Kilo Lingo
French grammar Part of Chapter 1

CEFR A1-B1

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Test yourself (19 questions)

French Word Order and Sentence Structure: The Six Rules

By Michael McGettrickUpdated 11 October 2026

French uses SVO word order (subject, verb, object), the same as English: Marie. - I see Marie. Six rules break the pattern, and they are where English speakers slip. Here they are on one screen.

RuleFrenchEnglish
1. Pronoun first .I see him.
2. ... Marie.I don't see Marie.
3. Questions- ?Do you speak French?
4. Adjective after a red car
5. Subject always .I eat.
6. Agreement .I saw her.

Quick check

Now use it: three quick questions on the chart above. The full practice is further down.

Spot the mistake

0/3

Tap the mistake English speakers make.

Rules 2, 3 and 5 are day-one French. Rules 1, 4 and 6 get a short section here and their own page each.

The SVO baseline

Most French sentences run subject, verb, object, exactly like English. The verb sits second, after the subject.

the part doing the workwritten, not saidfeminine agreementWhat do the colours mean?
Subject
Verb
Object
  • . - I eat bread.
  • . - reads the book.
  • . - My brother writes a letter.
  • . - The children look at the car.

If French stopped there it would be easy. The six divergences below are where it does not.

Divergence 1: Object pronouns shift before the verb

With a noun object, French keeps SVO. Swap the noun for a pronoun and the pronoun jumps in front of the conjugated verb.

le livre becomes le, and moves before the verb
  • . - I see the book.
  • . - I see it.
  • . - I am talking to you.

Commands and infinitives have their own positions, and two pronouns stack in a fixed order: all of it is on French object pronouns, with y and en on their own page.

Divergence 2: Negation wraps the verb

French negation is a two-word sandwich: before the verb, after it. English uses one word (don't); French puts the verb in the middle.

Subject
ne
Verb
pas
Rest
empty
  • . - I don't eat.
  • . - isn't reading the book.
  • . - I don't see him. ( goes before the object pronoun too)

Before a vowel, shortens to ': . - I don't like bread.

The other negative pairs work the same way:

PairMeaningExample
...not .
...nothing .
...never .
...plusno longer .
...nobody .

In casual speech the often disappears: . - I don't eat. Write it and say it in anything formal. The French negation guide has the rest, including the article that turns into .

Divergence 3: Three question forms

French has three ways to ask the same yes-or-no question, from casual to formal.

FormFrenchRegister
Intonation ?Casual speech
?Safe anywhere
Inversion- ?Formal, written

All three mean Do you speak French? The trap is the formal one.

  • Intonation keeps statement order and raises the voice at the end: ? - Are you eating here?
  • (literally is it that) goes in front of the statement: ? - Are you eating here?
  • Inversion swaps verb and pronoun, joined by a hyphen: - ? - Are you eating here?

When the verb ends in a vowel and the pronoun is or , inversion adds a -- so the two vowels do not collide:

Parle-t-il français ? Does he speak French?
  • -t- ? - Does he speak French?
  • -t- ? - Does Marie speak French? (a noun subject keeps its place and adds a pronoun)

If unsure, use : it is never wrong. Questions with , and are on French question words.

Divergence 4: Adjective placement is split

Most French adjectives follow the noun, the reverse of English:

  • - a red car
  • - an interesting book
Four panels: a white house with a lilac roof and a blue door; a white dog with grey ears and a blue collar; a black cat with yellow eyes; a red car.

Every colour comes after its noun. The feminine maison takes blanche, the masculine chien blanc.

A short list of common adjectives comes first, remembered as BAGS (Beauty, Age, Goodness, Size):

  • - a beautiful car
  • - a small black dog (one before, one after)

A few change meaning with position ( , a great man; , a tall man). The list, and the rest, are on French adjective position.

Divergence 5: Subject pronouns are mandatory (no pro-drop)

Every conjugated French verb needs a subject, outside commands: a noun or a pronoun. The reason is in the endings. Four of the six present forms of sound exactly the same, because their endings are silent.

PronounFormEnglish
I eat
you eat
/ he / she eats
we eat
you eat
/ they eat

Without the pronoun, the listener cannot tell who is eating. So . (I eat bread) is a sentence, and . is only a command: Eat some bread!

Spanish can drop its pronoun because its endings still sound different (como, comes, come). French cannot. The full set, with on for we, is on French subject pronouns.

Divergence 6: Past participle agreement

In the passé composé, the past participle agrees with a direct object that comes before the verb. An object placed after the verb changes nothing.

  • Marie. - I saw Marie. (object after: no agreement)
  • . - I saw her. (l' means Marie, before the verb: add -e)

The extra e is silent here, so this is a rule for writing, and it matters most in exams.

Mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
. .Object pronoun before the verb
. . before the verb, after
. .Without it is a command
- ?-t- ?-t- between two vowels
Colours follow the noun

What to do next

  1. Say three sentences with ... around the verb.
  2. Ask one question in each of the three forms.
  3. Read French object pronouns when feels natural.

Practise: test yourself

Put the words in order

0/6

Put the words in order.

  1. I don't eat bread.

    Your sentence is empty.

  2. I see it. (the book)

    Your sentence is empty.

  3. Do you speak French? (with est-ce que)

    Your sentence is empty.

  4. Does Marie speak French? (inversion)

    Your sentence is empty.

  5. a beautiful red car

    Your sentence is empty.

  6. Marie doesn't read the book.

    Your sentence is empty.

Spot the mistake

0/4

Tap the mistake English speakers make.

Mark the pattern

0/4

Mark the subject, verb, and object in each sentence.

S = subject, V = verb, O = object

  1. Marie lit le livre.

    Select the subject

  2. Mon frère écrit une lettre.

    Select the subject

  3. Les enfants regardent la voiture.

    Select the subject

  4. L'homme aime le chien.

    Select the subject

Pick the right one

0/5

Which question form is it?

  1. Tu parles français ?

  2. Parlez-vous français ?

  3. Est-ce que Marie lit le livre ?

  4. Marie lit-elle le livre ?

  5. Vous mangez ici ?

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French · Free printables

Practice worksheets and infographics

Practice worksheets with answer keys built in, plus infographic and listicle formats. Open any one to view, print or save.

Infographics

  1. Key points infographic
  2. Table 1
  3. Divergence 2: Negation wraps the verb
  4. Divergence 3: Three question forms
  5. Divergence 5: Subject pronouns are mandatory (no pro-drop)
  6. Mistakes English speakers make

Other formats

  1. Listicle

More grammar on this course

Frequently asked questions

Is French SVO?
Yes. French is SVO (Subject-Verb-Object) by default, the same baseline as English. Marie (I see Marie) and Marie ( reads the book) are both straight SVO. The order shifts in specific cases: object pronouns move before the verb ( ), questions can invert (- ?), and negation wraps the verb ( Marie).
Where do object pronouns go in French?
Before the conjugated verb: (I see him), (I am talking to you). With a full noun the object stays after the verb ( ). Two exceptions: affirmative commands put the pronoun after the verb with a hyphen (-, look at it), and with an infinitive the pronoun sits before the infinitive ( , I want to see it).
How does French negation work?
Two words wrap the verb: before it and after it. means I don't eat. Other pairs work the same way: ... (nothing), ... (never), ...plus (no longer). In casual speech the is often dropped ( ), but writing and formal speech keep it.
Why does French need '' but Spanish does not?
Because French verb endings sound alike. , and are all pronounced the same, so without , or the listener cannot tell who is eating. Spanish como, comes and comen sound different, so Spanish can drop the pronoun. Every conjugated French verb needs a subject, a noun or a pronoun; only the imperative goes without.
Why do some adjectives come before the noun in French?
Most French adjectives follow the noun: , a red car. A small set of short, common ones comes before it, remembered as BAGS: Beauty, Age, Goodness, Size ( , ). The full list and the adjectives that change meaning with position are on the adjective position page.