not -aient.

Irregular Verb Stems

These verbs have irregular stems, but otherwise follow the exact same verb endings pattern as above.

Two-Stem Irregular Verbs

These verbs have one verb stem for the “boot”, (je/tu/il/ils) and another form for the nous/vous conjugations. The subjunctive verb endings remain the same.

Completely Irregular French Subjunctive Verbs

The conjugations for être and avoir you’ll just have to memorize. Luckily, they’re pretty simple.

Subjunctive phrases

The list below is divided by “type” of subjunctive phrases, the certain expressions that “trigger” the subjunctive tense. Some of the most common phrases are listed below. Notice that all the phrases and verbs listed below end with que. Remember that if there’s no que or qui, there’s about a 99% certainty it shouldn’t be subjunctive.

For a more complete list of subjunctive verbs and phrases, check out the “Subjunctivator” on About.com.

Subjunctive Trigger: Duty

• il faut que... it is necessary that
• exiger que… to demand that
• ordonner que…   to order that
• commander que…   to order that
• il est essentiel que…   it is essential that
• il est important que…   it is important that
• il est naturel que…   it is natural that
• il est nécessaire que…   it is necessary that
• il est normal que…   it is normal that
• il est temps que…   it is time that
• il est urgent que…   it is urgent that

Subjunctive Trigger: Preferences

• aimer mieux que…   to like better / to prefer that
• désirer que…   to desire that
• souhaiter que…   to wish that
• tenir à ce que…   to insist that
• vouloir que…   to want that

Subjunctive Trigger: Emotions

• avoir honte que…   to be ashamed that
• avoir peur que…   to be afraid that
• craindre que…   to fear that
• détester que…   to hate that
• de crainte que…    for fear that
• être content que…   to be happy that
• être désolé que…   to be sorry that
• être heureux que…   to be happy that
• être surpris que…   to be surprised that
• être triste que…   to be sad that
• il est bon que…   it is good that
• il est dommage que…   it is too bad that
• il est étrange que…   it is strange that
• il est heureux que…   it is fortunate that
• il est rare que…   it is rare that
• il est regrettable que…   it is regrettable that
• il est surprenant que…   it is surprising that
• il est utile que…   it is useful that
• redouter que…   to dread that
• regretter que…   to regret that

Subjunctive Trigger: Doubt/Uncertainty

• il est à souhaiter que…   it is to be hoped that
  
• il est impossible que…   it is impossible that
  
• il est improbable que…   it is improbable that
• il n’est pas clair que…   it is not clear that
• il n’est pas évident que…   it is not obvious that
• il n’est pas probable que…   it is improbable that
• il n’est pas sûr que…   it is not certain that
• il n’est pas vrai que…   it is not true that
• il semble que…   it seems that
• il se peut que…   it may be that
• à condition que   provided that
• à moins que…    unless
• à supposer que…    assuming that
• afin que…    so that
• avant que…    before
• bien que…    although
• de façon que…    so that, in order that, in such a way that
• de manière que…    so that
• de peur que…    for fear that
• en admettant que…    assuming that
• en attendant que…    while, until
• encore que…    even though
• jusqu’à ce que…    until
• pour que…    so that
• pourvu que…    provided that
• quoique…    even though
• quoi que…    whatever, no matter what
• sans que…   without

I [...]]]> The conditional tense exists in English, but most native speakers don’t consciously think about it, because it’s not a distinct conjugation, per se. As the term implies, the conditional tense is what you use when you’re saying that one event depends on another event to happen. In English, the word “would” is usually involved.

I would have called [conditional tense] my mom if I’d had my phone with me.

He wouldn’t go [conditional tense] unless I promised to buy him a toy.

In French, the conditional is also used to make polite requests or polite desires with vouloir and aimer.

Would you like to come with me? (“Voudriez-vous venir avec moi?”)

I would love to go with you. (“J’aimerais bien aller avec vous.”)

Conjugation of the conditional

In French, the conditional tense (le conditionnel) is a distinct tense with a distinct conjugation pattern.

Regular conditional verbs

Conjugation of regular conditional verbs is simple. Simply take the infinitive root form + the appropriate conditional endings (above).

For example:

The verb nager is je nage in present tense and becomes je nagerais in the conditional.

The verb chasser is nous chassons in the present tense and becomes nous chasserions in the conditional.

Irregular conditional verbs

The same verbs that are irregular in future tense are also irregular in conditional tense, so you only need to learn one set of irregular verbs and root forms between the two verb tenses. Here are most of the common irregular verbs in conditional:

Spelling changes in conditional forms

There are a few other verbs that change spelling slightly to accommodate the conditional conjugations while keeping the pronunciation intact.

1) Doubling the final consonant

• Appeler → appeller+conditional ending and rappeler → rappeller + conditional ending
• Jeter → jetter + conditional ending and projeter → projetter + conditional ending

2) Certain verbs that end in -yer

Replace the y with an i instead.

• Essayer, envoyer, ennuyer, nettoyer, payer
• For example, nettoyer → nettoier + conditional ending (“je nettoierais”)

3) Changing the e to an accent grave è

For verb spellings that would make the second to last e not pronounced, the e gets an accent grave è to make it a substantial sound.

• Amener, promener, lever, acheter, emmene
• For example, promener → promèner + conditional ending (“je promènerais”)

For imperative tense commands, the “vous” conjugation of the present verb form is generally used. For example:

“Go home.”

“Come [...]]]> The imperative tense is the “command” tense: it’s how you tell or request that someone do something. In English, there is no special conjugation for it, but the idea is exactly the same.

Imperative commands

For imperative tense commands, the “vous” conjugation of the present verb form is generally used. For example:

“Go home.”

“Come with me.”

The equivalents in French would be:

“Allez chez vous.”

“Venez avec moi.”

If the person or people receiving the command is informal and singular (meaning you would use the “tu” conjugation instead), you use the tu form of the verb, though if it’s a regular -er verb, you drop the final -s.

“Va chez toi.”

“Viens avec moi.” (Venir is not an -er verb, so the final “s” stays.)

Irregular tu and vous imperative verb forms

Imperative Suggestions

When you want to convey a suggestion, you would use the nous form of the verb. This is the equivalent of saying “Let’s” + verb in English. For example:

“Let’s go home.”

becomes

“Allons chez nous.”

Irregular nous imperative verb forms

Imperative with object pronouns

When an imperative sentence in French has direct or indirect object pronouns like le/la/les or y/en, the object pronouns actually go after the verb, which is how we would say the sentence in English but is an unusual construction for French.

Review the chart below for the special imperative sentence order of object pronouns.

Notice in the French imperative chart above that me and te are not present, and are replaced with moi and toi. However, before y or en, the moi or toi is shortened to m’ or t’ instead.

Similarly, if the the imperative sentence is using the tu form of the verb, and the next word is y or en (because they start with vowels), you don’t drop the final s. That way, there is liason between the verb and the object pronoun.

“Nages-y” not “Nage-y”

The verb and object pronouns are also connected with hyphens.

Okay, got all that? Here are some example sentences showing this construction.

“Bring them to me” would become “Amener-les-moi”.

“Put it there” would become “Mettez-l’y”.

Negative imperative phrases

Commands or suggestions not to do something are surrounded by ne…pas (or other negative construction), just like most verb forms.

For example:

“N’allez pas chez vous.”

“Ne viens pas avec moi.”

If you have direct or indirect object pronouns in the sentence, the order goes back to the “default” order and you don’t use the special hyphen or the unusual “verb first, object pronouns second” order shown above. The basic form is “Ne + object pronoun(s) + imperative verb form + pas.”

“Do not do that” would be “Ne le faites pas.”

“Do not show him it.” would be “Ne le lui montrez pas.”

The “normal” object pronoun order is shown for reference below.

Notice that verbs in French don’t always have a direct English counterpart: sometimes the equivalent “verb” is a multi word phrase, such as “J’ai besoin de + something” meaning “I need + something.”

Also, sometimes English verbs [...]]]> Below are some of the most common verbs in the French language.

This French verb vocabulary list is also available as a flaschard list and can be downloaded in PDF form here.

Softly, she laughed. / She softly laughed. / She laughed softly.

None of the above versions is out and [...]]]> In English, there’s a bit of freedom in where to position your adverbs, and while there may be a preferred location for certain sentence constructions, there usually isn’t a truly INCORRECT place to place the adverb.

Softly, she laughed. / She softly laughed. / She laughed softly.

None of the above versions is out and out wrong, though one may sound “more correct” to your ears.

However, with French adverbs, there is a specific place they usually go, depending on the type of adverb and what it’s modifying (remember, adverbs can modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs). When in doubt, your best guess is to put them right after the verb, but here are the specific placement rules:

#1: Adverbs of Frequency

Adverbs that describe how often something happens (such as toujours, rarement, immédiatement, etc. go after the verb, even if it’s a compound verb structure, such as passé composé).

#2: Short adverbs

Short adverbs, like mal, bien and souvent, go right AFTER the verb in simple verb tenses, just like you’d expect. However, with compound (two-part) verb tenses, they go BETWEEN the conjugated verb and the past participle.

#3:”Time” Adverbs

Adverbs of specific days, such as aujourd’hui and demain, got at the BEGINNING or END of the sentence. This one shouldn’t be too difficult to remember, because it’s generally how we would say it in English, as well.

#4: Long Adverbs

Like the “time” adverbs, long adverbs generally go at the beginning or end of a sentence. This structure is sometimes different from how many people would structure the sentence in English, but the idea is to not “confuse” the main part of the sentence with a long, multi-syllable adverb, and instead stick it at the beginning or end of a sentence, separated by a comma.

#5: Adverbs that Modify Adjectives or Other Adverbs

This last French adverb rule is really easy, because it’s exactly the same way in English – you put the adverb IN FRONT OF the other adverb or adjective it’s modifying. In other words, place the “main” adverb (the one that refers directly to the verb) in its place, then just place any other adverbs right in front o fit.

A Final Note: Forming Adverbs

The ending -ment in French is almost a direct equivalent to the -ly ending in English, and many adjectives that can be turned into adverbs by adding -ly in English can be created by adding -ment to the end in French. For example:

rapide (adjective) → rapidement (adverb)

timide (adjective) → timidement (adverb)

lent (adjective) → lentement (adverb)

And that’s it (for now) for adverb grammar rules in French! Make sure you know the French adjective grammar rules as well.