French GCSE Grammar

All grammar points pulled from kerboodle and CGP

What are all masculine nouns introduced with?

le, l’, un

What are all feminine nouns introduced with?

la, l’, une

What is the general rule to make a noun feminine from mascule?

add an -e , e.g. étudiant —→ étudiante.

and make the article feminine

What is the rule for changing a masculine noun ending in -eur to feminine?

change to -euse or -rice, e.g. vendeur —→ vendeuse and make the article feminine

What is the rule for changing a masculine noun ending in -en to feminine?

change -en to -enne, e.g. pharmacien —→ pharmacienne and make the article feminine

What is the rule for changing a masculine noun ending in -e to feminine?

no change is needed but make the article feminine

What is the rule for changing a masculine noun ending in -ier to feminine?

change to -ère, e.g. policier —→ policière and make the article feminine

How are most nouns made plural?

adding an -s and changing the article to ‘les’

How do you change nouns ending in -al to the plural?

change the ending to -aux and change the article to ‘les’, e.g. le animal —→ les animaux

How do you change nouns ending in -au or -eu to the plural?

add an -x and change the article to ‘les’, e.g. un jeu —→ les jeux

How do you change nouns ending in -s, -x or -z to the plural?

no change is needed but change the article

How can you tell if a noun is masculine or feminine?

-looking at the article
-if it refers to a masculine/feminine person or country

-looking at the endings

How can you tell if a country is masculine or feminine?

If the ending is ‘e’ then it’s feminine, e.g. la France but if it ends in any other letter than it’s masculine, e.g. le Japon

Are nouns ending in -’eau’ masculine or feminine?

masculine

Are nouns ending in ‘-isme’ masculine or feminine?

masculine

Are nouns ending in ‘-ment’ masculine or feminine?

masculine

Are nouns ending in ‘-ade’ masculine or feminine?

feminine

Are nouns ending in ‘-ode masculine or feminine?

feminine

Are nouns ending in ‘-ude’ masculine or feminine?

feminine

Are nouns ending in ‘-ance’ masculine or feminine?

feminine

Are nouns ending in ‘-ence’ masculine or feminine?

feminine

Are nouns ending in ‘-ette’ masculine or feminine?

feminine

Are nouns ending in ‘-sion’ masculine or feminine?

feminine

Are nouns ending in ‘-tion’ masculine or feminine?

feminine

Are nouns ending in ‘-ure’ masculine or feminine?

feminine

What is the word for ‘the’ when paired with a masculine singular noun?

le

What is the word for ‘the’ when paired with a feminine singular noun?

la

What is the word for ‘the’ when paired with a masculine or feminine plural noun?

les

What is the word for ‘the’ when paired with a singular noun starting with a vowel or silent h noun?

le and la shortened to:
l’

When do you need to use le, la, l’ and les in french?

Often when we don’t use it in english, e.g:
-Talking about likes/dislikes
-Referring to abstract things

How do make an adjective a noun?

By adding a definite article before the adjective, e.g. seul(only —→ le seul(the only)

Which letters are vowels in french?

a, e, i, o, u, y

What happens to the article when placed after a perposition?

the article is omitted, e.g.
Je vais en France

What is the word for ‘a’ when paired with a masculine singular noun?

un

What is the word for ‘a’ when paired with a feminine singular noun?

une

What is the word for ‘some’ when paired with a masculine or feminine plural noun?

des

What is used when talking about jobs in French that require ‘a/an’

un and une are not used and ‘etre’ is used instead, e.g. il est professeur

What is used in negative constructions with un/une?

un and une are replaced by ‘de’, e.g. J’ai un frere —→ Je n’ai pas de frere

Do you use a singular or plural noun after a negative construction in French?

singular

What does ‘de’ change to in a negative construction when the noun starts with a vowel or silent h?

de —→ d’

How would you say ‘some’ or ‘any’ in French?

use ‘de’ combined with the correct definite article, these are called partitive articles

What is the partitive article for a masculine singular noun to say ‘some’ or ‘any’

de + le —→ du

e.g. Je voudrais du pain(I’d like some bread)

What is the partitive article for a feminine singular noun to say ‘some’ or ‘any’

de + la —→ de la

e.g. Elle prend de la glace(She’s having some ice cream)

What is the partitive article for a singular noun starting with a vowel or silent h to say ‘some’ or ‘any’

de + l’ —→ de l”

Elle boit de l’eau(She’s having some water)

What is the partitive article for a masculine/feminine plural noun to say ‘some’ or ‘any’

de + les —→ des

Avez-vous des croissants?(Do you have any croissants?)

What is used when talking about activities someone is doing or musical instruments someone is playing?

partitive article(du, de la, de l’, des), e.g. Je fais du judo(I do judo)

What is used after a negative with the partitive article?

‘de’ or d’

e.g. Je ne fais pas de Judo(I don’t do Judo)

What is the ending of an adjective in it’s masculine singular form?

no change is needed

What is the ending of an adjective in it’s feminine singular form?

add an ‘-e’

e.g. petit —→ petite

What is the ending of an adjective in it’s masculine plural form?

add an ‘-s’
e.g. petit —→ petits

What is the ending of an adjective in it’s feminine plural form?

add an ‘-s’ onto it’s feminine form or add an ‘-es’
e.g. petit —→ petites

What do adjectives have to agree with in French?

they must agree in gender and number of the noun they’re describing

Which gender and number is used to describe a group of masculine/feminine plural people/things?

masculine plural

When describing a feminine singular noun, what do you do if the adjective already ends in an ‘-e’?

no change is needed so don’t add an ‘-e’

For adjectives ending in ‘-al’ what are the appropriate endings for each gender?

M.S. - no change
F.S. - add an ‘-e’ 

M.P. - ‘-al’ is changed to ‘-aux’

F.P. - add an ‘-e’ onto F.S. or add an ‘-es’ onto the base

For adjectives ending in ‘-x’ what are the appropriate endings for each gender?

M.S. - no change needed
F.S. - ‘x’ is changed to ‘-se’

M.P. - no change needed

F.S. - add an ‘-s’ onto the F.S. or add ‘-ses’ onto the base

'For adjectives ending in ‘-er’ what are the appropriate endings for each gender?

M.S. - no change is needed
F.S. - ‘er’ is changed to a '-ère’

M.P. - add an -s

F.P. - add an -s onto the F.S. or add ‘-ères’ onto the base

For adjectives ending in ‘f’ what are the appropriate endings for each gender?

M.S. - no change is needed

F.S. - ‘f’ is changed to a ‘-ve’

M.P. - add an -s

F.P. - add an -s onto the F.S. or add ‘-ves’ onto the base

Which adjectives do you double the final consonant in the feminine form for french?

Adjectives ending in: ‘-el’, ‘-eil’, ‘-il’, ‘-ul’, ‘-et’, ‘-on’, ‘-en’, ‘-an’, and some ending in ‘-s’

What are the appropriate endings for the adjectives requiring a double consonant in the feminine form?

M.S. - no change is needed
F.S. - double consonant added, e.g. quotidien —→ quotidienne
M.P. - add an -s
F.P. - add an -s onto the F.S. form

What are some irregular adjectives?

vieux(old), beau(beautiful), nouveau(new), fo(mad), long(long)

What are the appropriate endings for vieux?

M.S. - vieux

Before a M.S. noun starting with a vowel/silent h - vieil

F.S. - vieille

M.P. - vieux

F.P. - vieilles

What are the appropriate endings for beau?

M.S. - beau

Before a M.S. noun starting with a vowel/silent h - bel

F.S. - belle

M.P. - beaux

F.P. - belles

What are the appropriate endings for nouveau?

M.S. - nouveau

Before a M.S. noun starting with a vowel/silent h - nouvel

F.S. - nouvelle

M.P. - nouveaux

F.P. - nouvelles

What are the appropriate endings for fou?

M.S. - fou

Before a M.S. noun starting with a vowel/silent h - fol

F.S. - folle

M.P. - fous

F.P. - folles

What are the appropriate endings for long?

M.S. - long

Before a M.S. noun starting with a vowel/silent h - long

F.S. - longue

M.P. - longs

F.P. - longues

Which adjectives don’t change at all for gender and number?

super, chic, cool, extra

Where do adjectives go in a sentence?

After the noun they describe

e.g. un prof sympa

Which adjectives come before the noun they describe?

bon(ne), mauvais(e), jeune, haut(e), vieux, nouveau, beau, premier, petite(e), grand(e), joli(e), faux

Which phrases do you use to make comparisons?

plus…que, moins…que, aussi…que

What does ‘plus…que’ mean?

more… than

What does ‘moins…que’ mean?

less…than

What does ‘aussi…que’ mean?

as…as

Which words do these comparative adjectives/adverbs wrap around in a sentence?

Comparative adjective goes before the adjective and the ‘que’ goes after

e.g. La loire est plus longue que la Tamise

Does the main adjective still need to agree with the noun in a comparative sentence?

yes

Which comparative adjectives do you not use ‘plus’ and ‘moins’ for?

bon(ne) and mauvais(e)

What does bon(ne) and mauvais(e) change to, to make a comparison?

bon(ne) —→ meilleur(e), good —→ better

mauvais(e) —→ pire, bad —→ worse

What are superlatives used for?

To say something is ‘the most’ or ‘the least’ and not make a direct comparison

What else needs to agree with the noun in gender and number in a superlative sentence?

the article

What is ‘the most’ in french?

le/la/les plus

e.g. C’est le plus petit vélo

What is ‘the least’ in french?

le/la/les moins

e.g. C’est le film le moins intéressant

How would you make ‘meilleur’ and ‘pire’ a superlative?

Add an article in front of them and they have to agree unlike ‘plus’ and ‘moins’

e.g. Ses nouvelles chansons sont les meilleures

Why does ‘meilleur’ and ‘pire’ agree with the noun in gender and noun but ‘le/la/les plus and le/la/les moins’ doesn’t?

Because ‘meilleur’ and ‘pire’ are adjectives and ‘plus’ and ‘moins’ are adverbs which are invariable in french

Where do superlatives go in a sentence?

Before the noun they describe

What is the french word for ‘this’ or ‘that’

ce, cet or cette

What is the french word for ‘those’

ces

Which is used to say ‘this’ or ‘that’ describing a masculine singular noun?

ce

Which is used to say ‘this’ or ‘that’ describing a feminine singular noun?

cette

Which is used to say ‘this’ or ‘that’ describing a masculine/feminine plural noun?

ces

Which is used to say ‘this’ or ‘that’ describing a masculine noun beginning with a vowel/silent h?

cet

e.g. Cet homme est grand

What can also mean ‘this’ or that’?

‘Ceci’ - this and ‘Cela’ - that

When is ‘ceci’ and ‘cela’ used instead of ‘ce, ces, cette’?

When referring to things aren’t very specific

Does ‘ceci’ and ‘cela’ have to agree in gender or number of the noun they’re describing?

no

What is ‘cela’ a more informal way of saying?

‘ça’(that)

What can ‘Ce’ be used with to say ‘it is’ or ‘they are’

‘est’ and ‘sont’

e.g. C’est super

Ce sont bons

Where do demonstrative adjectives come in a sentence?

Before the noun they describe

What are some indefinite adjectives?

autre(s), chaque, même(s), plusieurs, quelque(s), tout/toute/tous/toutes

Which indefinite adjectives are invariable?

chaque(each) and plusieurs(several)

Which form is ‘chaque’ always in?

singular form

Which form is ‘plusieurs’ always in?

plural