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Here are my clear explanations of French grammar terms used for French verb conjugation such as pronoun, person, mood, tense, voice, agreement, infinitive etc…
In order to learn French efficiently, you need to understand the French grammar terms used by books and French teachers.
This is particularly true for French verbs, since understanding the logic of French verbs is complicated enough for students. If you can’t understand the explanations, then you are in real trouble. Often though, it’s not the French verb logic which is difficult, but the French vocabulary used to explain it which you simply don’t understand.
1 – What Is An Agreement In French Grammar?
In French, some words are said to “agree” with each other.
The same way as in English you will add an “s” to the 3rd person singular (she singS).
In French, you will have to change some words or parts of words (like the endings of verbs or French adjectives) to match other French words related them.
2 – What Is A Verb?
A verb indicates an action.
It can be:
- physical (to walk, to run, to go),
- mental (to think, to laugh),
- or a condition (to be, to have).
A verb is “conjugated” to match (we also say to agree with) its subject: he does, she has, the dogs were…
3 – What Is A Noun?
A noun is the name of a person, an animal, a thing, a place, an idea…
Nouns can be common nouns: man, dog, cup, home, love…
Or they can be proper nouns: Mary, Paris, France…
4 – What Is A Pronoun?
A pronoun replaces one or several nouns.
When you speak of John, instead of repeating his name over and over, you use the pronoun “he”.
“Him”, “his” are other kinds of pronouns, although they also refer to Paul.
You will choose the correct pronoun according to the grammatical value of the noun you wish to replace. For example: “he” is used to replace a noun subject of the verb, “him” for an object pronoun and “his” for a possessive pronoun.