Glossary
a
Abstract Noun
Accent
symbol placed on certain letters to indicate pronunciation; French has three accents: acute accent (l’accent aigu), grave accent (l’accent grave) and the circumflex (l’accent circonflexe)
année (acute accent)
père (grave accent)
contrôle (circumflex)
Accord
Active Voice
actif/la voix active; sentence where the subject performs the verb
Compare: Passive
L’agriculteur regarde ses champs.
Adjective
adjectif; describing word; agrees in gender and number with the noun it is modifying
jeune, vieux/vieille, bon, doux
Adverb
adverbe; describes a verb, adjective or an entire clause; gives more information about place, time, manner or reason; French adverbs don’t change their form
vite, bien, fort
ici, hier, malheureusement, très
Adverbial Expression
locution adverbiale; group of words that act as an adverb
à ce moment-là, en haut, pas du tout
Agreement
accord; when we change the ending of a word to agree in terms of number (singular/plural) and gender (masculine/feminine); adjectives, past participles and verbs change their endings
Hélène est tombée.
Lucas et Pauline sont fatigués.
Animate Noun
Article
small word used before a noun; can be masculine or feminine, singular or plural, definite or indefinite
le chien/la souris/les animaux (definite article)
un chien/une souris/des animaux (indefinite article)
Definite Article
article défini (= le, la, les); refers to a noun which is already known, identifiable or specific; equivalent to the English the
le pot
la table
les plats
Indefinite Article
article indéfini (= un, une, des); refers to a noun that is unspecific or general; equivalent to the English a/an
un pot
une table
des plats
Partitive Article
article partitif; the partitive articles are du, de la, de l’; they show an undetermined quantity of something; English expresses this with some/any or omits the article completely; French partitive articles appear before musical instruments, sports, uncountable nouns, food, drink, etc.
Je joue de la flûte.
Il faut boire de l’eau.
Je fais du foot.
Tu as du courage.
Article défini
Article indéfini
Article partitif
Attribute
attribut; a noun, adjective, pronoun or entire clause that gives information about a noun; attached to a linking verb like être
Compare: Épithète
Magalie est la soeur de Christian.
Elle est blonde et son frère est brun.
Jouer aux échecs avec son frère est son activité préférée.
Auxiliary Verb
verbe auxiliaire; help verb; the French auxiliaries are avoir and être; they form the compound tenses and the passive
Compare: Main Verb
J’ai raconté une histoire.
Je suis tombé.
c
CD
CI
COD
COI
Cardinal Numbers
nombres cardinaux; cardinal numbers are numbers in their basic form; used for counting, prices, calculations, etc.
Compare: Ordinal Numbers
un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, …
Cedilla
cédille; a hook or tail added to the bottom of the letter c to show that it is pronounced as [s]; without the cedilla, c is pronounced as [k]
le garçon
la leçon
Clause
proposition; part of a sentence, usually containing a subject and a verb
See also: Main Clause, Subordinate Clause
Marcel joue au foot tous les samedis.
Closed Question
interrogation totale; question that does not contain a question word and can be answered with oui or non
Est-ce que tu as froid?
Comparative
comparatif; when we compare two people or things; there are three structures we use to make comparatives in French: plus … que (= more … than), moins … que (less … than) and aussi … que (= just as … as)
See also: Superlative
Les biscuits sont aussi bons que les gâteaux.
Les biscuits sont moins chers que les gâteaux.
Les gâteaux sont plus chers que les biscuits.
Complément d’objet direct
Complément d’objet indirect
Complément du nom
Compound Noun
Concrete Noun
Conditional
conditionnel; can be a tense or a mood and is often translated with would/could; as a tense it expresses the future in the past; as a mood it expresses a hypothetical situation in the future, a wish, a potential outcome, etc.
L’année dernière, je pensais que je partirais en Afrique. (future in the past)
J’aimerais être en vacances. (wish)
Conditional Clause
proposition conditionnelle; clause that begins with si and expresses a condition
Si j’ai du temps cet après-midi, je t’aiderai.
Conjugated Verb
verbe conjugué; when the verb’s ending has been changed to match the subject and reflect the mood and tense
Compare: Infinitive
tu parles
il a parlé
elle parlait
je parlerai
Conjunction
conjonction; linking word that connects two words or clauses; there are two types of French conjunctions: coordinating and subordinating
mais, et, ou, parce que, comme, bien que
Coordinating Conjunction
conjonction de coordination; type of linking word that connects two words or clauses that have equal status (i.e. each one can stand independently)
car, donc, et, mais, ni, or, ou
Subordinating Conjunction
conjonction de subordination; type of linking word that connects two words or clauses where one is dependent on the other (i.e. its meaning is incomplete when it stands alone)
J’ai faim parce que je n’ai pas mangé cet après-midi.
Consecutive Clause
proposition consécutive; subordinate clause that expresses a consequence or result
Il s’est excusé tous les jours si bien qu’elle lui a enfin pardonné.
Consonant
consonne; letter that isn’t a vowel
Compare: Vowel
b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z
Coordinating Conjunction
Countable Noun
d
Definite Article
Demonstrative Determiner
déterminant démonstratif; similar to this/these/that/those in English; they allow us to identify a noun more specifically in relation to the distance from the speaker(s); the demonstrative determiners are: ce, cette, ces
Compare: Demonstrative Pronoun
Ce mouton est mignon.
Cette fille est grande.
Demonstrative Pronoun
pronom démonstratif; replaces a previously mentioned noun and identifies it more specifically in relation to the distance from the speaker(s)
Compare: Demonstrative Determiner
Les moutons sont ceux du berger.
Regarde ces fleurs! Celle-là me plaît particulièrement.
Déterminant démonstratif
Déterminant indéfini
Déterminant possessif
Determiner
déterminant; word used before a noun to identify it more specifically or assign it a specific quality; determiners agree in gender and number with the noun they modify
Compare: Pronoun
See also: Demonstrative Determiner, Indefinite Determiner, Possessive Determiner
Un mouton se promène dans le pré. Ce mouton est mignon.
Voilà ma voiture.
Quelles langues parles-tu?
Dieresis
tréma; two dots placed above the letters e, i or u to alter their pronunciation; can also appear above the letter y but only in proper nouns
Noël
haïr
capharnaüm
square des Cloÿs
Direct Object
complément d’objet direct; the direct object receives the action of the verb; never introduced by a preposition and stands immediately after the verb; often abbreviated to CD or COD
Compare: Indirect Object
J’ai acheté une pomme.
Direct Speech
discours direct; repetition of a statement in its original wording; indicated by quotation marks («…») and introduced by a reporting verb (dire, affirmer …) and a colon
Compare: Indirect Speech
Hier, Sophie m’a dit : « Ta robe est vraiment jolie. J’aimerais bien avoir la même! »
Discours direct
Discours indirect
e
Épithète
adjective or past participle that comes immediately after a noun; unlike an attribute, it is not introduced by a linking verb
Compare: Attribute
Le chat noir, fatigué, dormait sur un canapé moelleux.
f
Futur composé
Futur proche
future tense formed with aller + infinitive; expresses actions and intentions expected to happen in the near future
Christine va partir dans deux minutes.
Future Perfect
futur antérieur; tense that expresses an action that will have already happened prior to a second point in the future; can also express assumptions about the present
Il aura réparé son vélo dans quelques minutes. Ensuite nous pourrons partir.
Future Simple
futur simple; tense used for projects, intentions, assumptions and plans for the future
Tu ne finiras jamais en une journée.
Demain, je rangerai ma chambre.
g
Gender
genre; whether a noun is grammatically masculine (un, le) or femenine (une, la)
la fille, le garçon, la table, le pot
Genre
Gérondif
Gerund
gérondif; the gerund is en + participe présent; it shows that two actions are carried out simultaneously by the same subject; can sometimes be translated with while/when …ing
Compare: Present Participle
En jouant Max a cassé la plante de sa mère.
i
Imparfait
Impératif
Imperative
impératif; mood used to give orders and commands
Regarde!
Arrête!
Imperfect
imparfait; expresses repeated past actions as well as actions that were in progress at a certain moment in the past; often used to set the scene
Quand j’étais jeune, je jouais du piano.
Inanimate Noun
Indefinite Article
Indefinite Determiner
déterminant indéfini; comes before a noun to express an unspecific or unknown quantity; allows us to speak generally
Compare: Indefinite Pronoun
Quelques personnes se promenaient encore dans les allées du parc.
Je ne l’ai pas vu depuis plusieurs semaines.
Indefinite Pronoun
pronom indéfini; allows us to talk generally or vaguely about an unknown quantity; similar to something/nothing/anything etc. in English
Compare: Indefinite Determiner
tout/personne/rien/chaque/chacun/quelque chose
Independent Clause
Indicatif
Indicative
indicatif; the default grammatical mood in French; expresses facts and events in the past present and future tenses
Compare: Subjunctive, Imperative
Il a oublié son cahier.
Indirect Object
complément d’objet indirect; the indirect object receives the direct object of the sentence; in our example; the boy (indirect object) receives the apple (direct object); always introduced by a preposition; abbreviated to CI or COI
Compare: Direct Object
J’ai donné la pomme au garçon.
Indirect Question
interrogation indirecte; question that is contained within a clause; not set off by quotation marks; introduced by si or a question word like quel, comment …
Je me demande s’il va pleuvoir aujourd’hui.
Indirect Speech
discours indirect; when we report what someone has said without repeating their exact words; introduced by a reporting verb (dire, affirmer, prétendre …) but without quotation marks; the tense, pronouns and time/place references must be adapted from the original
Compare: Direct Speech
Il m’a dit qu’il avait acheté ça au supermarché.
Infinitif
Infinitive
infinitif; base form of the verb ending in er, -ir, -oir
Compare: Conjugated Verb
aller, demander, dormir
Interrogation indirecte
Interrogation partielle
Interrogation totale
Invariable
a word is invariable when it does not alter its form to agree in terms of gender or number; prepositions and adverbs are invariable, as are certain nouns
devant, pour, lentement, l’argent
Inversion
question avec inversion du sujet; question formed by inverting the order of the subject and the verb so that the verb comes first
Comment vas-tu?
Charlotte est-elle à la maison?
Irregular Verb
verbe irrégulier; a verb that doesn’t follow the typical conjugation patterns
Compare: Regular Verb
être, avoir, aller
l
Liaison
when a word ending in a consonant is followed by a word starting with a vowel or silent h, we link their pronunciation; this linking is called liaison;
- the final consonants s and x become [z]
- the final consonant d becomes [t]
- no linking when an s is followed by a silent h
les‿autres
deux‿araignées
grand‿homme
but: grands hommes
Locution adverbiale
m
Main Clause
proposition indépendante; clause that can stand alone; it does not rely on another clause to complete its meaning
Compare: Subordinate Clause
Je vais à la piscine dans une heure.
Je suis contente car je suis en vacances.
Main Verb
verbe principal; in compound tenses, the main verb carries the meaning of the sentence
Compare: Auxiliary Verb
Est-ce que tu as vu le feu d’artifice ?
Mise en relief
expressions that allow us to emphasise a certain word or phrase; use c’est … qui to emphasise the subject and c’est … que to emphasise the object
C’est lui qui a tort.
Ce qui me dérange, c’est qu’il est toujours en retard.
Moi, je vais bien et toi?
Modal Verb
verbe modal; type of help verb that alters the meaning of the main verb; modal verbs can express certainty, possibility, necessity, wishes, etc.; always followed by an infinitive
See also: Auxiliary Verb, Infinitive, Main Verb
Il sait nager.
Nous souhaitons participer.
Il doit partir.
Mode
Mood
mode; the mood of the verb reflects the speaker’s intention or attitude towards the information being presented; French has four personal moods: the indicative (standard mood), the subjunctive (doubt, obligation, impossibility …), the conditional (wishes, conditions …) and the imperative (orders)
See also: Indicative, Subjunctive, Conditional Imperative
Je fais mes devoirs. (indicative)
Il faut que je fasse mes devoirs. (subjunctive)
Je ferait mes devoirs demain si j’avais le temps. (conditional)
Ma mère m’a dit : « Fais tes devoirs! » (imperative)
Mot-clé
n
Nasal Vowel
nasale; group of letters (vowel + n) that are pronounced with a nasal sound; French has four nasal vowels: [õ], [œ̃], [ɛ̃], and [ɑ̃], although [œ̃] is mostly pronounced as [ɛ̃]
[ɑ̃] vent, maman
[ɛ̃] vin
[õ] ils vont
[œ̃] un, le plus souvent prononcé [ɛ̃]
Nom
Nom abstrait
Nom animé
Nom composé
Nom concret
Nom dénombrable
Nom inanimé
Nom indénombrable
Nom propre
Nombre
Nombres cardinaux
Nombres ordinaux
Noun
nom or nom commun; naming word; can be masculine or feminine; singular or plural; often introduced by an article (un/une, le/la, les/des) or determiner
See also: Singular, Plural, Gender
la maison, le soleil, une personne, une idée
Abstract Noun
nom abstrait; a noun that refers to a non-material object, i.e. an idea, quality or state
la justice, le bien-être, la vérité
Animate Noun
nom animé; a noun that refers to a living entity (e.g. human, animal, etc.)
Compare: Inanimate Noun
un enfant, une danseuse, un papillon
Compound Noun
nom composé; a noun made up of two or more words, sometimes connected with a hyphen
le porte-monnaie, l’arc-en-ciel, la brosse à dents
Concrete Noun
nom concret; a noun that refers to something real, material or concrete
Compare: Abstract Noun
le pain, la montagne, le chien
Countable Noun
nom dénombrable or nom comptable; noun that refers to things that can be counted; can appear in singular and plural and can be introduced by the indefinite article (un/une) or a number
Compare: Uncountable Noun
une pomme, deux pommes
un arbre, aucun arbre, tous les arbres
Inanimate Noun
nom inanimé; noun that refers to a non-living entity, such as an object, phenomenon, feeling, concept, state, etc.
Compare: Animate Noun
la chaise, le ticket de métro, la joie, la fatigue
Proper Noun
nom propre; noun that begins with a capital letter; typically first and last names, countries, cities, etc.
Madame Dupont, Louis XIV, Toulouse, le Canada
Romain habite à Lyon.
Uncountable Noun
nom indénombrable or nom non comptable; a noun that cannot be counted and cannot be introduced by a number; rarely (if ever) used in the plural form
Compare: Countable Noun
le lait, la gentillesse, le sable
Noun Complement
complément du nom; when we use de + noun to express possession or belonging; similar to ’s or of in English
C’est la maison de mes parents.
Le vélo de Pierre est beau.
o
Object Pronoun
pronom complément d’objet direct/indirect; replaces the noun that is the object of the sentence; can be direct or indirect
See also: Direct Object, Indirect Object
me, te, le, la, lui, nous, vous, les, leur
moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles
Open Question
interrogation partielle; question with a question word
Quelle heure est-il?
Ordinal Numbers
nombres ordinaux; ordinal numbers are used to put things in order
Compare: Cardinal Numbers
le dix-neuvième siècle
p
Participe
Participe composé
Participe passé
Participe présent
Participle
participe; impersonal form of the verb; can be present, past or perfect; used to form compound tenses, the gerund, adjectives, etc.
See: Present Participle, Past Participle, Perfect Participle
Ils ont gagné le le match. (past participle)
C’était très passionnant. (present participle)
Son équipe ayant joué le samedi, Max se reposa le dimanche. (perfect participle)
Participle Clause
proposition participiale; subordinate clause where the verb is in the present, past or perfect participle
See also: Present Participle, Past Participle, Perfect Participle
Pierre ayant beaucoup travaillé, son chef le félicita.
Partitive Article
Passé composé
most important French past tense; expresses completed past actions and emphasises their results or consequences in the present; formed with avoir/être + past participle
Il a oublié son cahier.
Passé simple
also: past historic; past tense that has the same meaning as the passé composé, but is only used in written language
L’année dernière, je partis en vacances en France.
Pendant que je visitais Saint-Malo, je pris beaucoup de photos.
Passive
passif, la voix passive, sentence that focuses on the recipient of the verb (the object); the person or thing performing the action (the subject) is unknown, unimportant or obvious
Compare: Active Voice
Le blessé est conduit à l’hôpital.
Passive Pronominal Verb
verbe pronominal de sens passif; verb that takes the reflexive pronoun se and whose subject is non-living; has a passive meaning
Comment ça se traduit?
Past Historic
Past Participle
participe passé; impersonal form of the verb used with être and avoir to form compound tenses
Compare: Present Participle, Perfect Participle
Hier j’ai diné à vingt heures.
Il m’a dit qu’il m’avait vu hier soir.
Perfect Participle
participe composé; compound form of the participle formed with ayant/étant + past participle; similar meaning to the English having said/done/been …
Compare: Past Participle, Present Participle
Son équipe ayant joué le samedi, Max se reposa le dimanche.
Périphrase verbale
Personal Pronoun
pronom personnel; replaces a previously mentioned noun in a sentence to avoid repetition
je, tu, il, elle, nous, vous, ils, elles
me, te, le, la, nous, vous, les
moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles
Pluperfect
Plural
pluriel; word form that refers to more than one person or thing
Compare: Singular
Les cadeaux sont pour nous.
Pluriel
Plus-que-parfait
past tense that refers to an action that had already taken place prior to another past action
Martin est allé au supermarché. Avant il avait appelé sa copine pour demander ce qu’il fallait acheter.
Possessive Determiner
déterminant possessif; comes before a noun to indicate possession; agrees in gender and number with said noun; the possessive determiners are: mon/ma/mes, ton/ta/tes, son/sa/ses, notre/nos, votre/vos, leur(s)
Compare: Possessive Pronoun
C’est mon stylo. Il est dans ma trousse.
Je trouve que ta trousse est plus belle que la mienne.
Et regarde mon voisin, ses stylos marchent mieux que les miens!
Possessive Pronoun
pronom possessif; replaces a previously mentioned noun and indicates possession/belonging; equivalent to mine/yours/his etc. in English
Compare: Possessive Determiner
C’est mon livre. C’est le mien.
Preposition
préposition; short word that gives information about place or time
Le chat est entré dans la cuisine. Il a sauté sur la table.
Present
présent; tense that refers to facts and things that are currently true; sometimes refers to future actions
Je m’appelle Charlotte.
Mon équipe a un match important à 14 heures.
Present Participle
participe présent; impersonal verb form ending in -ant; can be used as an adjective, verb or as the subject of a clause; it is also used to form the gerund
See also: Gerund
C’était un match passionnant. (adjective)
Faisant partie de l’équipe, il a pu participer au match. (subject)
Pronom complément
Pronom démonstratif
Pronom indéfini
Pronom personnel
Pronom possessif
Pronom réfléchi
Pronom relatif
Pronom sujet
Pronominal Verb
verbe pronominal; a verb that takes a reflexive pronoun; French has different types of pronominal verbs
See also: Reflexive Verb, Reciprocal Verb, Passive Pronominal Verb
se lever (reflexive)
se parler (reciprocal)
se prononcer (passive)
Pronoun
pronom; word used in place of a noun to avoid repetition
See: Demonstrative Pronoun, Indefinite Pronoun, Object Pronoun, Personal Pronoun, Possessive Pronoun, Reflexive Pronoun, Relative Pronoun, Subject Pronoun
Il pense qu’elle va nous aider.
Proper Noun
Proposition
Proposition conditionnelle
Proposition consécutive
Proposition indépendante
Proposition principale
Proposition relative
Proposition subordonnée
q
Question with Inversion
Question with Rising Intonation
question avec intonation montante; when use use rising intonation to turn an affirmative sentence into a question
Il t’a appellé?
Question with est-ce que
questions with est-ce que are used in spoken language; they may or may not contain a question word; their form is always the same: est-ce que + affirmative clause
Est-ce que tu as faim?
Quand est-ce qu’il va revenir?
r
Reciprocal Verb
verbe réciproque; a verb that takes a reflexive pronoun and a plural subject; describes something two or more people do with/for/to each other
See also: Pronominal Verb, Reflexive Pronoun
Ils s’aiment beaucoup.
Reflexive Pronoun
pronom réfléchi; pronouns used with pronominal verbs
See also: Pronominal Verb
Je m’appelle Michelle.
Il se regarde dans le miroir.
Reflexive Verb
verbe réfléchi; verb where the subject and the object is the same; the action 'reflects back' on the person(s) performing it; always used with a reflexive pronoun
See also: Reflexive Pronoun, Pronominal Verb
Ils se lèvent tôt.
Regular Verb
verbe régulier; verb that follows standard conjugation rules
Compare: Irregular Verb
jouer (regelmäßig auf -er), finir (regelmäßig auf -ir)
Relative Clause
proposition relative; type of subordinate clause that gives additional information about a noun from the main clause (the antecedent)
Mon ami Marc, qui travaille beaucoup, rentre tard le soir.
Relative Pronoun
pronom relatif; introduces a relative clause
See also: Relative Clause
qui, que, qu’, quoi, dont, où
s
Signal Word
mot-clé; words that help us determine which tense to use; usually adverbs of time
Hier j’ai acheté un nouveau vélo.
Quand il était jeune, il travaillait souvent jusqu’au soir.
Singular
singulier; word form that refers to only one person or thing
Compare: Plural
Le cadeau est pour moi.
Subject
sujet; the subject of a clause is the person or thing that performs the action; usually placed first in a sentence directly before the verb
Ma mère est fatiguée.
Subject Pronoun
pronom sujet; replaces a noun that is the subject of the sentence
je, tu, il, elle, nous, vous, ils
Subjonctif
Subjunctive
subjonctif; grammatical mood that indicates subjectivity or unreality; used in subordinate clauses with que; expresses possibilities, hypotheticals, wishes, doubts, advice, etc.
Compare: Indicative, Imperative
Il faut que je fasse mes devoirs.
Il se peut qu’il pleuve ce matin.
Subordinate Clause
proposition subordonnée; clause that cannot stand alone; it relies on the main clause to complete its meaning; introduced by a subordinating conjunction or a relative pronoun
Compare: Main Clause
See also: Conditional Clause, Consecutive Clause, Participle Clause, Relative Clause
Je suis contente parce que je suis en vacances.
Subordinating Conjunction
Subordinating Conjunction
Substantif
Sujet
Superlative
superlatif; expressing the highest degree of a particular quality; the superlative structures are le/la/les plus … and le/la/les moins …
Compare: Comparative
Elle est la meilleure danseuse que je connais.
Syllable
syllabe; singular unit of pronunciation; one unbroken sound usually made up of a vowel or vowel sound and a surrounding consonants
al-pha-bet
t
Temps
Tense
temps; form of a verb that indicates whether the action takes place in the past, present or future
See also: Present, Passé composé, Imperfect, Plus-que-parfait, Futur proche, Future Simple, Future Perfect
Il parle. Il a parlé. Il parlera.
Tréma
u
Umlaut
Uncountable Noun
v
Verb
verbe; doing word, French verbs end in -er, -ir or -re
See also: Main Verb, Auxiliary Verb, Modal Verb
jouer, aller, être, finir
Verbal Periphrasis
périphrase verbale; grammatical structure made up of two or more verbs
Je vais participer au séminaire.
Sylvie vient de rentrer de vacances.
Il est en train de réparer sa moto.