French grammar
Every grammar point AQA GCSE French asks for
The 136 grammar structures prescribed by the AQA GCSE French specification (8652), and the page on this site that teaches each one. Checked structure by structure against the articles themselves, not matched by keyword.
Foundation candidates are assessed on the 92 structures marked F; Higher candidates need those and the 44 marked H.
112
taught
11
thin
13
not yet
Nouns (8)
| Structure | Tier | Taught in |
|---|---|---|
| Feminine person nouns: add -eMany role and job nouns pair up like ami/amie: add an -e for the feminine form. | F+H | noun-gender |
| Feminine person nouns: no change (article changes only)not yetChecked noun-gender, adjective-agreement, noun-plurals, articles; no article teaches invariable person nouns like élève/journaliste. | F+H | - |
| Feminine person nouns: -eur → -rice or -eusenot yetadjective-agreement.md's -eur pattern isn't in its shortcut table at all; no article teaches acteur/actrice or vendeur/vendeuse noun feminisation. | F+H | - |
| Feminine person nouns: -en → -nnenot yetadjective-agreement.md teaches -en to -nne only for adjectives (italien -> italienne); no article applies it to person nouns like musicien/musicienne. | F+H | - |
| Plural: add -s to most nounsThe written rule takes ten seconds: add -s... la chose -> les choses. | F+H | noun-plurals |
| Plural: -x for masculine nouns in -(e)au and -euNouns ending in -eau or -eu form their plural with -x instead of -s: le château -> les châteaux. | F+H | noun-plurals |
| Plural: no change for nouns ending in -s, -xIf the singular already ends in -s, -x or -z, the plural is spelled exactly the same: le temps -> les temps. | F+H | noun-plurals |
| Infinitive used as nounnot yetSearched all infinitive-related articles (infinitive-vs-subjunctive, verb-preposition-infinitive, complement-prepositions, perception-verbs-infinitive); all cover infinitive-as-verb-complement, none t | F+H | - |
Articles (9)
| Structure | Tier | Taught in |
|---|---|---|
| Article-noun gender/number agreementThe three systems at a glance table: le/la/les, un/une/des, du/de la/des by gender and number. | F+H | articles |
| Definite article contraction before vowel/h muet (l')When the next word starts with a vowel or a silent h, le / la / de la become l' / de l': l'eau, l'homme, l'arbre. | F+H | articles |
| Definite vs indefinite article functions (incl. omission differences vs English)Definite: 'the X'... Indefinite: 'a/an X'... section 'When French uses an article and English doesn't' with worked examples. | F+H | articles |
| Definite article + adjective forming noun (incl. uninflected for languages)not yetarticles.md mentions 'j'aime le français' only as an article-with-languages example; no article explains adjective-to-noun nominalisation (le vieux, le riche) as a structure. | F+H | - |
| Partitive articles (parts vs wholes)The partitive marks an unspecified amount of something uncountable... du pain, de la viande, des frites. | F+H | partitives-and-de |
| De (article omitted) after negative verb and quantity expressionsThe negation rule: every article becomes 'de'... The quantity rule: every article becomes 'de' (beaucoup de pain). | F+H | partitives-and-de |
| De → d' before vowelDe becomes d' before a vowel or silent h... Je n'ai pas d'argent. | F+H | partitives-and-de |
| Partitive articles with uncountable nounsAny time you're talking about an unspecified amount of an uncountable thing... du pain, de la patience, de l'eau. | H | partitives-and-de |
| Article with dans, omission with enen doesn't take an article after it (en France, not 'en la France'); dans does (dans la voiture, dans le jardin). | H | prepositions |
Determiners (5)
| Structure | Tier | Taught in |
|---|---|---|
| Demonstrative adjectives ce, cet, cette, cesFrench has four demonstrative adjectives - ce, cet, cette, ces - covering 'this' and 'that' together. | F+H | demonstratives |
| Possessive adjectives mon/ma/mes, ton/ta/tes, son/sa/ses, notre/nos, votre/vos, leur/leursThe full table: mon/ma/mes, ton/ta/tes, son/sa/ses, notre/nos, votre/vos, leur/leurs, with the mon-before-vowel rule. | F+H | possessives |
| Interrogative adjectives quel, quelle, quels, quellesquel is an interrogative adjective: it always sits next to a noun and agrees with it... four forms. | F+H | interrogative-quel-lequel |
| Indefinite adjectives chaque, plusieurs, même(s), autre(s), tout(e)(s), tous, quelque(s)not yetchaque/tout le monde/quelque appear only as incidental usage inside unrelated articles (reflexive-verbs, subjonctif-after-necessity, concession-clauses); no article teaches this determiner set. | F+H | - |
| Negative adjective determiner aucun(e)aucun(e): 'no, none, not any'... As an adjective (aucun + noun): Je n'ai aucune idée. | H | negation-advanced |
Pronouns (15)
| Structure | Tier | Taught in |
|---|---|---|
| Subject pronouns je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils, elles"The full table" lists je/tu/il/elle/on/nous/vous/ils/elles with meanings and explanation | F+H | subject-pronouns |
| Singular direct object pronouns me, te, vous, le, la (preverbal)Table: 'me, te, le, la, vous' direct column; "The pronoun goes before the conjugated verb" | F+H | object-pronouns |
| Singular indirect object pronouns me, te, vous, lui (preverbal)Table: 'me, te, vous, lui' indirect column; "Tu lui parles." (You're speaking to him.) | F+H | object-pronouns |
| Singular reflexive pronouns me, te, se (preverbal)"The singular pronouns" table: je=me, tu=te, il/elle/on=se, with conjugated examples | F+H | reflexive-verbs |
| Pronoun contraction m', t', l', s' before vowel/h muet"The m' / t' / l' elision": me/te/le/la/se drop the vowel before a vowel or silent h | F+H | object-pronouns |
| Emphatic pronouns moi, toi after prepositions"After a preposition": "Tu viens avec moi?"; "On va chez lui" section teaches moi/toi | F+H | stressed-pronouns |
| Relative pronoun qui in subject relative clauses"qui: subject relative" - "Qui stands in for the subject of the relative clause." | F+H | relative-pronouns |
| Preverbal pronouns y and en (not juxtaposed except il y en a/avait/aura)"y and en come last... en is the very last"; "Il y en a." flagged as a fixed unit | H | pronouns-y-en |
| Plural direct object pronouns nous, vous, les (preverbal)Table has nous/vous/les as direct; "Nous les aimons." (We love them.) | H | object-pronouns |
| Plural indirect object pronouns nous, vous, leur (preverbal)Table has nous/vous/leur indirect; exercise "Tu leur donnes l'argent", "Nous les leur envoyons" | H | object-pronouns |
| Emphatic pronouns lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles after prepositions"The forms" table lists all 8; "On va chez lui", "Je ne peux pas vivre sans eux" | H | stressed-pronouns |
| Plural reflexive pronouns nous, vous, se (preverbal)Reflexive pronoun table: nous=nous, vous=vous, ils/elles=se; "Nous nous lavons" | H | conjugation |
| Negative subject pronouns personne ne + verb"Negative words as subjects": "Personne ne parle." (No one is speaking.) | H | negation |
| Negative subject pronouns rien ne + verb"Negative words as subjects": "Rien ne marche." (Nothing works.) | H | negation |
| Relative clauses with où, quand, que"où: place and time" - "English uses 'when', French uses où"; "que: object relative" section | H | relative-pronouns |
Negation (8)
| Structure | Tier | Taught in |
|---|---|---|
| Ne…pas"ne... pas | not" in the four Foundation-tier pairs table with worked examples | F+H | negation |
| Ne…jamais"ne... jamais | never" table row; "Je ne mange jamais de viande." | F+H | negation |
| Ne…rien"ne... rien | nothing" table row; "Je ne mange rien." | F+H | negation |
| Ne…personne"ne... personne | nobody, no one" table row; "Je ne vois personne." | F+H | negation |
| Ne…plus"ne... plus | no longer, not any more"; "Je n'habite plus à Paris." | H | negation-advanced |
| Ne…ni… (ni …)"ni... ni: 'neither... nor'" - full section on article-dropping and verb agreement | H | negation-advanced |
| Ne…pas encorenot yetGrepped 'encore' across all french/grammar files: only word-order.md (adverb 'already') and reported-questions-commands.md ('encore cinq minutes' = 'more'); no ne...pas encore taught | H | - |
| Ne…que"ne... que: 'only', and not a real negative" - full section with article-keeping rule | H | negation-advanced |
Interrogatives (3)
| Structure | Tier | Taught in |
|---|---|---|
| Questions via intonation, SV word order (incl. with wh-words)"1. Intonation (casual)" - "Tu viens?"; "Tu pars quand?" (wh-word, statement order) | F+H | question-words |
| Questions via wh-word + est-ce que + SV"2. est-ce que (neutral)" - "Quand est-ce que tu pars?", "Où est-ce que vous habitez?" | F+H | question-words |
| Questions via wh-word + VS (inversion)"3. Inversion (formal)" plus "Comment t'appelles-tu? (What's your name? - formal)" | F+H | question-words |
Tenses (34)
| Structure | Tier | Taught in |
|---|---|---|
| Present indicative regular -er verbs"Drop the -er from the infinitive to get the stem, then bolt on the six present-tense endings" | F+H | conjugating-er-verbs-present |
| Present indicative -ir clusters (choisir, partir, venir, ouvrir)"Any verb conjugated this way (choisir, agir...) is second-group regular"; partir/venir/ouvrir tables given too | F+H | conjugating-ir-verbs-present |
| Present indicative -re clusters (entendre, prendre, traduire)thinentendre and prendre fully conjugated; traduire never appears in a present-tense table anywhere | F+H | conjugating-re-verbs-present |
| Irregular present: aller, avoir, être, faire"The big four" table gives full present conjugation of être, avoir, aller, faire | F+H | irregular-verbs |
| Present indicative = English simple + ongoing functions"je mange means both 'I eat' and 'I am eating'" - under "French has no continuous tense" | F+H | participe-present-gerondif |
| Present + time adverb for future expressionthinonly "The present tense covers... near-future actions" - no time-adverb example or rule given | F+H | conjugation |
| Avoir + noun where English is BE + adjective (froid, chaud, faim, etc.)thin"In some set expressions: 'avoir faim', 'avoir peur'" - two examples, no stated BE+adj rule | F+H | articles |
| Perfect tense = English simple past + present perfect"It covers both 'I did X' and 'I have done X' in English" | F+H | passe-compose |
| Past participle -er verbs"-er verbs drop -er and add -é: parler -> parlé, manger -> mangé" | F+H | passe-compose |
| Past participle -ir cluster verbs"-ir verbs (the choisir / finir cluster) drop -ir and add -i: finir -> fini" | F+H | passe-compose |
| Past participle -re cluster verbs"-re verbs drop -re and add -u: attendre -> attendu, vendre -> vendu" | F+H | passe-compose |
| Irregular past participles été, eu, faittable: "être été (been), avoir eu (had), faire fait (done / made)" | F+H | passe-compose |
| Periphrastic future aller + infinitive (will / BE going to)"Futur proche: aller + infinitive" - full table, "je vais manger" | F+H | future-tense |
| Imperative 2nd singular and plural (incl. aller, faire; excl. avoir, être, reflexive)"The same rule applies to aller: tu vas -> va"; "Fais attention. / Faites attention." | F+H | imperative |
| Imperfect for habitual (used to + verb)"1. Habitual past actions ('used to', 'would')" with worked examples | F+H | imparfait |
| Imperfect for ongoing (BE + ing) (singular)"2. Ongoing past actions ('was X-ing')" with worked examples | F+H | imparfait |
| Irregular imperfect avais, avait, étais, était, faisais, faisaitgives j'étais/il était table and "avais, avait..." / "je faisais... il faisait" forms | F+H | imparfait |
| Étais/était + adjectival complement = was/were"Elle était fatiguée." (She was tired.) under background-description use | F+H | imparfait |
| Avais/avait = hadtable row: "avoir | j'avais = I had (state) | j'ai eu = I got, received" | F+H | passe-compose-vs-imparfait |
| Present (singular) of boire, connaître, courir, croire, écrire, recevoir, rire, suivre, voirthinboire/connaître/croire/écrire/suivre given; courir, rire and voir have no present tense taught anywhere | F+H | conjugating-re-verbs-present |
| Additional present clusters following connaître and écrirethin"décrire... and inscrire... follow the same pattern" (écrire); no reconnaître/paraître cluster for connaître | H | conjugating-re-verbs-present |
| Present + depuis (have been -ing for time)"Depuis = 'since/for' an action still going on, with the present tense (j'habite ici depuis 2015...)" | H | time-expressions-depuis |
| Perfect tense of modals devoir, pouvoir, savoir, vouloirtable: "j'ai su = I found out", "j'ai voulu = I tried", "j'ai pu = I managed to", "j'ai dû = I had to" | H | passe-compose-vs-imparfait |
| Inflectional future regular -er verbs"je parlerai, tu parleras, il parlera, nous parlerons, vous parlerez, ils parleront" | H | future-tense |
| Inflectional future irregular avoir, faire, aller, êtrestem table: avoir aur-, être ser-, aller ir-, faire fer- | H | future-tense |
| Conditional regular -er forms"je parlerais, tu parlerais, il parlerait, nous parlerions, vous parleriez, ils parleraient" | H | conditional |
| Conditional irregular avoir, faire, aller, êtrestem table: avoir aur- j'aurais, être ser- je serais, aller ir- j'irais, faire fer- je ferais | H | conditional |
| Imperfect plural (1st, 2nd, 3rd person plural)endings table gives nous -ions, vous -iez, ils -aient with worked parler conjugation | H | imparfait |
| Imperfect plural of avoir, être, faire"nous avons -> av-"; "nous faisons -> fais-"; être table gives "nous étions, vous étiez, ils étaient" | H | imparfait |
| Imperative of être (sois, soyez)irregulars table: "être | sois | soyons | soyez" | H | imperative |
| Imperative 1st person plural (Let's + verb)"(nous) parlons - let's speak"; "Allons-y. (Let's go.)" | H | imperative |
| Present participle of regular -er and anchor patterns after en"Take the nous form... drop -ons, and add -ant"; "nous parlons -> parlant"; en mangeant examples | H | participe-present-gerondif |
| Present participle adjectival use"many -ant words have hardened into ordinary adjectives, and as adjectives they agree" | H | participe-present-gerondif |
| Irregular present participles étant, ayant, faisant"être -> étant... avoir -> ayant"; "nous faisons -> faisant (doing / making)" | H | participe-present-gerondif |
Verb constructions (14)
| Structure | Tier | Taught in |
|---|---|---|
| Il y a (there is/are)## il y a: there is / there are - 'Il y a un chat dans le jardin.' plus full tense table | F+H | impersonal-verbs |
| Il y avait (there was/were/used to be)Table row 'Imparfait | il y avait | there was/were'; 'Hier, il y avait un concert dans le parc.' | F+H | impersonal-verbs |
| Il y aura (there is/are going to be / will be)Table row 'Futur | il y aura | there will be' in the il y a tense table | F+H | impersonal-verbs |
| Il fait + adjective (il fait beau, il fait froid)## il fait + weather - 'Il fait beau.' 'Il fait froid.' 'Il fait mauvais.' | F+H | impersonal-verbs |
| Il + weather (il neige, il y a du soleil)'Il pleut. Il neige. Il gèle.' and 'Il y a du soleil. Il y a du vent.' | F+H | impersonal-verbs |
| Il faut + infinitive## il faut: one must / it's necessary - 'Il faut partir.' 'Il faut manger.' | F+H | impersonal-verbs |
| Il est for telling time## il est + time - 'Il est trois heures.' 'Quelle heure est-il?' | F+H | impersonal-verbs |
| Passive voice (present, full form, with par)## How the passive is built: être + past participle - 'La lettre a été écrite par Marie.' | H | voix-passive |
| Il est difficile/facile/interdit de + infinitive'il est facile de lire ce livre, il est difficile de comprendre cette idée' - general il est+ADJ+de+inf rule | H | complement-prepositions |
| Il manque + nounthin'## il manque, il reste (briefly)' - only one example 'Il manque trois personnes,' self-labelled brief | H | impersonal-verbs |
| Il vaut mieux + infinitive'Il vaut mieux attendre.' (It is better to wait.) versus 'Il vaut mieux que tu attendes.' | H | infinitive-vs-subjunctive |
| Il vaut la peine de + infinitivenot yetSearched all grammar articles for 'la peine de'; only 'ça vaut la peine' (valoir aside, no de+infinitive) found | H | - |
| Être en train de (BE in the process of)### Être en train de + infinitive - 'Je suis en train de travailler.' (I am working) | H | advanced |
| Venir de (HAVE just done)'je viens de manger (I have just eaten)' - whole article is dedicated to this construction | H | venir-de-recent-past |
Modals (2)
| Structure | Tier | Taught in |
|---|---|---|
| Present of devoir, pouvoir, savoir, vouloir + infinitive (sing. + pl.)## The modal group - full je/tu/il/nous/vous/ils table for pouvoir, vouloir, devoir, savoir | F+H | irregular-verbs |
| Conditional vouloir voudrais/voudrait (would like to)'Je veux un café.' -> 'Je voudrais un café.' - 'Je voudrais...' for ordering and requesting | F+H | conditional |
Reflexive verbs (2)
| Structure | Tier | Taught in |
|---|---|---|
| Reflexive verbs (singular 1st, 2nd, 3rd persons)## The singular pronouns - table je/me, tu/te, il-elle-on/se, plus 'je me lave, tu te laves' | F+H | reflexive-verbs |
| Plural reflexive verbs with reflexive + reciprocal meaningsthinDefers plural/reciprocal to intermediate.md, which never delivers it; only scattered asides elsewhere | H | reflexive-verbs |
Adjectives (16)
| Structure | Tier | Taught in |
|---|---|---|
| Gender/number agreement with nounsFrench adjectives have four forms - masc sg, fem sg, masc pl, fem pl - and they agree with the noun | F+H | adjective-agreement |
| Feminine: add -eThe default is add -e. | F+H | adjective-agreement |
| Feminine: no change for mute -etable row: -e (already) | no change | jeune -> jeune | F+H | adjective-agreement |
| Feminine: -x → -setable row: -x | -se | heureux -> heureuse | F+H | adjective-agreement |
| Feminine: -el → -lletable row: -el | -elle | naturel -> naturelle | F+H | adjective-agreement |
| Feminine: -en → -nnetable row: -en | -nne | italien -> italienne | F+H | adjective-agreement |
| Feminine: -f → -vetable row: -f | -ve | actif -> active | F+H | adjective-agreement |
| Feminine: -er → -èretable row: -er | -ère | premier -> première | F+H | adjective-agreement |
| Plural: add -sDefault: add -s (petite -> petites, grand -> grands). | F+H | adjective-agreement |
| Plural: no change for -s, -x masculineAlready ends in -s or -x: no change in the masculine plural | F+H | adjective-agreement |
| Plural: -al → -aux masculineEnds in -al: masculine plural becomes -aux (national -> nationaux...) | F+H | adjective-agreement |
| Position relative to noun (mostly after; defined set before)Most French adjectives go after the noun ... The BAGS set: before the noun | F+H | adjective-agreement |
| Comparatives plus/moins/aussi … que/deplus / moins / aussi go before the adjective, que goes after ... plus de, moins de, autant de | F+H | comparatives |
| Irregular comparatives meilleur(e)(s), pire(s)The three irregulars: bon->meilleur, mauvais->pire, bien->mieux, with full agreement tables | F+H | comparatives |
| Regular superlativesFormation: article + plus / moins + adjective ... le / la / les + plus / moins + adjective | H | superlatives |
| Irregular superlatives le meilleur / la meilleure / le pireThe irregulars: meilleur, pire, mieux ... le meilleur is an adjective and agrees with the noun | H | superlatives |
Adverbs (5)
| Structure | Tier | Taught in |
|---|---|---|
| Position of adverbs of time, manner, frequency, placethinadverbs-ment.md covers manner-adverb position (simple/compound tense) in detail; word-order.md has only a brief footnote on time/short adverbs; place adverbs are never addressed anywhere | F+H | adverbs-ment |
| Comparative plus/moins/aussi … queplus / moins / aussi + adverb + que ... Il court plus vite que moi. | F+H | adverb-comparison |
| Irregular comparative mieuxbien -> mieux -> le mieux is the one to nail. Bien is well; mieux is better | F+H | adverb-comparison |
| Regular superlative adverbsThe superlative: the frozen le ... put le in front of plus or moins | H | adverb-comparison |
| Irregular superlative le mieuxC'est lui qui cuisine le mieux ... bien -> mieux -> le mieux | H | adverb-comparison |
Prepositions (7)
| Structure | Tier | Taught in |
|---|---|---|
| À/de before noun or second verb after some verbs (verb + preposition combos)thinThorough à/de/nothing + infinitive lists; but verb + à/de + NOUN (jouer à, s'intéresser à, profiter de) is never taught, only mentioned in passing inside y/en and relative-pronoun pages | F+H | verb-preposition-infinitive |
| En/à with proper nouns for places (countries, regions, cities)Cities: always à ... Countries: en for feminine ... au for masculine-consonant ... aux for plurals | F+H | prepositions |
| Contraction à/de with definite article (au, aux, du, des)à + le = au ... à + les = aux ... de + le = du ... de + les = des. The contractions are required | F+H | prepositions |
| De for possessionthin"French has no possessive apostrophe, so celui de is doing the work that 's does" is stated only for celui de; plain de-possession (le livre de Marie) appears only as passing examples elsewhere, never | F+H | demonstrative-pronouns |
| Pour, sans + infinitivepour que -> pour ... sans que -> sans, with a dedicated section 'sans le savoir versus sans qu'il le sache' | F+H | infinitive-vs-subjunctive |
| Avant de + infinitiveavant que -> avant de, je réfléchis avant de parler | H | infinitive-vs-subjunctive |
| Après avoir + past participle## après avoir, après être: the perfect infinitive ... Après avoir mangé, il est parti | H | infinitive-vs-subjunctive |
Morphology (reading only) (8)
| Structure | Tier | Taught in |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinals from cardinals via -ièmenot yetNo French grammar article teaches ordinal formation; searched cognate-patterns, adjective-agreement, adverbs-ment, cheatsheet, conjugation - none | F+H | - |
| Irregular ordinals premier, premièrenot yetpremier/première appear only as an adjective-agreement example (-er/-ère pattern) or a complement-preposition example (premier à), never taught as an ordinal number | F+H | - |
| Prefix in-/im- for opposite meaningnot yetgrep for 'prefix' and impossible/incapable/inutile across content/french/grammar returns only unrelated hits (comprendre's prefix, est-ce que); no article teaches the in-/im- negating prefix | F+H | - |
| -able / -eable adjectives from verb stemsnot yetgrep for mangeable/lavable/faisable/-able/-eable across content/french/grammar returns zero matches | F+H | - |
| -ion / -ation nouns from verb stemsthin'-tion | -tion | nation, information' - taught as an English-cognate ending swap, not as deriving a French noun from a French verb stem (no informer->information style example) | F+H | cognate-patterns |
| -ment adverbs from feminine adjectivestitle: 'French Adverbs of Manner: Forming -ment Adverbs' - full section 'How to form French adverbs with -ment' incl. feminine-stem rule and table | F+H | adverbs-ment |
| -amment / -emment adverbs## The -ant / -ent adjectives: -amment / -emment - 'Adjectives ending in -ant drop it for -amment; adjectives ending in -ent drop it for -emment' | F+H | adverbs-ment |
| Agent nouns via -eur / -ateurnot yetNo article teaches the -eur/-ateur agent-noun pattern; searched cognate-patterns, advanced, prepositions, subject-pronouns - only unrelated 'profession' mentions | H | - |
Prescribed structures taken from the AQA GCSE French (8652) specification. Coverage last verified 2026-09-21. "Thin" means a structure is touched but not taught as its own rule.