Visiting Paris (Grammar)

Nouns Phrases

What a simple sentence is made of

A simple sentence is built from a few key “building blocks”. We can split any sentence into a noun group and verb group (also referred to as noun phrases and verb phrases). Now, you won’t always see every group in every sentence, but a sentence almost always looks as follows:

A determiner (→ usually an article) in front of a noun (we refer to this pair as the noun group), and sometimes an adjective to enrich the noun. The noun group is followed by a verb group, consisting of a pronoun followed by a verb, and sometimes an adverb.

Notice that determiners (in particular, articles) and nouns often travel together, because in you will “introduce” a noun with a determiner.

Determiners

A determiner is a word placed directly in front of a noun to identify it or give context about it.

Determiners help answer questions like:

• Which one? (this book / that book)
• Whose? (my book / your book)
• How many / how much? (three books / some water)
• Is it specific or general? (the book / a book)

In English you do this too, but in French it matters even more because the determiner often signals the noun’s gender and number.

Examples (English → French):

• the dog → le chien (masculine singular)
• the house → la maison (feminine singular)
• the dogs → les chiens (plural)

Articles

An article is a type of determiner. It’s usually the first determiner learners meet because it appears constantly in French.

Articles tell you whether the noun is:

• definite (a specific one),
• indefinite (one of many / not specific),
• partitive (some of it / an unspecified amount).

Definite articles: le, la, les (the)

Use these when you mean a specific noun, or something already known from context.

• Le chien = the dog (a particular dog we’re talking about)
• La voiture = the car
• Les étudiants = the students

French uses the definite article more often than English, including for general statements:

• J’aime le chocolat = I like chocolate (in general)

Indefinite articles: un, une, des (a/an/some)

Use these when the noun is not specific—you mean “one” among others.

• Un chien = a dog (any dog)
• Une idée = an idea
• Des pommes = some apples (plural, not a specific set)

Partitive articles: du, de la, des (some/any)

Use these for uncountable things or an unspecified amount of something.

• Je mange du pain = I eat (some) bread
• Elle boit de la soupe = She drinks (some) soup
• Je prends des pâtes = I’m having (some) pasta (plural food item)

Gender in French nouns (and why articles help)

In French, every noun is either masculine or feminine, even objects and ideas. The article is often your first clue:

• La France (feminine)
• Le métro (masculine)

Common (not perfect) patterns

These endings often hint at gender, but there are exceptions.

Often feminine

Many feminine nouns end in -e, and also commonly:

• -ion (la nation)
• -té (la liberté)
• -tude (la gratitude)
• -ie (la boulangerie)
• -ure (la culture)

Often masculine

Common masculine endings include:

• -age (le village)
• -ment (le bâtiment)
• -eau (le château)
• -isme (le tourisme)

The most reliable method is to learn the noun with its article (le/la), so you learn gender automatically.

Other types of determiners

Articles are only one group. Other determiners include:

Possessive determiners (my/your/his…)

These show ownership.

• mon livre = my book
• ma sœur = my sister
• mes amis = my friends

Demonstrative determiners (this/that/these/those)

These “point to” a noun, often linked to space, time, or emphasis.

• ce livre = this/that book
• cette maison = this/that house
• ces enfants = these/those children

Quantifiers (numbers/amounts)

These show how many or how much.

• trois chats = three cats
• quelques minutes = a few minutes
• beaucoup de gens = a lot of people

Interrogative determiners (which/what…)

These introduce a noun inside a question.

• Quel livre ? = Which book?
• Quelle heure ? = What time?

Distributive determiners (each/all…)

These spread meaning across individuals in a group.

• chaque jour = each day
• tous les enfants = all the children

Nouns

A noun is a name: a person, place, thing, or idea.

Examples:

• I visit Paris → Je visite Paris
• I would like a croissant → Je voudrais un croissant

In French, nouns often appear with a determiner:

• un croissant, le métro, la France

Adjectives

An adjective describes a noun and gives extra information (colour, size, personality, quality, temperature, etc.).

Examples:

• This building is pretty → Ce bâtiment est joli
• The hotel room is hot → La chambre d’hôtel est chaude

A key French feature: adjectives often need to agree with the noun (masculine/feminine, singular/plural), which is why you see joli vs chaude.

Pronouns

A pronoun replaces a noun so you don’t repeat it, or when you refer indirectly.

Example idea:

• I see Marie → I see her
• Je vois Marie → Je la vois

Types of pronouns

Personal pronouns

Used for people/things in relation to the speaker.

• Subject: I, you, he, she, we, they (je, tu, il/elle, nous, vous, ils/elles)
• Object: me, you, him, her, them (me, te, le/la, nous, vous, les)

Possessive pronouns

Show who something belongs to.

• mine, yours, his/hers (le mien, le tien, le sien…)

Relative pronouns

Link extra information back to a noun.

• who/which/that (qui, que, dont…)

Indefinite pronouns

Refer to people/things without naming them specifically.

• someone, nothing, everyone (quelqu’un, rien, tout le monde…)

Demonstrative pronouns

Point things out.

• this one, those (celui-ci, celle-là, ceux, celles…)

Reflexive pronouns

Used when someone does an action to themself (common with routine verbs).

• Je me lave = I wash myself
• Il se réveille = He wakes up

Subjects (Pronoms sujets)

You have already met these subjects in the last section, as pronouns. Pronouns are also the subject of verb phrases, which we will learn more about in a future lesson, but for now, just be aware of these subjects.

Standard subject pronouns

Special forms: ce / c’

Note: In practice you’ll most often see c’est (= ce + est).

Determiners

We have now met Determiners and seen where they fit in the structure of our language, namely, in the noun phrase. Let’s dive deeper and comprehensively list all determiners for your reference. We promise they’re really quite simple. Do not be intimidated for the number of them, as they all function similarly. Allons-y!

Articles (déterminants articles)

Articles définis (the)

Articles indéfinis (a/an, some)

Articles partitifs (some/any — uncountable)

Articles contractés (mandatory contractions)

Autres déterminants

Démonstratifs (this/that)

Possessifs (my / his-her / their)

Indéfinis / quantités

Numéraux

Interrogatif / exclamatif

Some Pointers

Definite vs indefinite vs partitive

• Definite: le, la, l’, les → specific/known
• Indefinite: un, une, des → not specified
• Partitive: du, de la, de l’, des → “some/any” (often uncountable)

Examples:

• le chien = the dog / un chien = a dog
• du pain = some bread / de la musique = some music

Vowels / silent h: use l’, de l’, cet

Use before a vowel or silent h:

• l’: l’homme, l’amie
• de l’: de l’eau, de l’huile
• cet: cet homme, cet arbre

With an aspirated h, don’t elide: le haricot, ce héros.

Contractions you must do (no choice)

à + le/les

• à + le → au
• à + les → aux

de + le/les

• de + le → du
• de + les → des

Examples:

• Je vais au cinéma.
• Je parle aux élèves.
• C’est la voiture du professeur.
• Je viens des États-Unis.

After negation, “de” replaces du / de la / de l’ / des

In negatives, partitive/indefinite usually become de (or d’):

• J’ai du pain. → Je n’ai pas de pain.
• Elle boit **de l’**eau. → Elle ne boit pas **d’**eau.
• Il a des amis. → Il n’a pas **d’**amis.

Exception with être: you often keep des

• Ce sont des amis. → Ce ne sont pas des amis.

After quantity words: de / d’

After beaucoup, trop, assez, un peu, plein, la plupart…:

• beaucoup de livres
• un peu **d’**eau
• trop de travail

“des” → “de” before adjective + noun (often)

• des amis → de bons amis
• des livres → de grands livres (Common spoken exceptions exist, but this is the standard rule.)

Demonstratives: ce / cet / cette / ces

• ce + masculine: ce livre
• cet + masculine before vowel/silent h: cet ami
• cette + feminine: cette table
• ces + plural: ces enfants

Possessives: mon/ma/mes, sa, leur/leurs

• mon / ma / mes = my

  • mon ami / ma sœur / mes amis
  • Special: mon + feminine starting vowel/silent h: mon amie, mon histoire

• sa = his/her/its (feminine singular): sa voiture

• leur / leurs = their

  • leur (one thing per person): leur maison
  • leurs (several things): leurs maisons

“tout” and “quel” change form

tout: tout (m sg), toute (f sg), tous (m pl), toutes (f pl) quel: quel (m sg), quelle (f sg), quels (m pl), quelles (f pl)