Understanding French vocabulary

By recognizing and distinguishing the types of French words, learning French grammar will be much easier. You will build a foundation that will make understanding French grammar explanations much easier.

Learn to identify the nine parts of French speech, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and more, and their purpose and function in a French sentence.

The nine parts of speech in French explained

Part of speech Example  
Nom Refers to a person, place, thing, event or concept pomme, chien, voiture
Pronoms Substitutes the noun or another part of speech for effective speech Je, Il, Nous
Adjectifs Describes a noun or pronoun in more detail beau, effrayant, gentil
Adverbes Describes a verb, adjective or other adverb more precisely tous les jours, tous les ans, extrêmement
Prépositions Expresses place, time, direction, relationship to another part of speech en haut, en bas, après
Conjonctions A conjunction is a word that connects words, phrases or parts of phrases mais, ou, et, donc, or, ni, car
Interjections Expressing emotions, moods or sensations. Ahh!, Whoa!, Zut!
Articles (définis et indéfinis) Accompanies nouns and determines precision. le, la, les, un, une, des

Now you know the French Parts of speech in English

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Parts of basic speech in French grammar

French Explanation Example sentence
Nom Noun: Refers to people or things Malte est une magnifique destination.
Verbe Verbs:Expresses an action or state. Il voyage à Malte.
Adjectif Adjective Describes the name in more detail Le voyage à Malte était magnifique.
Pronoms Pronoun: Replaces a noun Il se rend à Malte.
Adverbe Circumstance word: Describes a verb, adjective or other element. Il a décidé de se rendre à Malte immédiatement
Conjonction Linking word: Connects words or groups of words together Il s'est rendu à Malte et a aimé cet endroit.
Préposition Proportion word: Expresses the relationship in which people or objects are. Elle est dans un vol pour Malte.
Interjection Exclamation: Expresses a feeling or a request. Regarde, il apprend le francais.

Types of pronouns

French Explanation Example words
Pronom possessif Possession le mien, la tienne, les siennes, le vôtre, la nôtre, les leurs…
Pronom démonstratif Denotes and identifies a noun Ca, Ce, Cela, Ceci...
Pronom personnel Refers to a specific person Je, me, moi,nous...
Pronoms relatifs Reprise auquel, dont, duquel, lequel, que, qui, quoi, où…
Pronoms interrogatifs Question qui, que, quoi, lequel…
Pronoms indéfinis Imprecise identification autrui, chacun, on, plusieurs, quelqu'un, quiconque, tous…